New York Lizards 2017 Media Guide NEW YORK LIZARDS 2017 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE WEEK DATE VISITOR HOME LOCATION Saturday, April 22 Ne w York Chesapeake Navy-Marine Corps. 1 Lizards Bayhawks Memorial Stadium Saturday, April 29 Denver Outlaws New York Lizards James M. Shuart 2 Stadium Sunday, May 13 New York Atlanta Blaze Fifth Third Bank 3 Lizards Stadium Sunday, May 20 Ne w York Boston Cannons Harvard Stadium 4 Lizards Friday, June 2 Florida Launch New York Lizards James M. Shuart CON- 5 Stadium Saturday, June 10 Ne w York Florida Launch FAU Stadium TENTS 6 Lizards Saturday, June 17 Rochester New York Lizards James M. Shuart 7 Rattlers Stadium Saturday, June 24 New York Denver Sports Authority Field 8 Lizards Outlaw at Mile High Thursday, June 29 Ohio Machine New York Lizards James M. Shuart 9 Stadium Thursday, July 13 Atlanta Blaze New York James M. Shuart 10 Lizards Stadium Saturday, July 15 Ne w York Charlotte Hounds Panthers Stadium 11 Lizards Thursday, July 20 Boston Cannons New York James M. Shuart 12 Lizards Stadium Saturday, July 29 New York Ohio Machine American Legion 13 Lizards Memorial Stadium Saturday, August 6 Charlotte Ne w York James M. Shuart 14 Hounds Lizards Stadium 2 CONTENTS Covering the Lizards…………………………………………………………………....……. Front Office……………………………………………………………………..……………. Ownership Group…………………………………………………...……………….. Office Staff………………………………………………………………………...….. Coaching Staff………………………………………………………………………..……….. Coaches……………………………………………………………..………………… Medical Staff……………………………………………………………...…................ CONPlayer Biographies…………………………………………………………………….…….…- Roster………………………………………………………………………..………..... TENTS Pronunciation Guide……………………………………………………..…………..... Opponents……………………………………………………………………………..….......... Records and Statistics……………………………………………………….................. Lizards Records…………………………………………………………....……............ Major League Lacrosse ………………………………………….………………...…………… TV Schedule ……………………………………………………..…..……………….... 2017 Composite Schedule ………………………………………....……..………….... League Overview…………………………………………………………..…….…….. Year-by-Year League Recap…………………………..……….........…………………... League Records………………………………………….…………………………........ Miscellaneous………………………………………………………………………………........ Venue Information…………………………………………………………..................... Lizards Dance Team…………………………………………............................................ 3 COVERING THE LIZARDS Lizards PR Contact SARAH RAUTH New York Lizards Director of Public Relations and Marketing 648 Franklin Ave. Office (M-F, 9-5): 516-742-1180 x305 1st Floor [email protected] Garden City, NY 11530 Requesting Credentials Season passes will be issued to those members of the media covering the team on a regular basis. All others will be issued single game passes. To request game credentials, please go to NYLizards.com/Media-Contact. Please note credential requests must be received 48 hours prior to the start of the game. Join the Lizards PR List To be added to the press release distribution list, please contact Sarah Rauth via email at [email protected]. Media Access and MLL Locker Room Policy Media may have access to locker rooms for a period of up to 45 minutes ending 60 minutes before the game. Media wishing to access locker rooms prior to a game must make a request with Sarah Rauth, Director of PR, who will make arrangements with the team(s). Media is prohibited to access the locker rooms starting 60 minutes before the game and ending no more than ten minutes following the completion of the game. Violations of this policy may result in fines to the offending parties. MLL Photography Guidelines All photographers must stay on the sideline opposite the team benches. All photogra- phers must be credentialed and either be team/league photographers or a member of the working media. 4 LIZARDS OWNERSHIP GROUP ANDREW MURSTEIN President; Medallion Financial Group Andrew Murstein is the founder, president and largest share- holder of the Medallion Financial Corporation, NASDAQ: Taxi. In mid-2012 Murstein be- came the majority owner of the Lizards as Medallion Financial was one of several parties involved in the purchase of the professional lacrosse team. Murstein was born in Roslyn, N.Y. Andrew’s introduction into the taxicab in- dustry came early. His father, employed by his grandfather in his Queens- based taxi business, took a young Andrew to the taxi garage, where he was assigned the task of collecting rentals for the use of the medallions from the drivers at the end of their shifts.Andrew’s family eventually owned more than 500 medal- lions and made the decision to sell some of them in the 1970s. In 1996, He successfully launched Medallion Financial Corporation, which was established to be the parent company of Medallion Funding, as a public company trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol