MLL Weekly Award Winners (8/13/07)

[Sonny]

BOSTON, Mass. – Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Monday its weekly award winners for the week ending August 12, 2007, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross. Rochester Rattlers attackman John Grant, Jr. has been named as the League's Offensive Player of the Week while San Francisco Dragons defenseman Eric Martin received the Defensive Player of the Week honor. In addition, New Jersey Pride goalkeeper Matt Baran was named as the Goalkeeper of the Week and Denver Outlaws attackman Drew Westervelt was honored as the Cascade Rookie of the Week.

Grant led the Rattlers to their ninth win in the last ten games with a 20-10 victory over the Boston Cannons on Saturday evening. He scored seven goals and added three assists to finish the regular season with 71 points, which eclipsed the league single-season record of 70 set by Rochester teammate Casey Powell during the 2003 season. A 1999 graduate of the University of Delaware, Grant set Rochester team records while leading the league with 44 goals and 71 points. It is the sixth time in Grant's career that he has been named as the Offensive Player of the Week, which ranks second in league history.

Martin helped the Dragons end the season with a 16-15 victory over the Denver Outlaws on Saturday afternoon, scoring two goals with an assist. With 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, he scored the eventual game-winning goal, which gave the Dragons a 16-14 lead. Martin also added nine ground balls as he earned the first Bud Light MVP honor of his career. Martin has been named as the Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, earning the award on June 11 after the Dragons' one-point win at Chicago.

Making the first start of his MLL career, Baran recorded a career-high 24 saves in New Jersey's one-point loss at Long Island on Saturday night. Prior to the season finale, Baran had played in just four minutes during the previous 11 games. It is the first time he has been honored with the Goalkeeper of the Week award in his career and the third time that a New Jersey netminder has earned the accolade.

The leading scorer among rookies this season, Westervelt scored five goals and added two assists in the Outlaws' 16-15 loss against San Francisco on Saturday. A 2007 graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Westervelt finished the season with 20 goals and 14 assists. His 34 points rank fourth in MLL single-season history for points by a rookie. It is the second time this season that Westervelt has earned the Cascade Rookie of the Week honor.