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Pittsburgh CrosseFire
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Special Note In August, the Pittsburgh CrosseFire were sold to a group led by the team's star player, Gary Gait. The team will be moved to Washington, DC. A new name, colors, and logo have not yet been unveiled. As more details are announced about the Washington franchise, this page will be phased out in favor of a new one with Washington-specific information. 2000 Season Recap Even though his team would be playing in a new city after thirteen years in Baltimore, Pittsburgh owner Dennis Townsend hoped his team could pick up where it left off in 1999 -- as one of the NLL's premier teams. Whether it was the fatigue of commuting from Baltimore to Pittsburgh for each home game, a run of bad luck, being outplayed, or a combination of the three, the CrosseFire could not make it three straight 8-4 seasons for Townsend and head coach John Tucker in 2000. Pittsburgh's return to indoor lacrosse -- the Pittsburgh Bulls were a member of MILL from 1990 to 1993 -- started off with a bang, a 23-12 defeat of the New York Saints at Nassau Coliseum. Things quickly turned sour for the CrosseFire, though, losing both games of a weekend road trip through New York state. A Friday-night, 21-19 loss to Albany was the first ever for the expansion team, and the 18-14 defeat that followed a night later allowed Rochester to celebrate its home-opening performance. In its home opener a week later, Pittsburgh returned to the winner's side of the ledger against Philadelphia. After allowing a 7-4 lead to evaporate into a 15-13 deficit, the CrosseFire was able to push back for the final three goals and record the victory over the Wings. The next week, however, the CrosseFire dropped an 11-9 decision to Toronto, dropping to 2-3. Seeking extra firepower, the CrosseFire paid for an expensive reunion of lacrosse talent, acquiring Paul Gait from Syracuse to play alongside twin brother Gary. The deal, which cost Pittsburgh a first-round draft pick and an undisclosed-but-undoubtedly-large amount of money, quickly paid dividends for the CrosseFire, with the hosts delivering on "Guaranteed Win" night at Mellon Arena, 17-14 over Buffalo. The brothers Gait sparkled while sparking their team to a three-game winning streak, but a mid-March visit from Rochester brought the streak to an end. A combined six goals by the Gaits matched the output of all other Pittsburgh players, while Rochester rolled to a 17-12 victory. Oddly, the first of Pittsburgh's goals was scored by goaltender Devin Dalep, whose length-of-field pass skipped past Rochester's Pat O'Toole for the 1-0 lead. The Rochester loss removed much of the wind from Pittsburgh's sails during the stretch run. Although the CrosseFire recovered to crush Syracuse, 21-9, in its next outing, it stumbled in Toronto, 14-10, then ended the season with a humiliating loss in Syracuse. The Smash entered with an 0-10 record, decimated in each of its last three games, but Pittsburgh could not capitalize on the opposition's weaknesses, losing in double overtime (10-9) and officially killing any remaining playoff chances. 2000 Pittsburgh CrosseFire Roster # Name Ht Wt Age Exp College 3 Eric Gervais 6-1 190 23 1 Loyola College 4 William Ruhl 5-11 185 24 R Maryland 5 Steve Marohl 6-0 170 29 1 Maryland-Baltimore Co. 6 Paul Cantabene 5-11 185 28 5 Loyola College 11 Dan Martin 6-2 195 24 1 Georgetown 12 Greg McCavera 5-8 180 22 R Georgetown 13 Kip Fulks 6-0 190 27 4 Maryland 16 Jesse Hubbard 6-1 195 24 1 Princeton 17 Matt Shearer 5-10 175 26 2 Loyola College 21 Neil Doddridge 6-0 195 30 8 Oswego 22 Gary Gait 6-2 210 32 9 Syracuse 25 Keith Gonsouland 5-8 185 26 R Maryland-Baltimore Co. 27 Todd Vizcarrondo 6-3 183 24 R Loyola College 