TAXI. The company owns and leases several hundred medallions and financed the purchase of thousands more. The com- pany is also involved in investing in hundreds of businesses and also owns its own bank, Medallion Bank. Murstein graduated cum laude from Tufts University and also from N.Y.U Graduate School where he earned his M.B.A. RICHARD MACK North America CEO, Mack Real Estate Group Mr. R. Mack is the Chief Executive Officer of AREA’s North Amer- ican business responsible for new investments and investment management. Mr. Mack was one of the founding Principals of AREA in 1993 and is a member of the firm’s Investment Commit- tees in the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Mack had been a member of the Real Estate Investment Banking Depart- ment at Shearson Lehman Hutton. Mr. Mack serves as a Director of the VERA In- stitute of Justice, as President of the non-profit HES Community Center, which serves the residents of Canarsie, Brooklyn, and is a Board Member of both the Wharton School of Business Under- graduate Executive Board and the Randall’s Island Sports Foun- dation Board of Trustees. Mr. Mack graduated from the Wharton School of Business with a BS in Eco- nomics and from theColumbia University School of Law with a JD. 5 LIZARDS OWNERSHIP GROUP DEAN PALIN IVAN WOLPERT Principal; Palin Enterprises Principal; Belle Harbour Capital, LLC ALBERT MAIONE Managing Member Intercounty Paving, Assoc. Albert Maione was born in Brooklyn, New York. He moved to West Islip, Long Island when he was young with his moth- er, father, and two siblings. After gradu- ating from West Islip High School, Albert attended Westchester College, where he studied business and played football. Albert Maione is the owner of several road construction companies based in Hicksville, New York. He has been in- volved with many charitable organizations throughout the years, which include St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Angel’s on the Bay, Breast Cancer Coalition and American Diabetes Association. He also served on the Board for the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation. Albert married his childhood sweetheart, Lucy. They have two children, Albert Jr. and Alicia, both born & raised in West Islip. “Big Al”, a nickname he wears with pride, has always been passionate about sports. He spent many, many years coaching football, baseball, basketball & lacrosse in West Islip. The fast growth of lacrosse and his competitive nature sparked his in- terest and involvement with the Long Island Lizard organization. JOHN LIZZA Managing Member Intercounty Paving, Assoc. 6 LIZARDS FRONT OFFICE STAFF JEFFREY RUDNICK CEO Email: [email protected] (516)-742-1180 x306 TOM DISSETTE Senior Vice President Email: [email protected] (516)-742- 1180 x307 JASON VELEZ Vice President, Ticket Sales and Operations [email protected] (516)-742-1180 x304 SARAH RAUTH Director of Public Relations and Marketing [email protected] (516)-742-1180 x305 7 LIZARDS COACHING STAFF JOE SPALLINA HEAD COACH ADELPHI UNIVERSITY, 1996 2012 BRINE COACH OF THE YEAR Joe Spallina is in his sixth year as the Head Coach of both the New York Lizards and the Stony Brook Women’s Lacrosse Team. During his first season with the Seawolves, the Stony Brook women cele- brated their first ever win against a ranked opponent, defeating No. 20/17 Johns Hopkins. The follow- ing week the team received their first ever national ranking, coming in at 19 in the Inside Lacrosse/ deBeer Media Poll. Prior to Stony Brook, Spallina spent his previous four seasons at Adel- phi Uni-versity, where he posted a 73-2 record and recorded three consecutive Division II national championships (2009, 2010, 2011 respectively). He has been named the IWLCA National Coach of the Year three times and the Field Turf NCAA Division II Coach of the Year in 2009. Joe is entering his eighth season with the Lizards, serving as the assistant coach for two seasons before being named the head coach in 2012. During his first season as head coach of the Lizards, Joe led the team to a playoff spot, before a heartbreaking 13-12 loss to the Denver Outlaws during the semi-final matchup and led the Lizards to their 3rd MLL Title in 2015. During the 2016 off-season, he signed a two year contract extension with the team. Spallina resides in Rocky Point with his wife, Marybeth, and their four children. 8 LIZARDS COACHING STAFF BRIAN DOUGHERTY DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR Dougherty, often called “Doc” has been in the league since it first started. He has played for the LIzards, Rattlers, Philadelphia Barrage during his tenure. Througout his playing days he captured three championships, while also taking home Goalie of the Year Title in 2003, 2006, and 2007. In addition to his MLL background, Dougherty has been an assistant coach for Haverford