Season Recap: Despite the Barrage’s first two losses of the season, they are still hopeful for a successful 2004 season. Miller leads the team with a total of 9 points (6g, 3a). The new additions to the defensive side of midfield Goalie Greg Cattrano, and Defensemen Brian Kuczma and Brian Spallina have all been doing a solid job below the fifty. Spallina was named the Barrage’s Defensive Player of the Week against New Jersey, playing solid defense and collecting 4 ground balls, and Kuczma was named Defensive Player of the Week limiting Rochester’s Josh Coffman to only one goal in Saturday night’s game (5/29).
Roster Update: Long after the players and teams left Sacred Heart University on June 3rd, Sal LoCascio and Rochester’s BJ O’Hara were still hard at work finishing the 2004 Collegiate Draft. Originally the Barrage had selected Tillman Johnson, an outstanding goalie that graduated from Virginia, with the third overall pick. Immediately following the draft, LoCascio and O’Hara began negations, and when all was said and done the Barrage ended up with Ryan Boyle, a four time All American from Princeton and Midfielder Mike Mollot, in his second year of MLL action. The Barrage also picked up Conor Ford in the 2nd round (7th overall) who led the Johns Hopkins attack this past season with 44 goals and 9 assists. Ben DeFelice, one of the top faceoff midfielders in the NCAA is also a new member on the Barrage roster. He won over 65% of his faceoffs this past season. Greg Bice, the first native Texan drafted into the MLL, was an outstanding Defenseman for the Ohio State Buckeyes. At 6’3’’ and 220 lbs he will be a strong presence on the defense. Andrew Roth comes from Cortland where he earned Division III first-team All American status. Roth led Cortland with 8 man-up goals. The Barrage expects to dress at least one of their draft picks for Sunday’s game. Ryan Boyle will not be able to play for a few weeks because of previous obligations to play in Japan with Princeton.

Behind the Arc: As a team, the Barrage are one of the top 2-point scoring threats in Major League Lacrosse. Last season, the team led the league in 2-point goals scored with 15. The team has developed four threats from outside the 15-yard mark: Colsey (5), Shanahan (4), Cromwell (3) and Springer (3) all accounted for multiple 2-point goals in 2003. In last Saturday nights game (5/29) vs. the Rattlers, Roy Colsey and Keith Cromwell both scored their first 2-point goals of the season. Colsey has scored a total of 116 points (76g, (18 2pt), 22a) in his four-year career with the Barrage. He only needs one more 2-point goal to tie for first place in the overall career 2-point goals scored. The Barrage are also doing a great job defending the shots from behind the arc; they have only let 2 2-point goals in so far this season (Jesse Hubbard of NJ and Pat Dutton of Rochester).

Feature Match Up: The Barrage acquired one of the top goalies in Major League Lacrosse in Greg Cattrano Nicknamed “The Cat”, Cattrano was the league’s MVP in 2002 and is the only goalie to appear in every MLL Championship Game. His 57.4 save percentage in 2003 was second best only to Brian Dougherty of Long Island. Nicknamed “Doc”, Brian had a 58.2 save percentage in 2003. In 1998, “Doc” was a member of Team USA, who won the World Championships. Cattrano has played and started in 41 of 41 games in his MLL career, while Doc has played and started in 38 of 39 games in his MLL career. “The Cat” has a career save percentage of 58.3 in facing 1257 shots in the 41 games he has played. Doc’s career save percentage is 57.1 of the 1063 shots he has faced, making 607 saves total for the 39 games he has appeared in. From behind the arc, Cattrano has let in 20 goals, while Doc has let 23 fly by his stick. With this said, this is a head to head match up with the top two goalies in the league. This games outcome could be up to the goalies and their performances.

Approaching Milestones: Attackman Keith Cromwell needs just eight points to attain his 100th, (52g (5 2pt), 32a) a goal that should be attained by the time the Barrage face the New Jersey Pride at Sprague Field on June 12. The 2001 MLL Rookie of the Year has scored 30 or more points in each of the last two seasons.

The Dirty Work: While it usually goes un-noticed, the Barrage will work in some of the top short-stick defensemen in the league throughout the game. Nick Russo has earned his roster spot by shutting down midfielders. Kyle Sweeney, Kinte Moon and Brian Spallina will also exchange their long-poles for short-sticks in an effort to beef up the defense. Major League Lacrosse only permits three long-stick defensemen on the field at a time.

