| 2020 MLL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Lacrosse |
| Sport | Field lacrosse |
| Duration | July 18 - 26, 2020 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Steinfeld Cup | |
| Champions | Boston Cannons |
| Runners-up | Denver Outlaws |
| Finals [] | Bryce Wasserman |
The 2020 Major League Lacrosse season was the 20th season of Major League Lacrosse. Each of the six teams were slated to play a ten-game regular season starting on May 30, until the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the season. On July 2, the league announced teams would play a five-game regular season over the course of a quarantined week in Annapolis, Maryland at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the home of the Chesapeake Bayhawks. The regular season was scheduled to begin play on Saturday, July 18 with a four-team postseason the next weekend on July 25–26. [1]
The Bayhawks entered the season as defending champions. They claimed their sixth title after defeating the Denver Outlaws, 10–9 in the 2019 Steinfeld Cup Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver.
For the second consecutive offseason, the landscape of the league changed dramatically. On January 14, the league announced the switch from a franchise model to a single-entity structure, meaning they will operate all six teams in 2020. [2] On February 10, the league ceased operations of the Dallas Rattlers [3] and moved the players and team staff to a new franchise, the Connecticut Hammerheads. [4] The next week, the league ceased operations of the Atlanta Blaze [5] and relocated the roster and coaches to relaunch the Philadelphia Barrage. [6]
On the last evening of the shortened regular season, an unnamed player reported to team officials exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. All league players were tested the next day. In result, the semifinal games on July 25 were canceled and the Bayhawks and Hammerheads, who were scheduled to play in the semifinal round, backed out of the postseason. The league announced the canceled semifinal game between the top seed Denver Outlaws and fourth seed and Boston Cannons would be pushed to July 26 and act as the championship game. [7] Boston defeated Denver 13–10 to claim their second championship in franchise history.
On December 16, 2020, the league announced that it had merged [8] with its competitor, Premier Lacrosse League.
| Team | 2019 season | 2020 season |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Blaze/ Philadelphia Barrage | Liam Banks | Spencer Ford |
| Chesapeake Bayhawks | Dave Cottle | Tom Mariano |
Shortly after the league informed fans of its plans for a shortened season, it was announced that all 18 games would be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks. Two regular season games were aired on ESPN2 on July 19 while the championship game on July 26 aired on ESPN's flagship station. All other games would stream on ESPN+ and would be available to over 100 countries via ESPN Player. Canadian viewers were able to watch every game via TSN. [11] [12]
| Boston Cannons | Chesapeake Bayhawks | Connecticut Hammerheads |
|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Stadium | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Rafferty Stadium |
| Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 34,000 | Capacity: 3,500 |
| Denver Outlaws | New York Lizards | Philadelphia Barrage |
|---|---|---|
| Empower Field at Mile High | James M. Shuart Stadium | TBA |
| Capacity: 76,125 | Capacity: 11,929 | Capacity: |
| 2020 Major League Lacrosse Standings | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | GB | GF | 2ptGF | GA | 2ptGA | |||||||||||
| Denver Outlaws | 4 | 1 | .800 | - | 66 | 0 | 48 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Connecticut Hammerheads | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1 | 51 | 0 | 57 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Chesapeake Bayhawks | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1 | 67 | 3 | 63 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Boston Cannons | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1 | 57 | 2 | 58 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Philadelphia Barrage | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2 | 57 | 0 | 64 | 0 | ||||||||||
| New York Lizards | 0 | 5 | .000 | 4 | 57 | 0 | 65 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Playoff Seed |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual draft was held on May 4, consisting of eight rounds and 48 total picks. The New York Lizards selected faceoff specialist TD Ierlan with the first overall pick. However the next day, Ierlan announced he would be returning to Yale in 2021 after the pandemic-shortened 2020 NCAA season. Second overall pick, Michael Kraus, an attack from Virginia, signed a two-year contract with the Connecticut Hammerheads on May 14. [13]
After positive COVID-19 test results among players, the Connecticut Hammerheads (second seed) and Chesapeake Bayhawks (third seed) backed out of the postseason.
| Championship July 26 Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | ||||
| 4 | Boston | 13 | ||
| 1 | Denver | 10 | ||
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff for the championship trophy, the Steinfeld Trophy, named after founder Jake Steinfeld. League attendance peaked at 6,417 in 2011 and the 2019 average was 4,587.
The Cannons Lacrosse Club are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Formerly based in Boston, Massachusetts, they played in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) as the Boston Cannons from their inaugural 2001 season to 2020. The team's home field was Veterans Memorial Stadium in nearby Quincy. In the MLL, the team won two Steinfeld Cup championship games in 2011 and 2020, the latter being the MLL's final championship. The Cannons joined the PLL in 2020 following the MLL–PLL merger and were rebranded as the Cannons Lacrosse Club.
The Philadelphia Barrage were a field lacrosse team that are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and member of Major League Lacrosse. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team then relocated to Philadelphia from the 2004 season to the 2007 season when they became a traveling team for 2008. They ceased operations before the 2009 season due to the economic situation in the United States. The Philadelphia Barrage were resurrected for the 2020 season.
