July 18, 2008
from press releases
DENVER - On a night when breaking records seemed to occur every few moments, attackman Ryan Powell put up a record-setting performance of his own, as the Western Conference All-Stars defeated the Eastern Conference All-Stars, 31-15, in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game in front of 10,124 fans at INVESCO Field at Mile High on Thursday night.
It was the Western Conference's first victory against the Eastern Conference in two All-Star meetings. The teams combined to score an All-Star Game record 47 points, eclipsing the previous record set in the 2001 LacrosseStar Game.
Playing in front of his hometown fans, Powell (Denver Outlaws) set an All-Star Game record by scoring six goals and also added an assist for a seven-point effort, matching the All-Star record. Western Conference attackman Kevin Leveille (Chicago Machine) also matched the All-Star Game points mark by scoring three goals with four assists.
Powell and Leveille were two of five Western Conference All-Stars to record a hat trick in the victory. San Francisco defenseman Eric Martin scored four goals while Los Angeles midfielder Anthony Kelly and Chicago Machine rookie Steven Brooks each recorded three-goal efforts.
Making his MLL All-Star Game debut, New Jersey attackman Merrick Thomson led the Eastern Conference All-Stars by scoring four goals, while Long Island attackman Spencer Ford set an All-Star Game record by recording five assists in addition to two goals.
In addition to scoring three goals, Kelly also won 24 of 45 faceoffs in the victory and also won the Fastest Shot event during the Bud Light Skills Competition, tying the event record with back-to-back 109 mile-per-hour shots. Meanwhile, San Francisco attackman Jake Byrne won the inaugural two-point shot contest, defeating Erwin in double overtime. Los Angeles attackman Chazz Woodson won the Freestyle event.
The Western Conference squad used a strong third quarter effort to secure the victory, recording an All-Star Game record 12 points in the period, including 10 goals. They also had two of their four two-point goals during the stanza.
2008 Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game: Western Conference 31, Eastern Conference 15
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4
Eastern Conference 1 5 5 4 - 15
Western Conference 6 6 12 7 - 31
One-Point Goals: EAST - Merrick Thomson 4, Joe Walters 2, Stephen Berger 2, Matt Danowski 2, Spencer Ford 2, Peter Vlahakis 1, Brodie Merrill 1, Matt Poskay 1; WEST - Ryan Powell 6, Eric Martin 4, Kevin Leveille 3, Anthony Kelly 2, Steven Brooks 2, Brendan Mundorf 2, Brian Langtry 1, Greg Downing 1, Brett Hughes 1, Matt Hanna 1. Two-Point Goals: WEST - Jake Byrne 1, Matt Hanna 1, Anthony Kelly 1, Steven Brooks 1. Assists: EAST - Spencer Ford 5, Peter Vlahakis 1, Matt Striebel 1, Stephen Berger 1, Matt Poskay 1, Matt Danowski 1; WEST - Kevin Leveille 4, Benson Erwin 3, Brian Langtry 2, Brendan Mundorf 1, Matt Hanna 1, Ryan Powell 1, Anthony Kelly 1. Saves: EAST - Rob Scherr 10 (30:00, 11 goals allowed), Chris Garrity 5 (30:00, 16 goals allowed); WEST - Jesse Schwartzman 6 (30:00, 6 goals allowed), Mike Gabel 14 (30:00, 9 goals allowed). Attendance: 10,124.
