Michael Powell (lacrosse)

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Born October 29, 1982 (1982-10-29) (age 25),
Watertown, New York, U.S.
Position Attack
Height
Weight
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
165 pounds (75 kg)
MLL Team
F. Teams
Boston Cannons
Baltimore Bayhawks
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Pro Career 2005present
Nickname Mikey, MP

Michael "Mikey" Powell (born October 29, 1982) is an American lacrosse player. The all-time Syracuse leading scorer, Mikey is one of the most decorated players in collegiate lacrosse history. A four time 1st team all-American, he became the first (and only) player to win the Jack Turnbull Award as the top attackman in Division I lacrosse four consecutive times. He was a four time finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy (the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) and is the only player to win the award twice[1]. Both of his older brothers, Casey and Ryan, were also four time all-Americans at Syracuse and he also has a younger brother named Mason. He frequently offers free clinics for underprivileged lacrosse players. Michael Powell was drafted for the MLL in the 2004 Entry Draft and currently plays for the Boston Cannons.

Contents

[edit] Syracuse career

Following in his brothers' footsteps, Mike arrived at Syracuse in the fall of 2000 as the most anticipated recruit in college lacrosse history. Wearing the #22 jersey worn previously at Syracuse by both of his brothers, and by Gary Gait, and Charlie 'Lazer' Lockwood (all four time All-Americans except for Gait)[2], Mike met the high expectations set for him immediately.

[edit] 2001 Season

In 2001, Powell became the first player in Syracuse Lacrosse history to be named a first team All-American as a freshman. He tallied 30 goals, 40 assists and 69 groundballs while also leading Syracuse to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship title game against Princeton University. In a memorable game, Powell scored an unassisted goal with just 16 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, but the Orangemen ended up falling to the Tigers on a B.J. Prager goal. After the season Powell was awarded with the Jack Turnbull Award as the nation's top attackman, and was a finalist for the first ever Tewaaraton Trophy[3].

[edit] 2003 Season

Powell missed the fall 2002 semester (and fall practice) at Syracuse but was able to regain academic eligibility before the 2003 lacrosse season. In 2003, Powell had a sub-par year by his standards. Teams began locking Powell off[4] (denying Powell the ball and essentially turning the game into five on five, which is very difficult for the defense). This tactic is rarely employed on the collegiate level. Syracuse made the final four for the 21st consecutive time, but Syracuse fell to Johns Hopkins 19-8 in the semi-final game.

[edit] 2004 Season

Powell ended his college career in spectacular fashion. In 2004 he scored 89 points, roaring past his older brothers to set the all-time Syracuse scoring record with 307 points, which ties him for fourth all-time in NCAA history. He was also again named a first team All-American, becoming just the fourth lacrosse player to be named a first team All-American four times[5]. Powell also led the underdog Orange to their 9th NCAA Lacrosse Championship. The fourth seeded Orange beat top seeded Johns Hopkins 15-9 in the semifinals, before staging a comeback against second seeded Navy in the championship game to win 14-13. Powell scored one goal and added five assists in the final.

[edit] Post Collegiate Career

Mikey Powell surprised many in the lacrosse community when he decided against playing in the MLL for the summer 2004 season. Instead, he pursued a career as a professional musician. All three Powell brothers signed a lucrative endorsement contract with Brine, Corp. (the older two brothers had previously been endorsers for Warrior Lacrosse) and Mikey began working out of Brine's west coast office. The Syracuse lacrosse team had an off year in 2005, missing the NCAA Final Four for the first time in 23 consecutive years. Also no Syracuse player wore the #22 jersey in 2005. This marked the first time since 1987 that Syracuse did not have a four time all-American wearing #22. Syracuse attackman Danny Hardy now wears the #22, and he was an All-American as a sophomore. In 2005 Mikey decided to play in the MLL. He was selected as the MVP of the MLL all star game, and along with Gary Gait led the Bayhawks to the league championship. Mikey then, however, sat out the 2006 MLL season. On March 21, 2007, Powell, along with Ben DeFelice and a 2008 conditional draft choice, was traded from Washington to the Boston Cannons in exchange for Ryan Curtis and Conor Gill.[6]

Mikey was the leading scorer for team USA in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship and was selected to the All World team. However he, along with his brother Casey, received criticism for his play in the World Championship final, a 15-10 loss to Canada. The Americans had been 13-1 all time against Canada before the loss.

Mikey Powell has also released many trick videos on DVD and on Youtube.com.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] MLL

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team GP G 2ptG A Pts LB PIM GP G 2ptG A Pts LB PIM
2005 Baltimore 11 27 0 17 44 1 0 2 5 0 3 8 0 0
2007 Boston 12 27 0 21 48 1 5 - - - - - - -
MLL Totals 23 54 0 38 92 2 5 2 5 0 3 8 0 0

[edit] Awards

Preceded by
Doug Shanahan
Men's Tewaaraton Trophy
2002
Succeeded by
Chris Rotelli
Preceded by
Chris Rotelli
Men's Tewaaraton Trophy
2004
Succeeded by
Kyle Harrison
Preceded by
Ryan Powell
Jack Turnbull Award
2001, 2002, 2003, & 2004
Succeeded by
Matt Danowski
Preceded by
Gary Gait
Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game MVP
2005
Succeeded by
Kevin Cassese

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References