Cassese, Brarrage edged in OT in MLL semifinals
8/25/2008 11:30:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese saw his 2008 Major League Lacrosse season come to an end Saturday when his Philadelphia Barrage were edged by the Rochester Rattlers 16-15 in overtime in the semifinals at Harvard Stadium. Cassese scored a two-point goal in the second half for the Barrage, who were gunning for a third straight MLL Championship, but Casey Powell scored 45 seconds into overtime to lift the Rattlers, Cassese’s former MLL team into the championship game.
“"While I am disappointed about not having the opportunity to defend our title in the championship game on Sunday, I am proud of the fact that we battled hard against the Rattlers in the semi-final on Saturday,” explained Cassese. “Rochester brought a well executed game plan, and controlled the play for the majority of the game. We continued to battle and found ourselves right where we needed to be at the end, they just made one more play than us and it happened to be in overtime."
Saturday’s semifinal was tied at ten at halftime, but Rochester scored the first three goals of the second half to take a 13-10 lead. Cassese’s two-pointer just over six minutes into the third quarter put the Barrage within one, and after two more third quarter Rochester tallies, Philadelphia scored the only three goals of the final quarter to force the sudden-victory period.
Along with his two-pointer, Cassese scooped up three ground balls and won one of two face-offs. While his Lehigh obligations limited him to just four games, Cassese did score a pair of goals this season, both of which were two-pointers.
Even though he was denied a shot to play for his second straight MLL title, Cassese had plenty of praise for his former team, which went on to defeat Denver 16-6 to capture the championship.
“I thought we would cross paths in the championship game last year but they were upended in the semi-finals,” said Cassese. “Obviously, I would have liked to hoist the trophy again this year, but I can honestly say that if it wasn't going to be us this year, there is no other team I would rather see win than the Rattlers. After spending my first four years in the MLL with the Rochester organization, I can say that I have a lot of good friends on that team, I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff, and I am happy for the city of Rochester."
Cassese will now shift his attention to Lehigh’s fall season, which begins with the first official practice on Monday, September 8.
