BOSTON (June 2, 2015) – Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, has announced the event roster for the 2015 MLL All-Star Game to be held on June 13th at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas. The final two teams will be chosen the night prior, on June 12th, in a draft decided by this year’s “MLL Ultimate Fan Fantasy” contest winners. The 2015 MLL All-Star Game marks the first time Major League Lacrosse will be taking the field in Houston. The game will be televised exclusively live on CBS Sports Network at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Earlier in the season, fans had the opportunity to enter the “MLL Ultimate Fan Fantasy”, where two winners were selected to receive an All-Star Game experience of a lifetime. This year’s “MLL Ultimate Fan” winners, Hayden MacArthur and Ethan Sorkin, will not only attend a full schedule of All-Star Game festivities but will also select their own MLL All-Star team in a playground style draft the night before the big game.
Major League Lacrosse has been looking into expansion options for the future and with the growth of lacrosse in Texas. Houston has been on the League’s radar for a while and at the 2015 MLL Collegiate Draft, Commissioner David Gross announced Houston as the location for the 2015 MLL All-Star Game.
As the 2014 MLL Championship Game Head Coaches, the 2015 All-Star teams will be coached by Denver Outlaws Head Coach, B.J. O’Hara and Rochester Rattlers Head Coach, Tim Soudan. The roster features the best players from the League’s eight teams, including 4-time All-Star and reigning “Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player”, attackman Casey Powell. In addition to Powell, a number of 2014 award winners will take the field: “Brine Defensive Player of the Year”, Mike Manley, “The FOAthlete of the Year”, Greg Gurenlian, “Cascade Rookie of the Year”, Kieran McArdle and “Warrior Goalie of the Year”, John Galloway. The team also features 16 players who will be making their first appearance in the All-Star Game.
The overall roster consists of 8 attackmen, 14 midfields, 11 defenders, 4 goalies and 4 face-off players.
Face-Off: Craig Bunker (Boston Cannons), Brendan Fowler (Charlotte Hounds), Greg Gurenlian (NY Lizards), Anthony Kelly (Denver Outlaws)
Defense: Mitch Belisle (Boston Cannons), Tucker Durkin (Florida Launch), Michael Evans (Chesapeake Bayhawks), Ryan Flanagan (Charlotte Hounds), Brian Karalunas (Ohio Machine), Joe Fletcher (NY Lizards), Kyle Hartzell (NY Lizards), Michael Manley (Rochester Rattlers), Scott Ratliff (Boston Cannons), Joel White (Rochester Rattlers), Dana Wilber (Ohio Machine)
Midfield: Matt Abbott (Chesapeake Bayhawks), Peter Baum (Ohio Machine), Ned Crotty (NY Lizards), Kyle Harrison (Ohio Machine), John Haus (Charlotte Hounds), Ben Hunt (Chesapeake Bayhawks), Jordan MacIntosh (Rochester Rattlers), Matt Mackrides (Chesapeake Bayhawks), JoJo Marasco (NY Lizards), Paul Rabil (NY Lizards), Tom Schreiber (Ohio Machine), Max Seibald (Boston Cannons), Jeremy Sieverts (Denver Outlaws), Drew Snider (Denver Outlaws)
Attack: Jeremy Boltus (Rochester Rattlers), Marcus Holman (Ohio Machine), Eric Law (Denver Outlaws), Will Manny (Boston Cannons), Kieran McArdle (Florida Launch), Rob Pannell (NY Lizards), Casey Powell (Florida Launch), Jordan Wolf (Rochester Rattlers)
Tickets for the 2015 MLL All-Star Game start at just $20 and are available by clicking HERE or by calling 1-888-929-7849. Tickets are also available at the BBVA Ticket Office which opens Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM (CT). For more information about the 2015 MLL All-Star Game, as well as the full 2015 regular season schedule, visit www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.
About Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded by Jake Steinfeld and is headquartered in Boston. Major League Lacrosse commenced play in June 2001 and has embarked on its fifteenth season. MLL has continued to lead the sport of lacrosse into the mainstream of competitive team sports. The league is made up of eight teams: The Boston Cannons, Charlotte Hounds, Chesapeake Bayhawks, Denver Outlaws, Florida Launch, New York Lizards, Ohio Machine and Rochester Rattlers.
In 2009, Adam O’Neill, Harry Alford and Thomas Alford launched Lacrosse Playground as the preeminent site for lacrosse gearheads. For years Lacrosse Playground provided lacrosse fans with tutorials and tips on how to string a lacrosse head, up-close looks at the gear the top players used and sneak peeks at equipment and uniforms before they were released. More than 10 years and millions of visits later, Lacrosse Playground has relaunched with a focus on storytelling. Our mission is to provide comprehensive coverage of the latest lacrosse news, share insights into the sports betting and fantasy lacrosse world and showcase the lifestyles and personalities of the sport of lacrosse through articles, videos and podcasts.
Predicting the PLL Protected Player Rosters (Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast #129)
byPro Lacrosse Talk
On this episode of the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast, Hutton Jackson and Adam Moore are joined by Lacrosse Playground contributor Brian Andrews. They discuss the Atlas cutting Scott Rodgers, Jeremy Thompson, Kyle Hartzell and Callum Robinson, the trade that sent Rob Pannell to the Redwoods and Chris Hogan, Dalton Crossan and Garrett Thul joining the PLL. They also discuss the retirement of Matt Danowski and Brett Schmidt, provide their predictions for the protected rosters particularly with Dillon Ward, Connor Fields, Paul Rabil, Joe Walters and Kyle Harrison, and theorize what it would take for Coach Sean Quirk to trade the top pick in the PLL Entry Draft and presumably the chance to draft Lyle Thompson.
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Pro Lacrosse Talk is the flagship lacrosse podcast of the Lacrosse Playground network covering all three professional lacrosse leagues (NLL, PLL, Athletes Unlimited). Each week throughout the season we’ll recap the games, provide analysis on the teams and feature exclusive postgame and off-the-field interviews with professional lacrosse players, coaches and executives. If you’re a fan of lacrosse podcasts like the Unbuckled Chinstrap, The Inside Feed, Lacrosse Classified or The Crease Dive, then give us a listen.