The 2003
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...
season is the 17th season in the NLL that began on December 27, 2002, and concluded with the championship game on May 3, 2003.
In 2003, the NLL became the first major men's sports league in North America to feature a woman playing in a regular-season game.
Ginny Capicchioni, a stand-out goaltender at
Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic uni ...
, was signed by the
New Jersey Storm
The New Jersey Storm were a member of the National Lacrosse League, based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They played from 2002 to 2003 playing at the then Continental Airlines Arena. The team was an expansion team that was purchased for by an eq ...
as their third-string goaltender. She dressed for three games, though only played in one. Capicchioni collected one loose ball and made six saves while allowing 7 goals in 11 minutes of play.
Team movement
2003 saw the
Montreal Express
The Montreal Express was a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2002 season. They played at the Molson Center in Montreal, Quebec. They were inactive during the 2003 and 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of ...
suspend operations, and also saw the
Washington Power
The Washington Power were a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. After the inaugural championship in 1987 in Baltimore (as the Thunder) through 1999 and an unsuccessful stint in Pittsburgh (as the CrosseFire), ...
move to
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, where even they were unprepared for the warm welcome they received in Denver. The franchise had drawn small crowds in Washington as well as in Pittsburgh and Baltimore before that, but averaged more than 16,000 fans per game in 2003, second in the league only to Toronto.
Milestones
*January 31:
John Tavares
John Tavares (born September 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft ...
became the 3rd player in NLL history (after
Gary and
Paul Gait
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
) with 400 career goals, scoring 5 and adding 6 assists as the
Buffalo Bandits
The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more po ...
defeated the
Columbus Landsharks
The Columbus Landsharks were a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2001 until 2003. They were based in Columbus, Ohio. After the 2003 season, the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wa ...
19–16
Final standings
Regular season
Playoffs
Semifinals
Colorado 11 @ Toronto 15
Buffalo 13 @ Rochester 16
Championship
Toronto 8 @ Rochester 6
All Star Game
No NLL All-Star game was held in 2003.
Awards
Weekly awards
The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
Monthly awards
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
Statistics leaders
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. ''Italics'' indicate tied single-season records.
See also
*
2003 in sports
2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiing
* Alpine Skiing World Cup
** Men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria
** Women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelić, Croatia
American fo ...
References
External links
2003 Archive at the Outsider's Guide to the NLL
{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Nll Season
03
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...