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 ...

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. **

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 Balt ...

hired former Bayhawks player, and head coach of the

Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws were a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team. Since joining the league, the Outlaws have played in the ...

, 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 The San Francisco Dragons were a professional field lacrosse team based in San Francisco and San Jose, California. From 2006–2008, they played in Major League Lacrosse and they ceased operations before the 2009 season due to the economic situati ...

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 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

, 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 In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

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 research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

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 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, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL s ...

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 ...

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; Saint Louis, Missouri;

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest mun ...

; Boston, Massachusetts and Hillsboro, Oregon. * 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 th ...

was selected with the first overall pick by the Boston Cannons. * June 10:

Casey Powell Casey Powell (born February 18, 1976) is a Hall of Fame American former college and professional lacrosse player from West Carthage, New York. In 1998, he graduated from Syracuse University, where he was a four-time USILA All-American. Powell was ...

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 Univer ...

'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 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 Los Angeles Riptide set a record for goals scored by a rookie breaking Adam Doneger's mark set in 2003.

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

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 Empower Field at Mile High (previously known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Invesco Field at Mile High and Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, New Mile High or Mile High Stadium) is an American football stadium ...

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 footb ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. The semifinals took place on August 23 and the final was on August 24.

Joe Walters Joe Walters (born November 30, 1984) is an American former professional lacrosse player. Walters is part of the 2022 class of the Rochester Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Early life Walters, the youngest of four children was born to Joe and Be Walter ...

was named MVP for the playoffs

Awards

Weekly awards

The MLL gives out awards 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