 | |
| Sport | Lacrosse |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Folded | 2020 |
| League | Major League Lacrosse |
| Based in | Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Stadium | Rafferty Stadium |
| President | Ian Frenette |
| Head coach | Bill Warder |
| Website | cthammerheads.com/ |
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. [1] [2]
On February 11, 2020, MLL announced that it had granted an expansion franchise to the Fairfield, Connecticut, one day after the league folded the Dallas Rattlers. The team will be the league's first team to play in the state of Connecticut since the Bridgeport Barrage, which played from 2001 to 2003 before relocating to Philadelphia. The league named Rattlers' head coach Bill Warder to the same position with the Connecticut Hammerheads. [1]
Less than a week later, the Hammerheads announced they were trading Bryce Wasserman, a Dallas native, to the Boston Cannons in exchange for Will Sands. [3]
The Hammerheads had seven picks in the collegiate draft, including the second overall pick. They used that option on Michael Kraus, an attack from the defending NCAA champion Virginia Cavaliers. Kraus was also a selection with the competing Premier Lacrosse League, but on May 14 he officially signed a two-year deal to join the Hammerheads. [4]
On July 18, the Hammerheads played their first game, in quarantined fashion at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, against the Denver Outlaws. The Outlaws controlled the game from the start, defeating Connecticut, 18-6. Ryan McNamara had the first goal in franchise history and Bradley Voigt led the team with three goals on the night. [5]
Four days later, the team got its first victory in franchise history against the New York Lizards, 10-8. Kraus picked up his first two career goals and Voigt again led the way with four scores. Defending Goalie of the Year Sean Sconone stopped 65% of the shots he faced. [6] The team picked up its second win the next day against the Boston Cannons by a score of 11-8. Sconone dazzled with a new franchise record 73.3 save percentage. [7] With their 14-9 win over the Chesapeake Bayhawks on July 24 in the regular season finale, the Hammerheads would clinch the second overall playoff seed in their first season.
| Connecticut Hammerheads | |||||
| Year | W | L | % | Regular season finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2nd in league | Semifinal vs. Bayhawks canceled |
| Totals | 3 | 2 | .600 | Total Playoff Record 0-0 Playoff Win % = .000 | |
| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% | |||
| 1 | Bill Warder | 2020 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | - | - | - | - |
| # | Name | Nationality | Position | Height | Weight | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradley Voigt |  | A | 6 ft 0 in | 202 lbs | Syracuse |
| 2 | Michael Kraus | | A | 5 ft 11 in | 195 lbs | Virginia |
| 3 | Christian Carson-Banister | | G | 6 ft 1 in | 205 lbs | Boston University |
| 4 | Kris Alleyne | | G | 5 ft 11 in | 190 lbs | Rutgers |
| 5 | Michael Brown | | D | 6 ft 1 in | 200 lbs | Brown |
| 6 | Ben Martin | | A | 6 ft 0 in | 177 lbs | Dartmouth |
| 7 | Luke Wittenberg | | M | 6 ft 4 in | 187 lbs | Georgetown |
| 8 | Ryan Beville (A) | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 180 lbs | Jacksonville |
| 10 | Tom Moore | | M | 6 ft 3 in | 190 lbs | Binghamton |
| 11 | Michael Bender | | LSM | 5 ft 11 in | 180 lbs | Maryland |
| 12 | Gunnar Schimoler | | D | 6 ft 3 in | 205 lbs | UMBC |
| 14 | Jake Seau | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 205 lbs | Duke |
| 15 | Dan Lomas |  | A | 5 ft 11 in | 186 lbs | High Point |
| 16 | Will Renz | | SSDM | 6 ft 0 in | 200 lbs | Yale |
| 17 | Adam Osika | | M | 6 ft 3 in | 205 lbs | Albany |
| 18 | Matt Farrell | | D | 5 ft 10 in | 175 lbs | Holy Cross |
| 19 | Jack Curran | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 185 lbs | Villanova |
| 20 | Drew Schantz | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 200 lbs | Notre Dame |
| 21 | Trevor Smyth | | LSM | 6 ft 2 in | 195 lbs | RIT |
| 22 | Will Sands | | A | 5 ft 10 in | 183 lbs | Bucknell |
| 23 | Cody Radziewicz | | M | 5 ft 11 in | 185 lbs | Johns Hopkins |
| 28 | Robert Mooney | | D | 6 ft 4 in | 215 lbs | Yale |
| 29 | Noah Rak | | FO | N/A | N/A | UMass |
| 31 | Sean Sconone (C) | | G | 5 ft 11 | 270 lbs | UMass |
| 33 | Landon Kramer | | D | 6 ft 3 in | 225 lbs | Sacred Heart |
| 41 | Justin Schwenk | | FO | 6 ft 0 in | 185 lbs | Virginia |
| 47 | Joe Gillis | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 195 lbs | Syracuse |
| 50 | Hayden La Vangie | | LSM | 6 ft 1 in | 195 lbs | Jacksonville |
| 51 | Brendan Collins | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 201 lbs | Notre Dame |
| 57 | Greg Weyl | | D | 6 ft 2 in | 205 lbs | Mercyhurst |
| 81 | Ryan McNamara (A) | | A | 5 ft 8 in | 185 lbs | Marquette |
| 88 | Andrew Helmer | | LSM | 6 ft 1 in | 201 lbs | Syracuse |
| 90 | Kyle Buchanan | | M | 5 ft 8 in | 165 lbs | Robert Morris |
| 91 | Ryan Fournier | | LSM | 5 ft 9 in | 190 lbs | Loyola |
(C)- captain
(A)- alternate captain
Source: [8]
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 Chesapeake Bayhawks were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland since 2010. They played in the greater Baltimore metro area beginning with the MLL's inaugural 2001 season, as the Baltimore Bayhawks from 2001–2006 and as the Washington Bayhawks from 2007–2009.
The Dallas Rattlers were a professional men's field lacrosse team as a member of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) based in Frisco, Texas starting in 2018. The franchise was a charter member of the MLL, operating as the Rochester Rattlers in Rochester, New York, from 2001 to 2008 and 2011 to 2017.
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 professional 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. He currently serves as an assistant coach for Redwoods Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League.
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 Ohio Machine was a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Obetz, Ohio. They first played in the 2012 MLL season and continued through the 2018 season.
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 Florida Launch were a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Boca Raton, Florida. They joined Major League Lacrosse (MLL) as an expansion team for the 2014 season until 2019. The team played its home games at Florida Atlantic University Stadium. The team was owned by Jim Davis, chairman of New Balance, an early investor in the MLL.
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 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.
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league consisting of six active teams in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played 16 regular-season games from late May to late September, with a four-team playoff for the championship trophy, the Steinfeld Trophy.
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.
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.
The 2020 Boston Cannons Lacrosse season was the 20th season in club history and their last season in the Major League Lacrosse. It would be a successful sendoff, as the Cannons would win the last MLL Championship. They would play their games at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Sports teams based in Connecticut | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  | ||||||||
| Basketball | |||||||||
| Football | |||||||||
| Gaelic games | |||||||||
| Ice hockey | |||||||||
| Soccer | |||||||||
| Roller derby | |||||||||
| Rugby union |
| ||||||||
| Softball | |||||||||
| College athletics |
| ||||||||