The New York Lizards, originally the Long Island Lizards, were a

Major League Lacrosse 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 ...

(MLL) team based in

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, o ...

, located on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

. They are original members of the MLL. They lost the league's inaugural game on June 7, 2001 to the Baltimore Bayhawks (now

Chesapeake Bayhawks 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 Balti ...

), 16–13.

History

In the MLL's inaugural season in 2001, the Long Island Lizards split their home games between

Hofstra Stadium Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

, now James M. Shuart Stadium, and

EAB Park Fairfield Properties Ballpark is a 6,002-seat baseball park in Central Islip, New York that serves as the home of the Long Island Ducks, an independent professional baseball team that is a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. I ...

(now

Bethpage Ballpark Fairfield Properties Ballpark is a 6,002-seat baseball park in Central Islip, New York that serves as the home of the Long Island Ducks, an independent professional baseball team that is a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. I ...

). For the 2002 season, they used Hofstra Stadium as their home field. As of 2003, the Lizards played all home contests at

Mitchel Athletic Complex The Mitchel Athletic Complex is part of the Mitchel Field complex, located in Uniondale, New York, on the site of the decommissioned Mitchel Air Force Base. The facility is owned by Nassau County. It is used mostly for football and soccer and a ...

, in

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's nort ...

until 2008. The team returned to

James M. Shuart Stadium The James M. Shuart Stadium is an 11,929-seat multi-purpose stadium and sports facility, the facility serves as the home to Hofstra's lacrosse teams on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. First opened in 1963, and remodeled in ...

for their home games in 2009. The Lizards have won American Division championships in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and Major League Lacrosse titles in 2001, 2003 and 2015. The team made the playoffs in 2005 as a wildcard despite a losing record. The team's name and logo are based on the

Italian wall lizard The Italian wall lizard or ruin lizard (''Podarcis siculus'', from the Greek meaning agile and feet) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. ''P. siculus'' is native to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Italy, Serbia, Montene ...

, a small reptile that was imported to Long Island (which has no native lizards) in the 1960s and which populate areas of the team's hometown of Hempstead in Nassau County. On December 14, 2012, the Lizards changed their name to the New York Lizards. Prior to the 2015 season, the Lizards made a trade with the Boston Cannons for

Paul Rabil Paul Rabil (born December 14, 1985), is an American former professional lacrosse player and co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League. He played for the Cannons Lacrosse Club and Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League, as well as th ...

. In exchange for Paul Rabil and Mike Stone, the Cannons received Max Seibald, Brian Karalunas and three draft picks. That season, the Lizards won their third Steinfeld Cup and first in 12 years by defeating their instate rival Rochester Rattlers 15–12. The Lizards won the game at

Fifth Third Bank Stadium Fifth Third Bank Stadium, known as Kennesaw State University Stadium until 2013, is a stadium near Kennesaw, Georgia, that is primarily used as the home for the Kennesaw State Owls football team as well as the KSU women's soccer and women's lacr ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

before a Steinfeld Cup-record 8,674 fans. Prior to the 2019 season, Rabil and his brother Michael formed the

Premier Lacrosse League 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 le ...

, which would compete directly with Major League Lacrosse. With the launch of the PLL, 140 players from Major League Lacrosse migrated to the upstart league. In the Lizards' first season after the pro lacrosse landscape changed vastly, they lost a franchise worst 11 games in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, and posted their second-worst winning percentage (.313). After two MLL teams and one went on a hiatus (Charlotte), New York finished last out of six teams that season. After

Rob Pannell Rob Pannell (born December 11, 1989) is an American professional lacrosse player who plays for Redwoods Lacrosse Club and formerly for Cornell University. He is the fourth leading scorer in men's Division I history, and holds the Cornell and Ivy ...

finished out his contract that season, he too bolted for the PLL. So in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, a season shorted and compacted into a week-long, quarantined tournament thanks to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the Lizards joined the 2006 Chicago Machine as the only two teams in league history to post a winless season; albeit the 2020 Lizards' 0–5 record was not as bad as the Machine's 0–12 season. Additionally, the Lizards led in all five games and only finished with a -8 goal differential (-11 score differential).

