Hamilton Nationals

The Hamilton Nationals were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They began play in the 2009 season in Toronto, Ontario as the Toronto Nationals, becoming the first-ever Canadian team in MLL history. In 2009, they played their home games at BMO Field, which is also home to Major League Soccer's Toronto FC^[2] but moved to the smaller Lamport Stadium for the 2010 season.^[3] On February 3, 2011, the Nationals announced that they were relocating to Hamilton, Ontario, and would play their home games at Ron Joyce Stadium on the campus of McMaster University.^[1] On 21 November 2013, MLL announced that the team would not participate in the 2014 season, with most of the players being transferred to the expansion Florida Launch.^[4][5]

The Hamilton Nationals' identity represented both the Canadian and Iroquois communities. The team's logo incorporated the Canadian maple leaf and the Iroquois Five Nations belt pattern taken from each respective flag. Additionally, the Nationals continuously signed Iroquois players.^[6]

Franchise history

The Nationals had their roots in the MLL's charter franchise the Rochester Rattlers. Before the 2009 season, part of the Rattlers' roster was transferred to the new Nationals' team; however, the name, colours, and history stayed behind in Rochester to be potentially used by a future MLL team.^[7] In November 2010, it was reported that the Chicago Machine had moved to Rochester, NY and resumed operation of the Rattlers franchise.^[8]

The Nationals started play in the MLL on May 15, 2009 and won against Washington Bayhawks 17–16. They won their first home game over the Chicago Machine 15–11. 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 (at the time) went on to face the Denver Outlaws in the Steinfeld Cup Final. 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. Merrick Thomson was named Playoff MVP and Brodie Merrill won the Major League Lacrosse Defensive player of the Year Award.

On February 3, 2011, the Nationals announced that they would be moving to Hamilton and would be known as the Hamilton Nationals.^[1] It was also announced that Arrow Express Sports would take sole ownership of the team and the team would play their home games at Ron Joyce Stadium on the campus of McMaster University.^[1] Jody Gage was announced as the new general manager for the team, while Regy Thorpe was named the new head coach.^[1]

On 21 November 2013, the MLL announced that the team would not participate in the 2014 season, with most of the players being transferred to the expansion Florida Launch.^[4][5] The team was expected to attempt to rejoin the league for the 2015 season once construction of the new Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton is completed, much like the Rochester Rattlers did for the 2011 season, but failed to do so. No information on a return for the team has been reported.^[9]

Season-by-season

Current Coaching Staff

• Head Coach – Dave Huntley
• Assistant Coach – Jason Johnson
• Assistant Coach – Chuck Brown

All-Time Head Coaches

Current roster

2013 Hamilton Nationals
Number	Player's Name	Nationality	Position	Height	Weight	College
1	Joe Walters		Midfield	6 ft 0 in	190 lb	Maryland
5	Joe Resetarits		Attack	6 ft 0 in	190 lb	Albany
8	Kyle Rubisch		Defense	6 ft 3 in	210 lb	Dowling
11	Roman Lao-Gosney		Midfield	6 ft 1 in	200 lb	Lehigh
13	Garrett Billings		Attack	6 ft 0 in	195 lb	Virginia
14	Cameron Lao-Gosney		Midfield	6 ft 0 in	190 lb	Lehigh
16	Michael Kiekebelt		Defense	6 ft 3 in	205 lb	RIT
17	Brodie Merrill		Defense	6 ft 4 in	205 lb	Georgetown
19	Matt Dolente		Midfield	5 ft 7 in	165 lb	Johns Hopkins
20	Jordan Hall		Midfield	6 ft 0 in	190 lb	Delaware
21	Kevin Crowley		Midfield	6 ft 4 in	200 lb	Stony Brook
22	Cody Jamieson		Attack	5 ft 9 in	205 lb	Syracuse
23	Brett Queener		Goalie	5 ft 10 in	180 lb	Albany
24	Tyler Brown		Attack	5 ft 4 in	197 lb	Syracuse
28	Stephen Keogh		Attack	5 ft 10 in	188 lb	Syracuse
33	Solomon Bliss		Defense	6 ft 3 in	215 lb	Syracuse
34	Martin Cahill		Attack	6 ft 0 in	200 lb	Delaware
40	Matt Lovejoy		Defense	5 ft 11 in	200 lb	Virginia
48	Roy Lang		Midfield	6 ft 3 in	203 lb	Cornell
51	Tucker Durkin		Defense	6 ft 2 in	210 lb	Johns Hopkins
74	Jeremy Thompson		Midfield	5 ft 11 in	195 lb	Syracuse
80	Donny Moss		Defense	6 ft 2 in	200 lb	Adelphi
81	Dana Wilbur		Defense	6 ft 0 in	190 lb	Drexel
91	Shelton Hill		Attack	5 ft 11 in	169 lb	Albany
92	Brice Queener		Midfield	5 ft 8 in	200 lb	Georgetown
95	Layne Smith		Attack	5 ft 9 in	166 lb	Syracuse
97	Cecil Monture		Attack	5 ft 11 in	238 lb	Albany

• updated 2013-04-20

References

External links

• Official website