The Philadelphia Barrage were a

field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. ...

team that are based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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

. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 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 ...

. The team then relocated to Philadelphia from the 2004 season to the 2007 season when they became a traveling team for 2008. They ceased operations before the 2009 season due to the economic situation in the United States. The Philadelphia Barrage were resurrected for the 2020 season.

Franchise history

The team played in

from the 2001 to the 2003 season and relocated to the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova in 2004. From their initial move to Philadelphia, for the 2004 season, through the 2006 season, they played at

Villanova Stadium Villanova Stadium is a 12,500 seat stadium located on the campus of Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA. History Villanova Stadium was originally built in 1927 and dedicated on October 8, 1927. The stadium plays host to a wide va ...

, which is located on the campus of

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. They had previously played at

in Bridgeport where they hosted the inaugural Major League Lacrosse All Star Game in 2001. The Barrage made the playoffs for the first time in 2004 and won the Major League Lacrosse Championship over the Boston Cannons. The Barrage, after winning their 1st Eastern Conference Title, once again made the playoffs and won the Major League Lacrosse Championship in 2006 over the Denver Outlaws. For the 2007 season, the team moved to the

United Sports Training Center United Sports (formerly known as United Sports Training Center) is a multiple-use sports complex located in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania. The indoor venue consists of one boarded court, two boarded turf fields, and a large field house. In ...

West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania West Bradford Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,376 at the 2010 census. History There are three federal historic districts ( Marshallton, Trimbleville, and Northbrook) on the National ...

. The Barrage, after winning their 2nd Eastern Conference Title, once again made the playoffs and won the Major League Lacrosse Championship in 2007 over the Los Angeles Riptide. The Barrage become the first team in MLL History to win back to back Steinfield Cup titles by winning the championship in 2006 and 2007. After subsequent months of rumors, about the status and financial health of the franchise in 2007, Major League Lacrosse assumed operational control of the franchise in 2008. The Barrage played the full 2008 season as a travel team with their designated home games at league promotional sites outside of the Philadelphia area. The team folded before the 2009 season.

2020 to present: Rebirth

On February 17, 2020, MLL announced it was bringing back the Philadelphia Barrage after it folded the Atlanta Blaze the day before. The league named Blaze general manager

Spencer Ford Spencer Ford (born April 20, 1976) is a professional lacrosse player who played in the Major League Lacrosse for the Baltimore/Washington Bayhawks, Los Angeles Riptide, and the Rochester Rattlers. He then went into coaching and management befor ...

as the Barrage head coach. The team will operate under Mark Burdett, the league's Chief Revenue Officer. The Barrage were not able to announce a new home venue before the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

affected the 2020 season, delaying their official return to Philadelphia until 2021. The team played its first game on July 18 in a quarantined Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against the

Chesapeake 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 ...

. Despite getting out to a 3–0 lead, the team lost in its first game since 2008 by a score of 16–11 to the Bayhawks. On July 20, in third try, the Barrage won their first game since 2008, by a 14–10 score over the new

Connecticut Hammerheads The Connecticut Hammerheads were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Fairfield, Connecticut. The team played for one season during the 2020 season. The team's home field was Rafferty Stadium located on t ...

.Mark Matthews leads Barrage to their first win since 2008
/ref> With a 12-11 comeback win in their last game against the

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 ...

, the Barrage finished their comeback season 2–3, which was not good enough for a playoff berth.

Roster

(C)- captain (A)- alternate captain

Season-by-season

Game-by-game

* 2001 Bridgeport Barrage season * 2002 Bridgeport Barrage season * 2003 Bridgeport Barrage season * 2004 Philadelphia Barrage season * 2005 Philadelphia Barrage season * 2006 Philadelphia Barrage season * 2007 Philadelphia Barrage season * 2008 Philadelphia Barrage season

Coaches and others

* Ted Garber 2001 (3–11) *

Sal LoCascio Sal LoCascio (born April 6, 1967) is an American former professional lacrosse goaltender and coach who played the majority of his career for the New York Saints of the National Lacrosse League. He also played one season with the Long Island Lizar ...

2002–2004 (11–27) *

Tony Resch Tony Resch is a retired lacrosse player, and current field and box lacrosse coach. He is the former head coach of the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League from 1994 to 2001, and led the Wings to four Championships. Resch was named ...

2005–2008 (30–18) * Ken Paul 2001–2002 (general manager) * Trey Reeder 2003–2004 (general manager) * Keith Mecca 2005–2007 (general manager) * Spencer Ford 2020-Present (1-3)