University of Denver graduate spent last season with the Philadelphia Barrage of the MLL

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette men’s lacrosse head coach Terry Mangan has named William McKinney as the newest addition to the coaching staff for the 2009 campaign.

Mangan is excited to bring McKinney’s knowledge of the game to College Hill.

“I am thrilled to add Billy to our staff,” Mangan said. “His playing experience, knowledge of the game and leadership ability will all be tremendous assets to our program.”

McKinney spent the last two seasons working at his alma mater, William Penn Charter High School, in Philadelphia. Last season, he was a member of Major League Lacrosse’s Philadelphia Barrage.

During his tenure at William Penn Charter, he was the assistant coach for the boy’s lacrosse team, as well as an assistant coach for the middle school football squad. He also worked in the development office and supervised the school’s fitness room, where he was responsible for customizing training programs for student-athletes.

McKinney is a 2006 graduate of the University of Denver, where he excelled in the classroom and on the lacrosse field. He earned his degree in Business Administration and Economics.

McKinney was the recipient of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 Student-Athlete Medallion Award for outstanding academic achievement while at Denver. He was named team captain for his senior year.

Lafayette will be looking to fill the void of three seniors lost to graduation in 2008. All-Patriot League Second Teamer Steve Serling and Jeff Canfield, as well as Patriot League Rookie of the Year Tom Perini, all return to an experienced 2009 roster. The Leopards open the 2009 campaign on February 21 against Villanova.

It’s been a big year for parity in Major League Lacrosse, and the fact that the playoff seeds are still to be determined entering the last weekend of the regular season indicates that there is not a clear-cut dominant team or teams among the top four.

Denver and Rochester have clinched the Western and Eastern conference championships, respectively, while Los Angeles and the Barrage are guaranteed wild cards. Here’s how this weekend’s games shake out the seeds otherwise:

Denver Outlaws (8-3) at Boston Cannons (6-5)
Saturday, 7 p.m. Eastern
Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, Mass.

The Western Conference champion Outlaws can clinch the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a win or a Rochester loss. Boston, meanwhile, is locked into the No. 6 overall pick in the 2009 collegiate draft.

Washington Bayhawks (3-8) @ Long Island Lizards (5-6)
Saturday, 7 p.m. Eastern
Mitchel Field, Uniondale, N.Y.

The bad news? Both teams are on losing streaks, Washington at seven; Long Island at four. The good news? One of the streaks will end.

New Jersey Pride (5-6) vs. Barrage (7-4)
Saturday, 7 p.m. Pacific
Hillsboro Stadium, Hillsboro, Ore.

If the Barrage wants to be the third seed in the playoffs, it must win and hope that San Francisco upsets Los Angeles.

San Francisco Dragons (3-8) vs. Los Angeles Riptide (7-4)
Saturday, 8 p.m. Pacific
LeBard Stadium, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker over the Barrage, so if the Riptide wins, coach John Tucker and company will be the third seed. Los Angeles will only be the fourth seed with the combination of a loss and a Barrage win over New Jersey.

Rochester Rattlers (8-3) at Chicago Machine (3-8)
Sunday, 4:30 p.m. Central
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill.

Rochester must win and Denver must lose for the Rattlers to secure the top seed in the playoffs. Either way, the Eastern Conference champion Rattlers will face Los Angeles or the Barrage.

Outlaws cream Chicago Machine, 15-13
DENVER—July 26, 2008—7,993 fans filled INVESCO Field at Mile High to watch the Denver Outlaws become the 2008 MLL Western Conference Champions. The Outlaws defeated the Chicago Machine, 15-13, in a nail-biting game that gave them an undefeated home game record, the only one in the league. With four goals and one assist, Brian Langtry was named the Bud Light MVP.

In a close game, Langtry opened up the field with two consecutive goals. The Leveille brothers teamed up to answer those goals with Mike on the assist to older brother Kevin. Matt Brown’s goal widened the Outlaws’ lead, but Chicago closed out the first quarter tying the game three all.

Ryan Powell showed up for the Outlaws scoring the first goal of the second quarter giving the Outlaws a 4-3 advantage. That lead was short-lived with three unanswered markers from the Machine by Jake Deane, Kevin Leveille, and Nicholas Schmidt. Like the first quarter, the second wrapped up with the game tied at 7-7 thanks to Outlaws goals by Drew Westervelt and Brendan Mundorf.

The Machine’s Terry Kimener came out of the locker room swinging with a goal at 1:22. Denver followed up that with a three-goal streak. Tying the game with a two-point goal was Machine midfielder Steven Brooks. In a four-goal performance, Kevin Leveille scored with 3:00 minutes left in the third, but Mundorf was quick to answer putting the Outlaws up by one going into the final quarter.

The Leveille connection stayed solid with yet another goal by Kevin, assisted by Mike. Outlaws attackman Mundorf completed his hat-trick thanks to a goal at 4:15. Sealing the deal for the Outlaws was a goal by Powell and Langtry with a final score of 15-13, the same as the first meeting between the Machine and Outlaws.

With the nearly 8,000 fans in attendance tonight, the Outlaws broke another attendance record. The Denver Outlaws tallied 65,118 total fans this season at INVESCO Field at Mile High, breaking the previous total attendance record that they set last season with 63,552 fans.

The Outlaws finish up their dominating season in Boston against the Cannons on August 9th before heading to Championship Weekend August 23rd and 24th.

The Colorado Mammoth lost all-star defenseman and assistant captain John Gallant in the National Lacrosse League expansion draft Thursday. Gallant, a Canadian native who teaches at Denver’s Stanley British Primary School, was selected by Boston with the fifth pick.

Before the draft, Gallant, 30, told Blazers management that he cannot travel weekly to Boston to play for the team because of his Denver-based career. Consequently, Gallant said he will reluctantly retire from the NLL. Unless, however, Boston picked him as a bargaining chip for a future trade with the Mammoth.

“Obviously, I’ve spent my entire career with this franchise and I would love to stay here,” Gallant said. “So I hope this is not the end of it.”

Mammoth general manager Steve Govett was not available for comment.

Gallant played six seasons for the Mammoth, enhancing his reputation for toughness when he returned from injury to play in the 2006 NLL championship game, which Colorado won 16-9 over Buffalo.

Toronto goaltender Mike Poulin was selected with the first pick in the draft. The Blazers chose 12 players, one from each team.