Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively modified by European colonists, reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form.
The New York Lizards, originally the Long Island Lizards, were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team based in Hempstead, New York, located on Long Island. They are original members of the MLL. They lost the league's inaugural game on June 7, 2001 to the Baltimore Bayhawks, 16–13.
The Boston Cannons, formerly known as Cannons Lacrosse Club, is 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) 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 before later being rebranded as Boston Cannons once again when the PLL assigned home cities after the 2023 season.
Lacrosse has its origins in a tribal game played by eastern Woodlands Native Americans and by some Plains Indians tribes in what is now the United States of America and Canada. The game was extensively modified by European settlers to create its current collegiate and professional form.
Paul Rabil is an American sports executive and retired professional lacrosse player. He is currently the president of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), which he co-founded with his brother, league CEO Mike Rabil.
The Professional Lacrosse League (PLL) was a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in the United States. It was announced in 2012 with its inaugural season scheduled to begin in September 2012. The league originated in a split with the North American Lacrosse League (NALL). The league ended after a year, in 2013.
The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The league was founded by the American professional lacrosse player Paul Rabil and his brother Mike Rabil. Investors include The Chernin Group, The Raine Group and Joe Tsai.
The Utah Archers, formerly known as Archers Lacrosse Club are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Archers are one of the six founding members of the PLL for the 2019 season. Notable players include Tom Schreiber, Grant Ament, and Graeme Hossack.
The New York Atlas, formerly known as Atlas Lacrosse Club, is a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).
The Carolina Chaos, formerly known as Chaos Lacrosse Club, are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Chaos are one of the six founding members of the PLL for the 2019 season. Notable players include Blaze Riorden, Josh Byrne, Jarrod Neumann and Troy Reh. Chaos were crowned PLL Champions for the first time in team history with a 14 - 9 victory over the Whipsnakes in the 2021 PLL Championship.
The Denver Outlaws are a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado. They compete in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) as a member of the league's Western Conference. Founded as the Chrome Lacrosse Club, they began play as one of the league's six inaugural teams in the 2019 season alongside Archers, Atlas, Chaos, Redwoods, and Whipsnakes. Following the assignment of home markets for the 2024 season on November 14th, 2023, they were rebranded with the identity of the former Denver Outlaws Major League Lacrosse team.
The California Redwoods are a professional men's field lacrosse team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The team plays its home games at Torero Stadium. The Redwoods began play in the league's inaugural 2019 season.
The Maryland Whipsnakes, formerly known as Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club, are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Whipsnakes are one of the six founding members of the PLL and the winner of its first two championships; the 2019 season and the 2020 Championship Tournament. Notable players include Matt Rambo, Jake Bernhardt, Michael Ehrhardt, and Zed Williams.
The 2019 Premier Lacrosse League season was the inaugural season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The season began on Saturday, June 1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts and culminated with a championship game played on Saturday, September 21 at Talen Energy Stadium, now known as Subaru Park, in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club defeated Redwoods Lacrosse Club to claim the league title.
Matt Rambo is a professional lacrosse attackman for the Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. He played college lacrosse at Maryland.
The Premier Lacrosse League All-Star Game is a field lacrosse game played between the best players on two teams representing the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).
Connor Fields is an American-Canadian professional lacrosse player who plays for the Utah Archers of the Premier Lacrosse League and the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League. He played college lacrosse at the University at Albany, where he was an All-American all four years. He was drafted by the San Diego Seals in the 2018 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft. He was also drafted in Major League Lacrosse by the Charlotte Hounds in 2018.
The 2020 Premier Lacrosse League season was the second season for the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The season was originally set to begin on May 29 and culminate with a championship game played in late September. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the league postponed the start of their season, and in May announced their season would take place as a championship series between July 25 and August 9, replacing NBCUniversal's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Championship Series consisted of playoff seedings based on 4 games of group play taking place at Zions Bank Stadium just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. The series began with the Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club as the defending league champions and the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club joining the league as an expansion team.
The MLL–PLL merger represented a unification of the two major professional field lacrosse leagues in the United States at the time: Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Initial terms of the merger were released on the morning of December 16, 2020. The two leagues agreed to unite under the "Premier Lacrosse League" name and logo, operating as a tour-based model and removing the last of the hometown-based professional field lacrosse teams in the United States. The Boston Cannons would be the sole MLL team identity to play in the PLL for the 2021 season, rebranding as the Cannons Lacrosse Club.
The 2021 Premier Lacrosse League season was the third season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The 2021 season represented a return to the tour-based format that the league followed in 2019 after playing a bubble tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 2021 also represented a return to one unified professional Field Lacrosse format after Major League Lacrosse and the Premier Lacrosse League announced they were merging on December 16, 2020. This monumental merger saw the PLL adopt the naming rights to all former MLL teams, as well as Cannons Lacrosse Club moving from the MLL to the PLL as an 8th team set by expansion draft. The Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club were the two-time defending league champions. Chaos Lacrosse Club took revenge against Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club by defeating them in the championship game on September 19 at Audi Field by a score of 9–14.
