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. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff f ...

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 2007 Major League Lacrosse season was the seventh season of the league. The season began on May 12 and concluded with the championship game on August 26, 2007. General information In November 2006, the Baltimore Bayhawks relocated to Washin ...

, the league saw a number of head coaching changes: **

Chicago Machine The Chicago Machine were a Major League Lacrosse franchise from 2006 until 2010. The Machine, a men's professional field lacrosse team, played in Toyota Park from 2007 until 2009. Chicago played all its "home" games at various stadiums across t ...

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. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. **

Washington 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 ...

hired former Bayhawks player, and head coach of the Denver Outlaws, Jared Testa to lead the team.

Scott Hiller Scott Hiller is a former owner of the Washington Bayhawks. He was the head coach of the Major League Lacrosse's Washington Bayhawks for 2 seasons, and the Boston Cannons for 4 seasons, where he won two coach of the year awards. During his four-ye ...

, two-time winner of the

Major League Lacrosse Coach of the Year Award Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a professional men's field lacrosse league consisting of nine teams in the United States. Since the league's first season in 2001, the MLL gave several annual awards to players and coaches. Most Valuable Player ...

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 The Philadelphia Barrage were a field lacrosse team that are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and member of Major League Lacrosse. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. T ...

. * There were also a number of trades and player announcements in the off-season: ** January 23, 2008: The

Los Angeles Riptide The Los Angeles Riptide were a lacrosse team based in Carson, California. From 2006 to 2008, they played in Major League Lacrosse and ceased operations before the 2009 season. Franchise history In March 2005, Major League Lacrosse, MLL announced ...

traded team captain Matt Ogelsby and midfielder Garrett Wilson to the San Francisco Dragons for

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

graduate Ben Bailey. ** March 3, 2008: The

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 The Lt. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award — also known as the "Don MacLaughlin Award" — has been given annually since 1973 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) to the NCAA's most outstanding college lacrosse midfielder. ...

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 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a professional men's field lacrosse league consisting of nine teams in the United States. Since the league's first season in 2001, the MLL gave several annual awards to players and coaches. Most Valuable Player ...

and MVP Ryan Powell, and midfielder Nate Watkins, to the Denver Outlaws in exchange for a first round and second round pick in the 2008

MLL Collegiate Draft The Major League Lacrosse draft was the annual draft of outstanding amateur lacrosse players from American colleges and universities into the professional ranks of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The North American league, made up of 9 teams, began con ...

. ** May 2, 2008: The New Jersey Pride traded

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

all-time leading goal scorer

Jesse Hubbard Jesse Hubbard (born September 18, 1975) is a former professional lacrosse player who played professional box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and professional field lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL). Background Hubbard st ...

to the Los Angeles Riptide in exchange for a first round 2009

pick.

Regular season

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

George Mason Stadium George Mason Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium in Fairfax, Virginia on the campus of George Mason University. It serves as the home to George Mason's soccer and lacrosse teams. The stadium hosted the first home game for the Washington Bayhawks as ...

in Fairfax, Virginia from Georgetown University's Multi-Sport Field in Washington. * The Philadelphia Barrage played the 2008 season as a traveling team. Their "home games" were played in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

;

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...

;

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

; Cary, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts and

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

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

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 the ...

was selected with the first overall pick by 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 ...

. * June 10: Casey Powell became the all-time leading scorer in Major League Lacrosse eclipsing

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 Univers ...

's mark. * June 23: The

traded midfielder

Bill McGlone Bill McGlone (born April 24, 1984) is a professional lacrosse player from Ridley, Pennsylvania. McGlone plays for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. Collegiate career McGlone ...

and a draft pick, to the San Francisco Dragons in exchange for

Jarrett Park Jarrett Park is a multi-use stadium in the city of Montego Bay, Jamaica. It has a capacity of 4,000 people. In 1976 it hosted the first ever Women's Test match played by the West Indies Women, against Australia Women. It was used by the ...

and Hunter Lochte. * July 27:

became the all-time leading goal leader in Major League Lacrosse eclipsing

's mark. * August 4: Kevin Huntley of the

set a record for goals scored by a rookie breaking

Adam Doneger Adam Doneger (born December 5, 1980, in Hewlett, New York) is a former professional lacrosse player. He attended and played his college lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University where he was team Captain as a senior and a two-time First Team All-Amer ...

's mark set in

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 des ...

Post-season

* August 24: The

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 ...

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

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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 in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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 northeast United States, located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and is home to the Harvard Crimson footba ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 something 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 ...

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