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Rochester is Lacrossetown, USA By Richard W. Kozak, Jr.  |
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It’s widely known that Detroit, Michigan is “Hockeytown, USA.”
Even more people may know Green Bay, Wisconsin by its other moniker, “Titletown, USA.”
A few local signposts and New York State Thruway signs may need to be changed because after this past weekend’s showing at Harvard Stadium, the Rochester Rattlers of the union labeled Major Lacrosse League captured the 2008 Championship with a 16-6 pasting of an overmatched Denver Outlaws contingent.
The victory for the Rattlers’ organization was significant on a few fronts. While the current championship always is a nice reward for a season completed at its highest level, the Rattlers victory gave claim to the Flower City as the only city in professional lacrosse to have captured three titles in three separate leagues.
The Rochester Griffins were champions of the old National Lacrosse League in 1974, and the Knighthawks packed the house at the Blue Cross Arena with titles in the National Lacrosse League formerly known as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.
The collegiate hotbeds of lacrosse in Philadelphia and Baltimore may have earned more individual championships, but know city or organizations have been able to span the test of time like Rochester, New York.
The Rochester victory over Denver was the culmination of Major League Lacrosse’s Playoff/Championship Party on the campus of Harvard University. Nearly 9,000 fans jammed Harvard Stadium and were treated to quite a display by the ferocious Rattlers.
Rochester net minder Brett Queener was the difference of the game thwarting 10 of 11 Denver shots tossed his way. Only weekend MVP Joe Walters with six goals may have directly contributed more to his team.
Though the score may seem one sided, the contest was still in question until the game’s second half of play. The first half culminated with a slim 6-5 Rochester lead, but the Rattlers opened the floodgates with 10 unanswered goals in the second half and the young Rattlers never recovered.
The Rattlers opened the game with a quick jump to a 3-0 lead. John Grant who ended the game with four goals was the offensive catalyst when he opened the scoring a little over five minutes into the match. The Rattlers moved to a 4-1 advantage before a two point goal closed the gap to make the game 4-3.
In the second period, Rochester’s Jeff Zywicki helped out Grant to make the score 6-3 but the Mile High men scored two tallies in the final two minutes of the game to bring about the 6-5 halftime stalemate.
Zywicki finished the game with an outrageous six tallies and gave the Rattlers a 12-5 lead at the end of three stanzas.
The championship victory was sweet for a club that didn’t have a place to play at the start of the season. Embroiled in the “Clark/Donner” fiasco, the Rattlers broke from the status quo and forged a winner. While crowds were down at PEATEC Park this year, but the performance the Rattlers put on this weekend should go a long way in rebuilding fan trust with the Rochester sporting community.
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