Seedings set for 2007 NB Zip MLL Championship Weekend

[Sonny]

Following Saturday’s slate of games, which closed out the MLL regular season, the playoff seedings and pairings have now been set for the 2007 NB Zip MLL Championship Weekend, set to take place at PAETEC Park in Rochester on August 25-26. The playoff match-ups are as follows:

August 25, 3:00 PM
No. 1 seed Philadelphia vs. No. 4 seed Denver

August 25, 5:00 PM
No. 2 seed Los Angeles vs. No. 3 seed Rochester

August 26, 1:00 PM
New Balance MLL Championship Game (live of ESPN2)

Defending MLL champion Philadelphia earned the top seed in the playoffs by virtue of its 22-7 beatdown of Washington on Saturday, pushing its overall record to 9-3 on the year. Though both Rochester and Los Angeles also finished the year at 9-3, the Barrage got the nod over the Rattlers for the top seed due to a better conference record (8-2 for Philadelphia, 7-3 for Rochester) and over Los Angeles thanks to a better win percentage against common opponents.

Philadelphia and Denver, which fell in surprising fashion to San Francisco on Saturday, will meet for the second time this season on August 25. The Barrage dropped one to the Outlaws, 15-13, back on July 21 at INVESCO Field in Denver.

Los Angeles, which survived an overtime squeaker against lowly Chicago on Saturday, captured its first Western Conference crown in 2007, and the No. 2 overall seed in the postseason. They will take on a Rochester team that won nine out of its last 10 games, which included a string of eight in row – one shy of the MLL record. In Saturday’s 20-10 thumping of Boston, Rattlers’ attackman John Grant did make it into the record books, surpassing teammate Casey Powell’s MLL single-season points mark (70) with a seven-goal, three-assist effort. Grant finished the regular season with 71 total points.

Los Angeles and Rochester have not met this season. The teams have only squared off once in their history, a 16-13 road victory for the Rattlers back on June 3, 2006.