The 2019 Major League Lacrosse season was the 19th season of

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

with two semifinal games on Friday, October 4 and the 19th Steinfeld Cup was hosted at

Dick's Sporting Goods Park Dick's Sporting Goods Park, also known as DSG Park, is a soccer-specific stadium in Commerce City, Colorado, that is home to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium seats up to 18,061 people for soccer matches, but can acco ...

October 6 on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

. For the third time in five years, 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 ...

enter the season as defending

Steinfeld Cup The Steinfeld Trophy was a trophy given annually to the winners of the 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 s ...

champions. They defeated the

Dallas Rattlers 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 ...

16–12 in the 2018 championship game in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. On April 1, the league announced that the

Charlotte Hounds 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. Franchise ...

Florida Launch 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 Univer ...

, and Ohio Machine would not be participating in the 2019 season, with Charlotte set to return in 2021 and Florida and Ohio folding. An updated league schedule was released April 3. The league competed with only six teams, the fewest since 2011.

Milestones and events

*September 17, 2018 - The league announces a 51% increase in the gameday salary cap, an expansion of the schedule from 14 to 16 games, and expansion of the game day active roster from 19 to 20 players. *October 1 - The league announces a shift in the season, stating the league will begin the 2019 season on Friday, May 31, the weekend after Memorial Day and the NCAA Lacrosse championships. *October 18 - The league announces plans for a total rebranding effort. The most noticeable changes will be a new logo, replacing one that has been around since the league's inaugural season. MLL also announced with the rebranding, its official website (along with each team's website) will be overhauled. On November 14, MLL announced it had selected

Troika Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three' or the digit '3') may refer to: * Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia Politics * Triumvirate, a political regime rul ...

to lead that process. *November 29 - The 2019 schedule is released, highlighted by 58 weekend games compared to only 14 weekday games. With the schedule release, the league also stated it will continue its partnership with ESPN in 2019. An updated schedule reflecting league contraction was released April 3. *May 16, 2019 - Progressive Insurance is announced as the league's official insurance provider. *May 25 - 44-year-old John Grant Jr., the second-all time leading scorer in MLL history and Denver Outlaws offensive coordinator announces he will come out of retirement and suit up for the Outlaws in 2019. Grant Jr., who last played in 2017 as a member of the Machine, will serve a unique role as a player-coach. *June 8 - John Grant Jr. surpasses

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 ...

's points record (regular season and playoff) of 596 and reclaims his title as the league's all-time leading scorer. *July 15 - Denver is announced as the host city for the 2019 Championship Weekend. Peter Barton Stadium will host the two semifinal games on October 4 and

(home to MLS's

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

), will host the 19th Steinfeld Cup on Sunday, October 6. *July 28 - Due to maintenance beginning at Grady Stadium, the Blaze announce they will play their last three home games at

Atlanta Silverbacks Park Atlanta Silverbacks Park is a sports complex in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, just outside Atlanta, United States that is currently used primarily for Rugby football, rugby. It was formerly the home venue of the Atlanta S ...

in North Atlanta. *August 24 - John Grant Jr. becomes the all-time regular season points leader on a seven-point night propelling the Outlaws to a 16-13 win over New York, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Stadium changes

- With the schedule release on November 29, the Launch announced they would move their home games to

Central Broward Regional Park Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, formerly Central Broward Regional Park and Central Broward Stadium, is a large county park in Lauderhill, Florida. It opened on November 9, 2007, at a construction cost of $70 million. It is locate ...

Lauderhill Lauderhill is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a principal city of the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 74,482. Etymology The development that eventually came to be kn ...

, due to the later season date overlapping with the

Florida Atlantic Owls football The Florida Atlantic Owls football program represents Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the sport of American football. The Owls compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegia ...

season. The Launch had spent all five years of their franchise's history at

FAU Stadium Howard Schnellenberger Field at Flagler Credit Union Stadium is a college football stadium located at the north end of the main campus of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. Opened in 2011, it is home to the ...

. However, on April 1, the Launch were announced as one of the three teams being suspended under league contraction. *

Boston Cannons The Boston Cannons are a professional field lacrosse team based in Boston, Massachusetts, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The team plays its home games at Harvard Stadium. The team competed in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) fro ...

- The Cannons announced on December 4 that they would be moving their home games to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy. The team will also invest in making significant upgrades to the facility, which was built during The Great Depression. *

Atlanta Blaze The Atlanta Blaze were a professional men's field lacrosse team in Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The Blaze became the ninth team in MLL as an expansion team for the 2016 Major League Lacrosse season, 2016 season and played its home games at Atlanta ...