The Face-off Factor: Barrage Midfielder Doug Shanahan is a do-everything type of player, and this includes the face-off duties. In his rookie season of 2003, Shanahan finished with a 52.2 face-off percentage, winning 154 of 295 face-offs. Against the Rattlers last week, Doug won 11 face offs for the Barrage. In this weeks contest against the Lizards, Shanahan will have a challenge going up against one of the best face-off men in the league, Chris Cercy. Currently Cercy’s 2004 winning face-off percentage is 37.7, but his overall career winning percentage is a high 54.1. Shanahan’s winning percentage for this season is 47.1, and his overall career winning percentage is 51.4. This will be another fierce match up in the battle between the Barrage and the Lizards.

Players of the Week: Blake Miller was the Barrage’s Offensive Player of the Week. In last Saturday’s game against Rochester Miller tallied 4 points (2g, 2a), leading the offense in points. In the last two games, Miller is leading the team in points with 9. We will look to him against Long Island to produce the same results. The Defensive Player of the Week was Brian Kuczma. Kuczma marked Rochester’s Josh Coffman for most of the game last Saturday, limiting him to only 1 goal for the night.

Philly Pride: This Sunday’s game features three of Philadelphia’s top lacrosse players; two members of the Long Island Lizards, Brian Dougherty (goalie) and Kevin Finneran (midfield), and one Barrage defenseman, Kyle Sweeney. Doc attended The Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa, and then graduated from University of Maryland in 1997. He was a two-time All ACC, NCAA Final Four MVP in 1995, and Goalie of the year in 1996. Currently Doc is one of the top goalies in the MLL. Lizard’s teammate, Finneran has over 20 years of lacrosse experience. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1989. He was a member of the 1998 World Champion Team USA, with fellow teammate Brian, and was an MLL All Star in 2002. Finneran also played for the Philadelphia Wings and helped to obtain four Indoor Lacrosse World Titles. Because of his extensive lacrosse experience, Kevin opened his own Lacrosse Marketing Company, Finncrosse. On the opposing side of the field, Philadelphia’s Kyle Sweeney will take on two of his fellow Philadelphia natives. Kyle graduated from Springfield High School in 1999, and went on to be a star for the Georgetown Hoyas. He was a three-time STX/USILA All American and holds the Hoya record with 229 ground balls. This is his second season with the Barrage, and so far he has made a tremendous impact on the defensive end of the field. This weekend, Philadelphia will be proudly represented!

Another Notch for the Orangemen: On Memorial Day Monday, The Syracuse Orangeman won their 9th NCAA Championship defeating The Naval Academy 14-13. This Championship also marks the 22nd consecutive year that the Orangemen have appeared as one of the Final Four teams. This weekend, both teams will have a combined 6 Syracuse Alum’s listed on their official rosters. (Philadelphia 4 alumni, Long Island 2 alumni)

2003 Defending Champs: The Long Island Lizards won the MLL Championship last August here at Villanova Stadium beating the Baltimore Bayhawks in an overtime win. Last year Jay Jalbert was the teams point leader with a total of 47 points (32g, 14a), as well as the MLL league’s MVP. Long Island’s Kevin Lowe leads the team in assists with 28. These are two of their key players that the Barrage will be marking closely, as they seem to be the playmakers. The Lizards had a winning percentage of .727 winning 8 of their 11 games in 2003. As of week 2 of the 2004 season, Long Island is ranked second in the American Division with a 1-1 record.

The Task Ahead: Regardless of the Barrage’s overall performance last year, they have made many changes and they will definitely be a factor in helping Philadelphia beat Long Island. Philadelphia’s overall record against the Lizards is 2-6, the last win coming in 2002. The Barrage attackmen will need a high-powered offense to laser the ball through one of the MLL leading goalies Brian Dougherty.

Last Time They Met: The Long Island Lizards defeated the Barrage last time they met, July 12, 2003, 17-16. The Barrage were led by Dan Denihan who had 6 points (3g, 3a) and Keith Cromwell who tallied 4 points (4g) for the game. AJ Haugen helped the Lizards defeat Philadelphia dumping in 5 goals, as well as Kevin Lowe who contributed 5 points (2g, 3a). Philadelphia’s goalie, Matt Hunter, made an impressionable MLL debut with a career high of 29 saves.

League Leaders: Currently the Barrage’s Liam Banks is tied for the league leader in assists with 7. Brian Dougherty of Long Island leads the league in save percentage with .586 (34/58). The Lizards are also tied for the league lead in goals allowed with 31. Philadelphia leads the league in penalty kill percentage, killing all five of their opponent’s man-up opportunities.