The 2008

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 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...

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.

Milestones and events

Pre-season

* Following the 2007 MLL season, the league saw a number of head coaching changes: ** Chicago Machine Assistant Coach John Combs was promoted to the team's new head coach, following the resignation of former head coach, Lelan Rodgers. Rodgers, stepped down from the position to accept an assistant coaching position at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. **

Washington Bayhawks The Chesapeake Bayhawks were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland. They played in the greater Baltimore metro area beginning with the MLL's inaugural 2001 season, as the Baltimore Bayhaw ...

hired former Bayhawks player, and head coach of the

Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws are a professional field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Founded as the Chrome Lacrosse Club, they began play as one of the league's six inaugural teams in the ...

, Jared Testa to lead the team. Scott Hiller, two-time winner of the Major League Lacrosse Coach of the Year Award remains with the team as general manager. ** San Francisco Dragons hired Tom Slate to be the team's head coach. Slate had been an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Barrage. * There were also a number of trades and player announcements in the off-season: ** January 23, 2008: The Los Angeles Riptide traded team captain Matt Ogelsby and midfielder Garrett Wilson to the San Francisco Dragons for

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

graduate Ben Bailey. ** March 3, 2008: The Chicago Machine traded midfielder Zach Heffner and hard-hitting defenseman Steve Panarelli to the San Francisco Dragons, for Mitch Hendler and Greg Rommel. ** March 4, 2008:

midfielder, and former Ivy League Player of the Year and 2006 McLaughlin Award co-winner, Joe Boulukos announced his retirement ** March 11, 2008:The Boston Cannons traded David Mitchell and a draft pick to the San Francisco Dragons, for defenseman Colin Hulme and attackman Matt Alrich. ** March 13, 2008: The San Francisco Dragons traded former Major League Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year Award and

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

Ryan Powell, and midfielder Nate Watkins, to the

in exchange for a first round and second round pick in the 2008 MLL Collegiate Draft. ** May 2, 2008: The New Jersey Pride traded

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

all-time leading goal scorer Jesse Hubbard to the Los Angeles Riptide in exchange for a first round 2009 MLL Collegiate Draft pick.

Regular season

* The San Francisco Dragons moved their home games to Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California from

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium () is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, United States, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It serves as the home of San Francisco City FC of USL League Two ...

in San Francisco. * The Washington Bayhawks moved their home games to George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Virginia from Georgetown University's Multi-Sport Field in Washington. * The Philadelphia Barrage played the 2008 season as a travelling team. Their "home games" were played in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

;

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

;

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

;

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...

;

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...

. * May 28: Major League Lacrosse held its annual Collegiate Draft.

Paul Rabil Paul Rabil (born December 14, 1985) is an American Business executive, 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 ...

was selected with the first overall pick by the Boston Cannons. * June 10: Casey Powell became the all-time leading scorer in Major League Lacrosse eclipsing Mark Millon's mark. * June 23: The

traded midfielder Bill McGlone and a draft pick, to the San Francisco Dragons in exchange for Jarrett Park and Hunter Lochte. * July 27: Jesse Hubbard became the all-time leading goal leader in Major League Lacrosse eclipsing Mark Millon's mark. * August 4: Kevin Huntley of the Los Angeles Riptide set a record for goals scored by a rookie breaking Adam Doneger's mark set in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Post-season

* August 24: The

Rochester Rattlers Rochester may refer to: Places Settlements England *Rochester, Kent * Rochester, Northumberland United States * Rochester, Illinois * Rochester, Indiana * Rochester Township, Cedar County, Iowa ** Rochester, Iowa, an unincorporated co ...

win their first MLL championship with a 16–6 win over the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Standings

''W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals For, 2ptGF = 2 point Goals For, GA = Goals Against, 2ptGA = 2 point Goals Against'' Final

''Los Angeles finished ahead of Philadelphia based on head-to-head record of 1–0. Philadelphia finished ahead of Boston based on head-to-head record of 2–0.''

All Star Game

The 2008 MLL All-Star Game was played on July 17 at

INVESCO Field at Mile High Empower Field at Mile High is an American football stadium in Denver, Colorado. Its primary tenant is the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). It opened in 2001 to replace the Broncos' original home, the old Mile High Stadium. T ...

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. The Western Conference team won 31-15. Ryan Powell of Denver was named the game Most Valuable Player.

Playoffs

The 2008 NB Zip

Championship Weekend took place on August 23 and 24 at

Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The Stadium is one of only four athletic facilities that are considered National Historic Landmarks. The stadium is owned and operated ...

. The semifinals took place on August 23 and the final was on August 24. Joe Walters was named MVP for the playoffs

Awards

Weekly awards

The MLL gives out

awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

weekly for the best offensive player, best defensive player, best goalkeeper, and best rookie.

Annual awards

References

External links

MLL Moments to Remember, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Mll Season 8