Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Major League Lacrosse playoffs are set. The Rochester Rattlers clinched the fourth and final spot in dramatic fashion Saturday, defeating the visiting Ohio Machine 14-13 on Jordan Wolf’s go-ahead goal with less than two minutes remaining. Wolf, playing in his first game since July 16, finished with three goals and an assist. Drew Simoneau won 24 of 31 faceoffs for Rochester (8-6), which will face the Denver Outlaws (9-5) in a semifinal Saturday (4:30 p.m. Eastern) at the University of Denver’s Peter Barton Stadium. Ohio (9-5) will host the Florida Launch (8-6) in other semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Lax Sports Network productions of both games will be streamed live on Twitter.
2. Greg Gurenlian, MLL’s all-time faceoff wins leader and the only faceoff man in MLL history to win the league’s MVP award, said goodbye Saturday. A transformational player of his era, Gurenlian addressed the New York Lizards faithful after a 17-14 victory over the Charlotte Hounds in the regular season finale at Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y.
The retiring @GregBeast32 address the @LizardsLacrosse home crowd after playing the final game of his #MLL career https://t.co/oJkK8CQ2nw pic.twitter.com/zAkiCJfhlm
— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) August 6, 2017
Gurenlian, who announced his retirement prior to the season, went 20-for-33 in his final game. He finished his career with a record 2,024 faceoff wins. A member of the U.S. training team, Gurenlian hopes to suit up for Team USA next summer in the FIL World Championship in Israel.
Rochester’s win eliminated both New York and Charlotte from the playoffs. In Saturday’s other MLL game, the Atlanta Blaze ended the season on a high note with an 18-16 win at Boston.
3. The Lake Placid Summit Classic featured the annual MLL Legends Alumni Game, which on Friday brought out of the woodwork some all-time greats like Gary Gait, Casey Powell, Tim Goettelmann, Blake Miller, Brendan Mundorf, Matt Striebel, Drew Westervelt, Chris Passavia, Shawn Nadelen, John Gagliardi and Vinnie Sombrotto. Team Headstrong defeated Team Ranger Lead the Way Fund 12-7 in a game benefitting the namesake charities.
The tournament in Lake Placid, N.Y., in its 28th year, crowned its adult division champions Sunday. The Burning Orange (18+ Gold), Cranx/Stixx-N-Stones (18+ Silver), Graph-Tex (30+), CroArt Nation (35+), Team Pure Performance (39+), Long Island LC (44+ Gold), Sailin’ Shoe (44+ Silver), Checkmate Inn (45+ Bronze) were among the men’s winners On the women’s side, Team HLA (18+ Gold) and Brews Your Daddy (18+ Silver) took top honors.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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An eyewitness who saw Ohio Wesleyan alumni team player John Sussingham being revived after suffocating a heart attack on the field at Lake Placid is calling it the Miracle on Grass.
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Former Navy men’s lacrosse assistant Mike Phipps is set to join Kevin Warne’s staff at Georgetown, with Rob Camposa being promoted from volunteer to full-time assistant at Navy, according to Inside Lacrosse.
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A Wayne (N.J.) youth lacrosse player who was critically injured in a car accident caused by a drunk driver returned home to fanfare after spending more than four months in a hospital.
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The National Lacrosse League is leveraging NLL TV and ad sales from weekly Twitter games as new revenue sources.
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The Ohio Machine defense has embraced its moniker as “The Faceless Men.”
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Lacrosse arrives at Red Square in Moscow, where our own Matt Hamilton joined the Mercer Island (Wash.) boys suiting up against the Russian national team.
After facing off against @russia_lacrosse in Moscow, @MIBoysLacrosse took the metro (still in their gear) to Red Square for a rare photo-op. pic.twitter.com/BmYhFbISmt
— Matt Hamilton (@Matthamilton92) August 6, 2017
Ohio Machine attackman and University of Utah assistant Marcus Holman with some, um, slick stick work.
.@MarcusHolman1 does summer #lacrosse stick tricks better than you pic.twitter.com/mmddXMm8rm
— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) August 4, 2017
WHAT’S ON TAP
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Phil Shore checks in with his weekly MLL notebook.