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.
| 2007 MLL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Lacrosse |
| Sport | Field lacrosse |
| Duration | May 2007 – August 2007 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
General information
In November 2006, the Baltimore Bayhawks relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Bayhawks. They played 5 of their 6 games at Multi-Sport Field and 1 at George Mason Stadium.
New venues in 2007
- The Boston Cannons moved their home games to Harvard Stadium.
- The Chicago Machine moved their home games to Toyota Park.
- The Philadelphia Barrage moved their home games to United Sports Training Center
New rules in 2007:
- Moved the two-point arc back to 16 yards (15 m) away from the goal. It had previously been 15 yards (14 m) away.
- Created the same stick dimension requirements as NCAA.
- Enforce “pull-strings” as making a stick illegally altered and thus cannot re-enter the game.
Chicago won for the first time in franchise history on June 2 defeating Denver. The Machine had lost a league record 13 consecutive games (including all 12 games in 2006).
The 2007 season was a record breaking season:
- On June 16, the Rochester Rattlers won a 27–26 (in overtime) game over the Denver Outlaws in the highest scoring game in MLL history at INVESCO Field at Mile High the teams combined for a total 53 goals.[1]
- A MLL record crowd of 19,793[2] watched the July 4 game between Chicago and Denver at INVESCO Field at Mile High. The previous mark was 15,981, set by a Los Angeles at Denver game in 2006.
- John Grant, Jr. broke the league's single-season points record with 71 points,[3] while Spencer Ford set the single-season assists record 47.[4]
Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals For, 2ptGF = 2 point Goals For, GA = Goals Against, 2ptGA = 2 point Goals Against
| Qualified for playoffs |
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | GF | 2ptGF | GA | 2ptGA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Barrage | 9 | 3 | .750 | 175 | 5 | 139 | 5 | |
| Rochester Rattlers | 9 | 3 | .750 | 208 | 5 | 153 | 10 | |
| Boston Cannons | 5 | 7 | .417 | 169 | 2 | 179 | 2 | |
| Long Island Lizards | 5 | 7 | .417 | 156 | 6 | 162 | 8 | |
| Washington Bayhawks | 5 | 7 | .417 | 134 | 11 | 190 | 5 | |
| New Jersey Pride | 4 | 8 | .333 | 155 | 5 | 163 | 6 | |
| Western Conference | ||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | GF | 2ptGF | GA | 2ptGA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Riptide | 9 | 3 | .750 | 190 | 5 | 138 | 5 | |
| Denver Outlaws | 7 | 5 | .583 | 190 | 7 | 174 | 12 | |
| San Francisco Dragons | 4 | 8 | .333 | 157 | 12 | 180 | 6 | |
| Chicago Machine | 3 | 9 | .250 | 162 | 7 | 218 | 6 | |
Philadelphia finished first in the East over Rochester based on a better conference record (8–2 vs. 7–3).
Boston finished 3rd in the East based on combine record against Long Island and Washington: 3–1 (2–0 against Washington, and 1–1 against Long Island). Long Island finished 4th based on combine record against Boston and Washington: 2–2 (1–1 against Washington 1–1 against Boston) and Washington finished 5th based on combine record against Boston and Long Island: 1–3 (1–1 against Long Island and 0–2 against Boston).
All Star Game
July 8 at Harvard Stadium in Boston
Eastern Conference All Stars 19–12 Western Conference All Stars
MVP Matt Poskay (Boston) for the Eastern Conference[5]
Playoffs
The 2007 NB Zip Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend took place August 25–26 at PAETEC Park in Rochester, New York
Semi-finalsAugust 25 @PAETEC Park, Rochester, New York
Philadelphia 13–12(OT) Denver
Los Angeles 15–14 Rochester
Championship August 27@PAETEC Park, Rochester, New York
Philadelphia 16–13 Los Angeles
Bracket
| Semifinal | Steinfeld Cup Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 13 (OT) | |||||||
| 4 | Denver | 12 | |||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 16 | |||||||
| 3 | Los Angeles | 13 | |||||||
| 3 | Los Angeles | 15 | |||||||
| 2 | Rochester | 14 | |||||||
MVP: Matt Striebel (Philadelphia)
Awards
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | John Grant, Jr.[6] | Rochester |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Alex Smith[7] | Rochester |
| Coach of the Year Award | John Tucker[8] | Los Angeles |
| Defensive player of the Year Award | Brodie Merrill[9] | Rochester |
| Offensive player of the Year Award | John Grant, Jr.[10] | Rochester |
| Goaltender of the Year Award | Brian Dougherty[11] | Philadelphia |
| Sportsman of the Year Award | Greg Bice[12] | Los Angeles |
| Most Improved Player of the Year Award | Spencer Ford[4] | Los Angeles |