Philadelphia Barrage

The Philadelphia Barrage were a professional field lacrosse team that are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and member of Major League Lacrosse. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team then relocated to Philadelphia from the 2004 season to the 2007 season when they became a traveling team for 2008. They ceased operations before the 2009 season due to the economic situation in the United States. The Philadelphia Barrage were resurrected for the 2020 season.

Philadelphia Barrage
Founded2001
Folded2020
LeagueMajor League Lacrosse
Based inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
ColorsOrange, navy blue, white
     
Head coachSpencer Ford
Championships3 (2004, 2006, 2007)
Division titles2 (2006, 2007)
Local mediaThe Philadelphia Inquirer
FormerlyBridgeport Barrage
2001–2003
Websitephillybarrage.com/

Franchise history

The team played in Bridgeport, Connecticut from the 2001 to the 2003 season and relocated to the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova in 2004. From their initial move to Philadelphia, for the 2004 season, through the 2006 season, they played at Villanova Stadium, which is located on the campus of Villanova University. They had previously played at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport where they hosted the inaugural Major League Lacrosse All Star Game in 2001. The Barrage made the playoffs for the first time in 2004 and won the Major League Lacrosse Championship over the Boston Cannons. The Barrage, after winning their 1st Eastern Conference Title, once again made the playoffs and won the Major League Lacrosse Championship in 2006 over the Denver Outlaws. For the 2007 season, the team moved to the United Sports Training Center in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania. The Barrage, after winning their 2nd Eastern Conference Title, once again made the playoffs and won the Major League Lacrosse Championship in 2007 over the Los Angeles Riptide. The Barrage become the first team in MLL History to win back to back Steinfield Cup titles by winning the championship in 2006 and 2007.

After subsequent months of rumors, about the status and financial health of the franchise in 2007, Major League Lacrosse assumed operational control of the franchise in 2008. The Barrage played the full 2008 season as a travel team with their designated home games at league promotional sites outside of the Philadelphia area.[1] The team folded before the 2009 season.

2020: Revival

On February 17, 2020, MLL announced it was bringing back the Philadelphia Barrage after it folded the Atlanta Blaze the day before. The league named Blaze general manager Spencer Ford as the Barrage head coach.[2] The team will operate under Mark Burdett, the league's Chief Revenue Officer.[3][4]

The Barrage were not able to announce a new home venue before the COVID-19 pandemic affected the 2020 season, delaying their official return to Philadelphia until 2021. The team played its first game on July 18 in a quarantined Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Despite getting out to a 3–0 lead, the team lost in its first game since 2008 by a score of 16–11 to the Bayhawks. On July 20, in third try, the Barrage won their first game since 2008, by a 14–10 score over the new Connecticut Hammerheads.[5] With a 12-11 comeback win in their last game against the New York Lizards, the Barrage finished their comeback season 2–3, which was not good enough for a playoff berth.

Retirement

On December 16, 2020, the MLL-PLL merger was announced. This would bring both major American field lacrosse leagues, Major League Lacrosse and Premier Lacrosse League, together as one entity under the PLL banner. Only the Boston Cannons, rebranded to Cannons Lacrosse Club, would continue to exist through the merger. The rest of the MLL franchises, including the Barrage, would be retired. The PLL does have the option to use the folded franchises' likeness in an expansion.

Roster
2020 Philadelphia Barrage
# Name Nationality Position Height Weight College
1 P.T. Ricci United States D 5 ft 11 in 185 lb Loyola
2 Colin Minicus United States A 5 ft 11 in 160 lb Amherst
3 Alex Woodall United States FO 6 ft 0 in 215 lb Towson
5 Carlson Milikin United States SSDM 6 ft 0 in 195 lb Notre Dame
9 Tim Barber United States M 5 ft 10 in 194 lb Syracuse
11 Chris Madalon (A) United States G 6 ft 3 in 210 lb North Carolina
12 James Wittmeyer United States A 6 ft 2 in 202 lb Mercyhurst
13 Kyle Marr United States A 5 ft 11 in 185 lb Johns Hopkins
15 Brett Craig Canada LSM 6 ft 6 in 245 lb Seton Hill
16 Kevin Fox United States LSM 5 ft 9 in 170 lb Penn State
17 Ryan MacSpayden Canada M 6 ft 1 in 180 lb Mercy
21 Liam Byrnes (C) United States D 6 ft 3 in 195 lb Marquette
22 Jon Mazza United States M 6 ft 4 in 207 lb Towson
24 Brendan Sunday United States A 6 ft 5 in 200 lb Towson
30 William Nowesnick United States D 6 ft 6 in 240 lb Salisbury
31 Chad Toliver United States SSDM 5 ft 11 in 198 lb Rutgers
32 Shayne Jackson (A) Canada A 5 ft 9 in 175 lb Limestone
33 Matt Whitcher United States SSDM 6 ft 3 in 200 lb York (PA)
34 Shane Doss United States G 5 ft 11 in 167 lb Notre Dame
40 Eddie Bouhall United States D 6 ft 0 in 200 lb Lehigh
41 Mark Evanchick United States D 5 ft 11 in 210 lb Penn
42 Mark Matthews (A) Canada A 6 ft 5 in 230 lb Denver
43 Tyson Gibson Canada M 6 ft 1 in 188 lb Robert Morris
45 Anthony Joaquim Canada M 6 ft 2 in 215 lb St. Joseph's
84 Tommy Palasek (A) United States A 5 ft 11 in 185 lb Syracuse

(C)- captain

(A)- alternate captain

Season-by-season
Philadelphia Barrage
YearWLRegular season finishPlayoffs
Bridgeport Barrage
20013113rd in American Division---
20023113rd in American Division---
20031113rd in American Division---
Philadelphia Barrage
2004752nd in American DivisionWon semifinal 18-17 (OT) over Rattlers
Won championship 13–11 over Cannons
2005483rd in American Division---
20061021st in Eastern ConferenceWon semifinal 17–12 over Cannons
Won championship 23–12 over Outlaws
2007931st in Eastern ConferenceWon semifinal 13-12 (OT) over Outlaws
Won championship 16–13 over Riptide
2008752nd in Eastern ConferenceLost semifinal 16-15 (OT) to Rattlers
2009—
2019		Did Not Play
2020235th in League---
Totals4659Regular Season Win % = .438Total Playoff Record 6 - 1
Playoff Win % = 0.857

Game-by-game

Coaches and others
  • Ted Garber 2001 (3–11)
  • Sal LoCascio 2002–2004 (11–27)
  • Tony Resch 2005–2008 (30–18)
  • Ken Paul 2001–2002 (general manager)
  • Trey Reeder 2003–2004 (general manager)
  • Keith Mecca 2005–2007 (general manager)
  • Spencer Ford 2020-Present (1-3)

References
  1. "Inside Lacrosse - Barrage on for '08". Inside Lacrosse. 2007. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007.
  2. "The Philadelphia Barrage are Back". MLL. February 17, 2020.
  3. "Mark Burdett Joins Major League Lacrosse as Chief Revenue Officer". majorleaguelacrosse.com. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  4. "Bayhawks President Mark Burdett Confident MLL Can Begin Play by Fourth of July". pressboxonline.com. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  5. Mark Matthews leads Barrage to their first win since 2008

See also
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