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BBLL Championship: Bullseye Wins Championship

Bullseye was in a familiar position five minutes into the second half, knotted up with the Blazers at 6-all in a Boston Box Lacrosse League championship game that looked destined to come down to the wire.


READ MORE: Check out our Week 12 NLL Power Rankings in advance of this weekend’s action here.


What happened next was unfamiliar, however, as Bullseye – which had lost the last four BBLL championships in tight games — responded with a four-minute, four-goal run, taking control of the game and, ultimately, taking home its first BBLL championship on Feb. 26 at South Shore Sports Center in Hingham, Mass.

While the Blazers had won the last six BBLL titles, Bullseye is actually the last remaining member of the league’s original four teams to capture a crown, and the Blazers did not surrender without a fight.

The Blazers used goals from James Fahey and Kurt Hunziker to establish a 2-1 lead seven minutes into the contest, only to see Will Walker score his first of the game and slip a slick inside pick-and-roll feed to Kyle Smith to put Bullseye back on top. Josh Graver knotted the game at 3 for the Blazers and the squads then traded goals to the end of the first half, which finished in a 5–all tie.

The back-and-forth continued early in the second half, but after Hunziker tied the game at 6, Bullseye’s Vin Curran scooped a loose ball in his own zone off the ensuing faceoff and made a solo bull rush up the field netting his first of the night. Two minutes later, it was Greg Lally, corralling a rebound at the edge of the crease and laying out to beat the Blazers’ Joe Evans, before Curran finished another fast break with a lefthanded blast off a feed from Chris Willman. Walker closed out the run with Bullseye’s fourth goal in four minutes and Bullseye was able to control tempo for the last half of the season’s final period, answering the Blazers and preventing rallies.

“For a long time now, our focus has been on beating the Blazers,” said Chuck Jaffe, Bullseye’s player/coach. “They have been the best team in the league and the gold standard and we had to learn from them to beat them, and they were right there the whole night. It took a tremendous effort and a lot of things going right for us to finally come out on the right end of a title game with them.”

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Walker’s five-goal, one-assist night – plus two caused-turnovers and five loose balls – earned him the Jukebox Lacrosse Finals MVP Award, but he had plenty of help in the win. Bullseye totaled 60 loose balls – led by 13 for Joe Nardella – and caused 16 turnovers, to just three for the Blazers. Greg Wozniak and Rob Haus each had three caused turnovers on their own.

Curran – who had seven loosies, two caused turnovers and an assist to go with his two clutch goals – and Adam Fishman scored two goals each for Bullseye, with Kyle Smith and defender Chris Willman also having multi-point nights. Alex Krawec made 20 saves in the win.

Hunziker and Fahey each scored twice on the night and Kyle Baker had three assists. Greg Rogowski netted a goal and an assist. Joe Evans made 31 saves, many of them spectacular, to keep the game close throughout.

The end of the fall-winter season means that the Boston Box Lacrosse League will now be closed until the start of its summer season in June.

About the Boston Box Lacrosse League

The Boston Box Lacrosse League, a member of US Indoor Lacrosse, plays at South Shore Sports Center in Hingham. For stats, standings and more information on the league, go to BostonBoxLax.com. The league posts announcements and commentary on Twitter and can be followed @BostonBoxLax.

Jukebox Lacrosse, based in Calgary, Alberta, sponsors the BBLL’s Most Valuable Player Awards. Jukebox is developing cutting-edge equipment for box lacrosse, including the new JB600 shaft, which is built for box at all levels – with high-impact zones and added texture for the ultimate feel and control – but which is still light enough for field lacrosse. More information about the company’s shafts, gloves and gear is available at www.jukeboxlax.com; they are on Twitter @JukeboxLacrosse.

South Shore Sports Center is located at 55 Recreation Park Drive in Hingham; fans and friends can watch games from the arena seating or at the Skybox Lounge, where food and drinks are served. Information is available at southshoresportscenter.com.