- On March 29, the Blaze announced they were relocating to Midtown Atlanta and 6,500-seat

Grady Stadium Eddie S Henderson Stadium (formerly Grady Stadium) is an Atlanta Public School football stadium located in Midtown Atlanta, south of Piedmont Park. The stadium is one of two stadiums owned and managed by the Atlanta Public School (APS) system, t ...

. They spent their first three years of existence at

Fifth Third Bank Stadium Fifth Third 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 lacros ...

. However on July 28, the Blaze were forced to move again due to Atlanta Silverbacks Park due to maintenance at Grady Stadium.

Coaching changes

New York Lizards 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 ...

- B.J. O'Hara was announced the Lizards' new head coach after Joe Spallina transitioned himself into a front office role. O'Hara had been serving as the head coach of the Denver Outlaws, who have won three of the past five Steinfeld Cup games. *

- At the same time the Lizards announced O'Hara as their head coach, the Outlaws named Tony Seaman their sixth head coach. Seaman had served as the Outlaws' general manager from 2012 to 2018. *

- Former player Joe Cummings was announced as the Hounds' third head coach on January 16. Cummings replaces Jim Stagnitta, who stepped away from the Charlotte Hounds after three years on October 25. Stagnitta was the franchise's all-time leader in wins (21) and led the team to its first and only winning season in 2016. However, the Hounds were one of teams affected by league contraction on April 1.

Broadcast

Along with the league's schedule release on November 29, 2018, MLL announced it will continue its partnership with

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and Lax Sports Network for the 2019 season. ESPN+ will broadcast a Game of the Week. The All Star Game in Annapolis will be broadcast on ESPN2 while the 2019 Steinfeld Cup will be broadcast on ESPNEWS. On May 30, the league announced that 12 games and a weekly studio show would be broadcast on

Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

. On June 14, the league announced a partnership expansion with ESPN, as ESPN Player will broadcast 18 games on an international streaming platform.

Teams

Standings

Attendance

For the first time since 2011, the league's average attendance per game would see an increase. Half of the six teams would see a boost in attendance, although the Denver Outlaws would record their worst attendance in team history. The Chesapeake Bayhawks would become the first attendance champion not named the Denver Outlaws since the Boston Cannons in 2012, and would draw 16,124 for their last regular season game on September 21. The Boston Cannons saw a 9% growth and announced two sellouts at their new home in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

. The Atlanta Blaze, despite having to change stadiums midseason, would see a slight growth in attendance for the first time in their young history.

Collegiate Draft

The league hosted its collegiate draft on Saturday, March 9 in Charlotte at the

NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame and Museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina that honors NASCAR and its history. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs ...

. This was announced on January 23. Faceoff specialist Alex Woodall from

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

was drafted first overall by the Machine. The

Chesapeake 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 ...

drafted one of the biggest names in college lacrosse, Pat Spencer with the seventh pick.

Rookie selection draft

With the league contracting to six teams almost a month after the collegiate draft, questions were raised about what would happen to the players selected in the draft by Charlotte, Florida, and Ohio. On April 26, the league's remaining six teams held a dispersal draft for those collegiate athletes selected by the three suspended teams and any other eligible NCAA seniors. Top pick Alex Woodall (selected by Ohio) was picked up by the Blaze.

Dispersal draft

The league held a dispersal draft on April 24 to accommodate for the rosters of the three teams who suspended operations earlier in the month. Notable player movement included Ben Williams (faceoff/defense) going to Atlanta, midfielder Nick Mariano signing with the Chesapeake Bayhawks, veteran midfielder Kevin Crowley and goalie Austin Kaut signing with the New York Lizards, and Dallas native attackman Bryce Wasserman going home to the Rattlers.

All Star Game

The 2019 All Star Game took place on Saturday, July 27 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, home to the

. It was broadcast on

. The 19th edition of the game the players were voted into the contest by MLL fans and then drafted into teams called Fire and Ice. Team captains were Rob Pannell with B.J. O'Hara as the coach (Fire) and Lyle Thompson with Bill Warder as the coach (Ice). Team Ice won by a sudden victory overtime goal by 21-year-old rookie Brendan Sunday 16–15. Even though Team Fire was defeated, Dylan Molloy of Fire earned the MVP honors with a check for $10,000 from sponsor

New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), doing business as New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Su ...

. Molloy had 5 goals, 1 assist and 6 points.

Playoffs

For the first time since 2013, the playoffs will have a Final Four format, with two semifinal games on Friday, October 4 and the championship game on Sunday, October 6. Four teams will make the postseason bracket. On July 15, Denver was announced as the host city. Peter Barton Stadium will host the two semifinal games and

will host the 19th Steinfeld Cup.

References

External links

Official Site
{{2019 MLL season by team 19

Lacrosse 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 w ...