BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese helped lead the Philadelphia Barrage to their second consecutive Major League Lacrosse Championship this past weekend in Rochester, New York. The Barrage defeated Denver 13-12 on Saturday and turned right around to down Los Angeles 16-13 on Sunday afternoon and claim the title. Over the course of the weekend Cassese scored one goal and handed out an assist.
On Saturday versus the Denver Outlaws, Cassese scored only once, but it was a huge goal that tied the game at 12 with 59 seconds remaining in regulation. Roy Colsey then scored the game-winner just 51 seconds into overtime, sending the Barrage into Sunday’s title game. Cassese handed out one assist in Saturday’s tilt which was played in front of over 7,000 fans at PAETEC Park. After jumping out to a 4-2 lead following one quarter of play the Barrage found themselves trailing 8-5 at halftime on Saturday. Both teams scored four times in the third setting up the dramatic fourth quarter in which the Barrage scored three times and kept the Outlaws out of the net.
In Sunday’s championship game, Philadelphia scored five times in the opening quarter and four more times in the second to take a 9-6 lead heading into halftime. Los Angeles tied the game at 11 heading into the fourth quarter where the Barrage would eventually pull away for a 16-13 victory. The Barrage become the first team in MLL history to win three championships (2004, 2006, 2007) and the first franchise to win back-to-back titles.
