Boston Cannons Turn Back Toronto Nationals 19-15 - MLL

BOSTON, MA – Thursday, June 25, 2009 – The Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) earned their third consecutive win as they defeated the Toronto Nationals, 19-15, in front of 7, 532 fans at Harvard Stadium on Thursday evening.  Attackman Sean Morris (UMass ’06), a native of Marshfield, Massachusetts, earned the game’s Bud Light MVP award for his seven point effort, including four goals and three assists.  With his seven-point night, Morris also took over the Cannons scoring lead with 28 points (14G, 14A) so far this season.
 
With the win, the Cannons improved their record to 4-3 this season to move into third place in the league standings, while the Nationals saw their record fall to 4-3.
 
The Cannons picked up where they left off as they collected the first goal of the game, from Morris, at 2:04.  Rookie attackman Brandon Corp (Colgate ’09), named as the MLL’s Rookie of the Week for his two point performance against the Washington Bayhawks on June 19, earned the assist on Morris’ goal.  Toronto answered to tie the game at 1-1, but then the Cannons went on a three goal run to take a 4-1 lead with goals from attackman Matt Alrich (Delaware ’04), assisted by midfielder Paul Rabil (Johns Hopkins ’08), at 5:15, midfielder Greg Downing (Fairfield ’07) at 7:31 and Corp at 10:11.  Midfielder Matt Poskay (Virginia ’06) assisted on Corp’s first goal of the game.  The Nationals collected one more tally in the quarter at 14:21, but Corp countered for the Cannons with his second goal of the game, at 14:52, to push their lead to 5-2 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Nationals opened the second frame with a goal off the face-off just seven seconds in, however the Cannons immediately stopped any chance of a Toronto run with four unanswered goals to take a 9-3 lead.  Midfielder Matt Casey (Ithaca ’05) scored at 59 seconds, Morris collected his second goal of the game at 3:51, Poskay netted a goal, assisted by Morris, at 4:36 and Corp scored his third marker of the contest at 7:37.  Corp’s third goal was scored shorthanded.  Toronto cut the Cannons’ advantage with a tally at 8:47, but the Cannons answered with Morris’ third goal of the game, on the power play at 10:25, to capture a 10-4 advantage at halftime.  Poskay earned the assist on the third goal by Morris.
 
Downing got the scoring going in the third quarter with his second goal of the game at 22 seconds, but Toronto rallied back with goals at 4:18, 4:32 and a two-pointer at 4:57 to cut the Cannons’ lead to 11-8.  Poskay got some momentum back for the Cannons with his second goal of the game at 7:29 and then Rabil added a goal at 8:16 to increase the home team’s advantage to 13-8.  Morris earned his second assist of the contest on Poskay’s second goal.  The Nationals got the two goals back when they found the back of the Cannons’ net at 10:12 and 12:27, but the Cannons responded with a three-goal run to end the quarter.  Face-off specialist Chris Eck (Colgate ’08) scored after winning the face-off at 12:36, Corp collected his career-high fourth goal of the game at 13:44 and Downing tallied his third goal of the game, with a man-advantage, at 14:48.  Poskay earned his second assist of the game on Downing’s goal.
 
Nationals face-off specialist Geoff Snider (Denver ’06) opened the final 15-minute segment with two goals at 1:48 and 2:14, his fourth and fifth goals of the game, to cut the Cannons’ lead to 16-12.  The Cannons regained a six-goal advantage, however, with goals from midfielder Kevin Cassese (Duke ’03), assisted by defenseman Kyle Sweeney (Georgetown ’03) at 3:15, and Morris at 6:19, his fourth of the contest.  The back-and-forth action continued as the Nationals netted a goal at 8:18, with Rabil countering for the Cannons at 9:38 for his second tally of the game.  Downing earned an assist on Rabil’s goal.  Toronto tried to collect some momentum in the final minutes with goals at 12:10 and 13:22, but it wasn’t enough as the Cannons held on to secure their third straight win by a score of 19-15.                
 
Cannons goalie Mike Levin (Brown ’04) made 18 saves on the 32 shots he faced to earn his fourth win of the season.  Nationals rookie goalie Doc Schneider (UMass ’09) took the loss with 10 saves on 21 shots in 29:44 of playing time before being replaced by goalie Brett Queener (Albany ’08) who stopped 12 of the 20 shots he faced in 30:16 of playing time.


FINAL BOX SCORE:  http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=958682
 
The Cannons will return to action when they travel to Colorado to take on the Denver Outlaws at INVESCO Field at Mile High on Saturday, July 4 at 9:00 (ET).  
 
Tickets to see the Cannons this summer at Harvard Stadium are on sale now.  Cannons ticket packages feature all regular-season games, providing outstanding lacrosse and entertainment perfect for families, corporate outings and groups of friends.  
 
For more information, or to purchase Cannons tickets, visit BOSTONCANNONS.COM or call (617) 746-9933.
 
 
2009 BOSTON CANNONS SCHEDULE
 
Date                            Opponent                              Time (ET)        Score
Saturday, May 16      Long Island Lizards              7:00 PM          L 9-8
Friday, May 22           Denver Outlaws                    7:30 PM          L 15-14
Saturday, May 30         @ Chicago Machine                  4:00 PM           W 16-14                     
Friday, June 5               @ Long Island Lizards              7:00 PM           L 14-13
Saturday, June 13     Chicago Machine                   7:00 PM          W 22-11
Friday, June 19             @ Washington Bayhawks         7:30 PM           W 19-9
Thursday, June 25    Toronto Nationals                7:00 PM          W 19-15
Saturday, July 4           @ Denver Outlaws                    9:00 PM
Thursday, July 9           @ Long Island Lizards              7:00 PM           
Saturday, July 18      Chicago Machine                   7:00 PM          
Thursday, July 23         @ Toronto Nationals                7:30 PM
Thursday, August 6  Washington Bayhawks         7:30 PM
 

If you like the daily news of the Raw Feed, SUBSCRIBE TODAY to the nation's only alternative professional sports magazine, SZ, with original features and great action photography in baseball, hockey, basketball, and football. Just $11.99 per year for an e-zine like you’ve never seen!