The 2001

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 ...

season was the inaugural season of the new semi-professional men's

field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact sport, full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initiall ...

league. The league began play with six founding teams:

Baltimore 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 Ba ...

, Boston Cannons, Bridgeport Barrage,

Long Island 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 ...

New Jersey Pride The New Jersey Pride were a men's professional field lacrosse team in the Major League Lacrosse formerly based in Piscataway, New Jersey, United States from 2001-2008. Franchise history In 2001, the first year of the league’s existence, the Pr ...

and

Rochester Rattlers Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom * Rochester, Kent **City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area **History of Rochester, Kent **HM Prison R ...

. Each team played a 14-game regular season schedule that ended with a championship game on September 3, 2001. Major League Lacrosse (MLL) played its first game on June 7 when Baltimore defeated Long Island 16–13 score at

Homewood Field Homewood Field is the athletics stadium of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. History It was built in 1906 and has an official capacity of 8,500 people. The name is taken, as is that of the entire campus, from the name of the ...

in Baltimore. Baltimore's Chris Turner scored the first goal in MLL regular season history. Those same two teams met in the

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. Teams played anywhere ...

, the championship trophy named for co-founder

Jake Steinfeld Jake Steinfeld (born February 21, 1958) is an American actor, fitness personality, entrepreneur, and producer. He develops businesses through the "Body by Jake" brand. Early life Born in the Sea Gate neighborhood of Brooklyn, Steinfeld was rais ...

, with the Lizards turning the tables and beating the Bayhawks 15–11.

Regular season

Boston beat Bridgeport in 3 of 4 regular season games, Rochester beat New Jersey in 3 of 4 regular season games.

All Star Game

The inaugural

Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game is the all-star game of the MLL. Years 2000s 2001 The inaugural 2001 All-Star Game, was titled the Major League Lacrosse LacrosseStar Game. From 2001–2003, the All-Star Game had the National Division playing ...

was hosted by the Bridgeport Barrage at

The Ballpark at Harbor Yard The Ballpark at Harbor Yard was a 5,500-seat minor-league ballpark in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut that opened on May 21, 1998. The stadium was located next to the Webster Bank Arena, now known as the Total Mortgage Arena. It was named "Harb ...

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

on August 2, 2001. The National division team beat the American division 24–18.

Mark Millon Mark Millon (born May 17, 1971) is a retired American lacrosse player who last played for the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse. He attended Harborfields Highschool in Huntington, Long Island. He played collegiate lacrosse at the Univer ...

was the game's MVP.

Playoffs

The top two teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The 1st place team from one division would play the 2nd place team from the other division in the semifinals. All games were played at

John F. Kennedy Stadium John F. Kennedy Stadium, formerly Philadelphia Municipal Stadium and Sesquicentennial Stadium. was an open-air stadium in Philadelphia that stood from 1926 to 1992. The South Philadelphia stadium was on the east side of the far southern end of ...

in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The format resulted in Boston (3–11) making the playoffs while New Jersey (8–6) did not. The format was changed the following season, so the two division winners and the next two best teams regardless of division made the playoffs.

Awards

;Weekly Awards

Statistics Leaders

References

{{Major League Lacrosse

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a 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 ...