30 Erik Miller (G) 6-5 228 28 1 Salisbury State U. 33 Devin Dalep (G) 6-1 165 25 R None 34 Brian Reese 6-3 196 23 1 Maryland 38 Rodney Tapp 5-9 205 33 5 Whittier College 40 Chris Turner 6-3 175 22 R Maryland-Baltimore Co. 41 Joe Hiltz 5-8 190 31 2 None 43 Hugh Donovan 6-4 225 26 1 Bucknell University 49 Ryan Kells 6-0 190 25 R None 94 Matt Clune 5-9 165 23 1 Towson Dennis Townsend Owner Dave Huntley General Manager John Tucker Head Coach John Stewart Assistant Coach Rob Marra Strength & Conditioning Coach Brenda Hall Trainer Matt Jackson Equipment Manager Age refers to age as of beginning of 2000 season (7 January) 2000 Pittsburgh CrosseFire Schedule and Results DATE OPPONENT PIT-OPP W/L REC POS ------------------------------------------------------------- Sat Jan 8 @ New York 7:30 23-12 W 1-0 t-1 Fri Jan 14 @ Albany 7:00 19-21 L 1-1 t-4 Sat Jan 15 @ Rochester 7:35 14-18 L 1-2 6th Sat Jan 22 PHILADELPHIA 7:30 16-15 W 2-2 t-3 Fri Jan 28 TORONTO 7:30 9-11 L 2-3 5th Feb 4- 6 -open date- t-5 Sat Feb 12 BUFFALO 7:30 17-14 W 3-3 t-4 Feb 18-20 -open date- t-4 Fri Feb 25 NEW YORK 7:30 20-15 W 4-3 4th Sat Feb 26 @ Philadelphia 7:30 14- 8 W 5-3 4th Mar 3- 5 -open date- 4th Fri Mar 10 ROCHESTER 7:30 12-17 L 5-4 4th Mar 17-19 -open date- t-5 Sat Mar 25 SYRACUSE 7:30 21- 9 W 6-4 5th Fri Mar 31 @ Toronto 7:30 10-14 L 6-5 6th Sat Apr 8 @ Syracuse 8:00 9-10 2OT L 6-6 t-5 Apr 14-16 -open date- t-5 ---------------------------------------------------------- CrosseFire record breakdown: vs ALB 0-1 Friday 1-4 vs BUF 1-0 Saturday 5-2 vs NY 2-0 Sunday 0-0 vs PHI 2-0 Other days 0-0 vs ROC 0-2 After win 2-4 vs SYR 1-1 After loss 3-2 vs TOR 0-2 December 0-0 home 4-2 January 2-3 road 2-4 February 3-0 overtime 0-1 March 1-2 1 goal 1-1 April 0-1 2 goals 1-3 May 0-0 after bye 3-1 second game* 1-1 * Second game of a multiple-game weekend. Go see a CrosseFire game! Pittsburgh CrosseFire Tickets to see the Pittsburgh CrosseFire at Mellon Arena can be purchased at the arena phone number above. Box office hours are from Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Tickets bought at the arena box office may only be paid with cash; to use a credit card, fans must buy their tickets through Ticketmaster. Cameras and video cameras are not permitted. However, some shows will permit non-professional cameras (disposable & 35mm cameras, for example). It is better to call 412.642.1800 and check before bringing a camera to the building; if they are not permitted for that show, it will be confiscated. Handicapped-accessible seating is available. Please mention this need when purchasing tickets, so that any special arrangements can be made. Parking is available around the arena, but at a price of $5.00 to $6.50 per car (depending on lot). Public transportation is also available, via PATransit. Buses 81 A, B & C stop on Centre Avenue at Mellon Arena. For details, call 412.422.2000. Directions: From the west, take Route 22 East to the Parkway (I-279 East) through the Fort Pitt tunnels. Head towards Monroeville and exit at Grant. Turn right to the arena. From the East, Take Route 22 West to I-376 West (Monroeville) and through the Squirrel Hill Tunnels. Exit at Grant/7th and turn right to the arena. From the south, take I-79 North to the Parkway (I-279 East), toward Pittsburgh. Go through the Fort Pitt Tunnels. Head right toward Monroeville. Take the first exit (Grant) to 7th and turn right to the Arena. From the north, take I-79 South to I-579 South. Follow signs for the Mellon Arena, Veterans/Liberty Bridge. Take 6th/Mellon Arena exit, and turn left to Mellon Arena. Most of all, enjoy the game! Seating diagram of Mellon Arena, courtesy of Arenamedia. Map of the area, courtesy of Mapblast. (approximately centered on arena location) Alter characteristics of Mapblast map above. -30- |