Rivalry

Chesapeake Bayhawks The Lizards' main rival were the

. Between them, they hold 8 of the 15 MLL league championships awarded through the 2015 season. The two teams have played in the championship game five times, with Chesapeake winning 3 of those 5. Boston Cannons The Lizards have found a new rival in the

Boston Cannons 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 sea ...

after they traded their All Star Mid Fielder Paul Rabil to New York in January 2015. That season the Lizards faced the Cannons in the MLL semi-finals and the game resulted in a dramatic overtime victory for the Lizards(16-15). The tension of that game continued into the 2016 MLL season when the Cannons came to James M. Shuart Stadium, which resulted in another intense over-time victory for the Lizards(13-12).

General managers

* Joe Spallina was the head coach and general manager of the New York Lizards.

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

* Head coach – BJ O'Hara * Assistant coach – Ted Garber * Assistant coach – Mike Gongas

All-time head coaches

Current roster

(C)- captain *

MLL Award winners

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

Jay Jalbert Jay Jalbert (born October 6, 1977) is an American Hall of Fame lacrosse player who had a standout collegiate career at the University of Virginia and then went on to play professional lacrosse in Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse L ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

Greg Gurenlian Greg Gurenlian (March 23, 1984) is a former professional field lacrosse player from Springfield, Pennsylvania of Armenian descent. He retired as a member of Redwoods Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League. He is the founder of The Face-off ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

* Rob Pannell:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Rookie of the Year *

Matt Gibson Matt Gibson (born 7 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional snooker player. Career Gibson was runner-up to Tony Knowles in the 1972 British Junior Championship, and defeated Ronnie Millar to win the 1980 Scottish Amateur Championship. He ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

* John DeTommaso:

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

* Jim Mule:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* Joe Spallina:

Offensive Player of the Year The National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is an annual American football award given by various organizations to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the top offensive player during the regular season. O ...

* Rob Pannell:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding Defense (sports), defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for D ...

Nicky Polanco Nicholas Polanco (born August 18, 1980) is an American former lacrosse player. He is regarded as one of the best defensemen in MLL (and professional lacrosse in general) history. He attended Oceanside High School. Professional career Polanco was ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

* Joe Fletcher:

Goalie of the Year *

Brian Dougherty Brian "Doc" Dougherty (born December 10, 1973) is a retired Hall of Fame American lacrosse goaltender. He attended The Episcopal Academy before attending University of Maryland. He is currently the head coach at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy ...

* Drew Adams:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

Most Improved Player *

Stephen Peyser Stephen Peyser (born July 28, 1986 in Lloyd Harbor, New York) is an American professional lacrosse player with the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse. Peyser also played with the Orlando Titans and New York Titans of the National Lacro ...

Retired numbers

* 2 –

Greg Cattrano Greg "The Cat" Cattrano (born August 6, 1975) is a retired lacrosse goaltender, who is recognized as one of the most successful and accomplished goaltenders in the history of the sport. High school career Cattrano played for Ward Melville High ...

* 9 – Tim Goettlemann * 10 –

* 29 – Pat McCabe * 21 – Brodie Thoms

Season-by-season

2019 New York Lizards season The 2019 New York Lizards season is the nineteenth season for the Lizards franchise of Major League Lacrosse. The Lizards are coming off an 8-6 season in which they finished fourth place in the league standings and grabbed the last playoff spot. ...

MLL Collegiate Draft history

First Round Selections

: Eric Wedin,

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

(4th overall) *

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

: None *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

: None *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

: None *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

: Matt McMonagle,

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

(10th overall) *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

: None *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

: Zack Greer, Bryant (3rd overall) *

: Peter McKee,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

(4th overall) *

: Zach Brenneman, Notre Dame (5th overall) *

: Rob Pannell,

(1st overall) *

: None *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

: Joe Fletcher, Loyola (3rd overall); Luke Duprey,

(4th overall) *

: None *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

: None *

: Joel Tinney,

(5th overall) * 2019: None

References

{{New York Sports Lacrosse clubs established in 2001 2001 establishments in New York (state) 2020 disestablishments in New York (state) Lacrosse teams in New York (state) Sports teams in New York City