2009 Toronto Nationals season

2009 Toronto Nationals season
Head coach David Huntley
Home field BMO Field
Results
Record 7-5
Division place 2nd MLL
Playoff finish Won Steinfeld Cup
Timeline
Previous season Next season
N/A 2010 >

The 2009 Toronto Nationals season was the first for the franchise. Their first game in the MLL was on May 15, 2009 against Washington Bayhawks, which they won 17-16.[1] They also won their first home game over the Chicago Machine 15-11.[2] The Nationals qualified for the playoffs as the second seed with a 7-5 record and the best offense in MLL with 184 goals for. The Nationals played their first playoff game against the Long Island Lizards at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. Toronto won their semi-final matchup 14-13 thanks to a strong game by Merrick Thomson scoring 4 goals. Toronto went on to face the Denver Outlaws in the Steinfeld Cup Final.[3] The Nationals were tied with the Outlaws 9-9 with over a minute to go in the game. Nationals head coach Dave Huntley called a time-out to draw out a strategy. With 45 seconds left to go, Joe Walters passed to Shawn Williams and Williams scored the winning goal to give the Toronto Nationals their first championship victory 10-9 over the Denver Outlaws.[4] Merrick Thomson was named Playoff MVP[4] and Brodie Merrill won the Major League Lacrosse Defensive player of the Year Award.[5]

Standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, GB = Games Back of first place, GF = Goals For, 2ptGF = 2 point Goals For, GA = Goals Against, 2ptGA = 2 point Goals Against

Qualified for playoffs
TeamWLPCT GBGF2ptGFGA2ptGA
Denver Outlaws 93.750-16681386
Toronto Nationals 75.583218441729
Long Island Lizards 66.500312541449
Boston Cannons 66.5003173121506
Washington Bayhawks 57.4174148141759
Chicago Machine 39.2506159817611

Long Island finished ahead of Boston based on a head to head record of 3-0.

[6]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Field Result Attendance Record
1 May 15 @ Bayhawks Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 17-16 3,715 1-0
2 May 22 Machine BMO Field 17-16 5,144 2-0
3 May 29 Lizards BMO Field 13-9 3,424 2-1
4 June 4 @ Bayhawks Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 17-15 3,216 3-1
5 June 13 Bayhawks BMO Field 19-12 3,544 4-1
6 June 20 @ Outlaws Invesco Field at Mile High 15-8 8,216 4-2
7 June 25 @ Cannons Harvard Stadium 19-15 7,532 4-3
7 June 27 Outlaws BMO Field 20-16 3,791 4-4
8 July 4 @ Machine Glenbrook South High School 24-19 1,338 4-5
10 July 18 @ Lizards James M. Shuart Stadium 19-9 7,621 5-5
11 July 23 Cannons BMO Field 18-17 (OT) 3,542 6-5
13 August 8 Outlaws BMO Field 16-10 3,635 7-5

[7]

Playoffs

Round Date Opponent Field Result Attendance
MLL Semifinal August 22 Lizards Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 14-13 6,720
Steinfeld Cup August 23 @ Outlaws Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 10-9 7,003

[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Nationals Victorious in MLL Debut". Fan 590. 2009-05-16. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  2. ↑ Lankhof, Bill (2009-05-23). "Nationals rock Machine in MLL". Slam! Sports. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  3. ↑ "Nationals edge Lizards 14-13 in MLL semifinal". Our Sports Central. 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Toronto Nationals Win MLL Championship 10-9 Against Denver". The Sports Network. 2009-08-23. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  5. ↑ "Brodie Merrill Named Defensive Player of Year". Major League Lacrosse. 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  6. ↑ "MLL Standings - 2009". Pointstreak. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  7. ↑ "Toronto Nationals - Team Schedule - Summer 2009". Pointstreak. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  8. ↑ "Toronto Nationals - Team Schedule - Playoffs 2009". Pointstreak. Retrieved 2011-05-07.

External links