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2009 Hamilton Nationals season Head coach David Huntley Home field BMO Field Record 7–5 Division place 2nd MLL Playoff finish Won Steinfeld Cup
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
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
[ 8]
References
^ "Nationals Victorious in MLL Debut" . Fan 590 . May 16, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2011 .
^ Lankhof, Bill (May 23, 2009). "Nationals rock Machine in MLL" . Slam! Sports. Retrieved May 7, 2011 .
^ "Nationals edge Lizards 14–13 in MLL semifinal" . Our Sports Central. August 22, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2011 .
^ a b "Toronto Nationals Win MLL Championship 10–9 Against Denver" . The Sports Network . August 23, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2011 .
^ "Brodie Merrill Named Defensive Player of Year" . Major League Lacrosse . August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2011 .
^ "MLL Standings - 2009" . Pointstreak. Retrieved May 27, 2011 .
^ "Toronto Nationals - Team Schedule - Summer 2009" . Pointstreak. Retrieved May 7, 2011 .
^ "Toronto Nationals - Team Schedule - Playoffs 2009" . Pointstreak. Retrieved May 7, 2011 .
External links
Stadiums Key Personnel Steinfeld Cup Championships (1)Steinfeld Cup Finals Appearances (1) MLL seasons (2) Current League Affiliations
Final season teams Defunct teams Articles Seasons