For the second game in a row, the Baltimore Bayhawks are playing the Long Island Lizards.
But the circumstances are very different.
The last time the teams met, Baltimore defeated Long Island, 15-9, for the Major League Lacrosse championship.
Baltimore opens its 2006 MLL season on the road Saturday against a Long Island team that is the league favorite.
“In a couple of weeks we will be able to reload with the draft. We have four of the top 15 picks,” said Scott Hiller, the Baltimore interim head coach. Three of those picks will come in the top five.
“[Long Island] will have an additional incentive to beat us,” Hiller said. “I like the idea of being the underdog.”
Shawn Nadelen has been a defender with the Bayhawks since 2001. “We are opening up against the team we have been playing in the championship since the league began” in 2001, Nadelen said.
“We got more or less dismantled with the expansion draft and the big trade,” Nadelen said, referring to an April 21 trade involving six teams, 24 players and draft picks.
The Bayhawks will get a boost on offense from Mark Millon, the career leading scorer in the MLL. Baltimore acquired Millon from San Francisco in a trade. Millon returns to Baltimore, where he played from 2001-2004.
Millon said the key to winning Saturday will be to contain the Long Island scoring. “We can not get into a track meet with them,” Millon said.
2006 Bayhawks Roster
Attack: Tom Marechek, Steve Marohl and Mark Millon; Attack/Midfield: Lee Dingman, Neal Goldman, Andrew Schwartzman; Midfield: Paul Cantabene, Jude Collins, Will Cutler, Ben DeFelice, Kevin Frew, Mark Frye, Paul Gillette, Tony Millon, Mile Mollot and Justin Redd; Defense: Casey Connor, Christian Cook, Michael Howley, Shawn Nadelen and Ronnie Staines; Goal: Chris Collins and Scott Schroeder
2006 Baltimore Bayhawks Schedule
» Saturday, May 20 Baltimore at Long Island Lizards, 7 p.m.
» Saturday, May 27 Chicago Machine at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.
» Saturday, June 3 Baltimore at Denver Outlaws, 7:30 p.m.
» Sunday, June 11 Baltimore at New Jersey Pride, 4 p.m.
» Friday, June 16 Rochester Rattlers at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.
» Friday, June 23 Long Island Lizards at Baltimore, 7:30 p.m.
» Saturday, July 1 Baltimore at Rochester Rattlers, 7:30 p.m.
» Thursday, July 6 Team USA vs. MLL Stars in Boston, TBA
» Saturday, July 8 Boston Cannons at Baltimore, 7 p.m.
» Saturday, July 22 New Jersey Pride at Baltimore, 7 p.m.
» Thursday, July 27 Baltimore at Philadelphia Barrage, 6:30 p.m.
» Saturday, Aug. 5 Baltimore at Boston Cannons, 7 p.m.
» Saturday, Aug. 12 Philadelphia Barrage at Baltimore, 7 p.m.
» Aug. 25 and 27 Championship Weekend in L.A., title game at 5 p.m. on Aug. 27