John Christopher Grant Jr. is a Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player who has played in Major League Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Grant Jr. was named men's lacrosse Offensive Coordinator at Johns Hopkins in 2020 and resigned after two seasons.
The Denver Outlaws were a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team.
The 2008 Major League Lacrosse season was the eighth season of the league. The season began on May 17, 2008, and concluded with the championship game on August 24, 2008.
The Charlotte Hounds were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) field lacrosse franchise that began play in the 2012 MLL season and ceased operations after the 2018 season. The team played their home games at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Brent Adams is a professional lacrosse player for the Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and the New York Riptide of the National Lacrosse League. Adams was an All-American midfielder at Fairfield University and played for the United States men's national lacrosse team.
The Atlanta Blaze were a professional men's field lacrosse team in Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The Blaze became the ninth team in MLL as an expansion team for the 2016 season and played its home games at Atlanta Silverbacks Park in Atlanta, Georgia.
The 2016 Major League Lacrosse season was the 16th season of Major League Lacrosse. The season featured 9 teams after the addition of the Atlanta Blaze via expansion. It was the first season since 2008 that the league fielded more than eight teams. The defending champion New York Lizards are coming off their third Steinfeld Cup victory in franchise history and first since 2003 after defeating the Rochester Rattlers 15–12 August 8, 2015 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. On August 20, the Denver Outlaws won their second Steinfeld Cup trophy in three years, coming back to defeat the Ohio Machine, 19–18.
The 2017 Major League Lacrosse season was the 17th season of Major League Lacrosse. Featuring the same nine teams as 2016, the season began on April 22. All four games played on opening weekend were won by the road team and decided by one goal, two in overtime. The season culminated in the championship game on August 19 in Frisco, Texas at The Ford Center at The Star. In a rematch of the 2016 championship game, the Ohio Machine defeated the Denver Outlaws 17–12, capturing their first Steinfeld Cup in franchise history.
The 2018 Major League Lacrosse season is the 18th season of Major League Lacrosse. The season began on Saturday, April 21 with three games. For the third straight year, the league consists of nine teams playing 14 games each. However, the league announced on November 16, 2017 that the Rochester Rattlers, one of the league's four remaining charter franchises, would relocate to Frisco, Texas and become the Dallas Rattlers. The reigning champions for the first time are the Ohio Machine, who would take a hard fall and finish 3-11 in 2018. The season culminated on Saturday, August 18 with the Denver Outlaws hoisting their third Steinfeld Trophy in Charleston, South Carolina at MUSC Health Stadium after defeating the Rattlers, 16-12.
The 2018 Atlanta Blaze season was the third season for the Atlanta Blaze of Major League Lacrosse. The Blaze created a lot of noise in the preceding offseason period. On September 12, 2017, the Blaze signed former Lizard Tommy Palasek. Later in the month, the Blaze also signed Matt Gibson from the Lizards and acquired Eddy Glazener from the Denver Outlaws for Christian Burgdorf.
The 2018 Ohio Machine season is the seventh season for the Ohio Machine of Major League Lacrosse. The reigning champion Machine come into the year looking to repeat as Steinfeld Cup Champions. They would be the first team since the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2012 and 2013 to do so.
The 2018 Boston Cannons season was the eighteenth season for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse. The Cannons entered the season looking to improve upon their franchise-worst and last place 3-11 record in 2017. They did so after winning their last two games of the season, finishing 5-9. The record earned them seventh place in the league standings.
The 2019 Major League Lacrosse season was the 19th season of Major League Lacrosse. The regular season began on Friday, May 31 and ended on Sunday, September 22. It was the first time the league would ever begin its season after Memorial Day, allowing all players selected in the collegiate draft to play a full season. 2019 also marks the first time each team would play 16 games. The league has played a 14-game schedule since 2012. Additionally, the league returned to a Championship Weekend format instead of a two-week postseason for the first time since 2013. Championship Weekend was hosted in Denver with two semifinal games on Friday, October 4 and the 19th Steinfeld Cup was hosted at Dick's Sporting Goods Park October 6 on ESPN2.
The 2019 Dallas Rattlers season was the seventeenth season for the Rattlers franchise of Major League Lacrosse, and second season playing in Frisco, Texas since relocating from Rochester, New York.
The 2019 Chesapeake Bayhawks season was the last season for the Bayhawks franchise of Major League Lacrosse, and tenth season using the 'Chesapeake' Bayhawks moniker. It is Dave Cottle's second season of his second tenure as head coach of the team. In 2018, Cottle led the Bayhawks to their first playoff appearance in five years.
The Connecticut Hammerheads were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Fairfield, Connecticut. The team played for one season during the 2020 season. The team's home field was Rafferty Stadium located on the campus of Fairfield University.
The 2020 Denver Outlaws season was the 15th and final season for the Outlaws in Major League Lacrosse. The Outlaws were coming off of another championship loss after going 9–7 in the previous year and were looking to bounce back for their fourth Steinfeld Cup title. They would only go 4–1 on the season due to the COVID–19 pandemic. They would make the playoffs again but would lose to the Boston Cannons in the title game by a 13–10 score.
