TheBoston Cannons are a professionalfield lacrosse team based inBoston, Massachusetts, that competes in thePremier Lacrosse League (PLL). The team plays its home games atHarvard Stadium.

Boston Cannons

Sport	Field Lacrosse
Founded	2001
League	Major League Lacrosse (2001–2020) Premier Lacrosse League (2020–present)
Team history	Boston Cannons 2001–2020 (MLL) Cannons Lacrosse Club 2020–2023 (PLL) Boston Cannons 2023–present
Based in	Boston, Massachusetts
Stadium	Harvard Stadium
Colors	Navy blue, red, silver, white
Head coach	Brian Holman
Championships	2 MLL: 2 (2011,2020)
Division titles	2 MLL: 2 (2004,2005)
Championship Series Titles	2 (2024,2025)
Website	Boston Cannons
Uniforms
Current season

The team competed inMajor League Lacrosse (MLL) from their inaugural 2001 season to 2020. The team's home field wasVeterans Memorial Stadium in nearbyQuincy.^[1] In the MLL, the team won twoSteinfeld Cup championship games in 2011 and 2020, the latter being the MLL's final championship. The Cannons joined the PLL in 2020 following theMLL–PLL merger and were rebranded as the Cannons Lacrosse Club before later being rebranded as Boston Cannons once again when the PLL assigned home cities after the2023 season.

The Boston Cannons were one of the original six teams ofMajor League Lacrosse (MLL), and the only team from the pole inaugural 2001 season to stay in the same market, without folding or moving elsewhere. They were the only MLL team identity to continue into the 2021 PLL season following theMLL-PLL merger and in doing so adopted the Cannons Lacrosse identity. The team would once again become the Boston Cannons when the PLL assigned home cities after the2023 season.MLL was founded by Jake Steinfeld, Dave Morrow, and Tim Robertson. The Cannons founder and president is Matt Dwyer. From their inaugural season of 2001 through 2003, the Cannons played their home games atCawley Memorial Stadium inLowell, Massachusetts. In their inaugural 2001 season, the Cannons finished with a record of 3–11 but still qualified for the playoffs finishing in second place in the division. In 2004, they moved toNickerson Field atBoston University where they played through the 2006 season. In 2007, they moved toHarvard Stadium inAllston, a neighborhood inBoston, Massachusetts,^[2] which is less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from Nickerson Field and also within that distance from the Cannons' main office in Boston. The team qualified for the MLL playoffs 2001–2006, 2009-2011 and 2015. The Cannons won the 2004 and 2005 MLL American Division championships.

The Cannons won theSteinfeld Cup for the first time in 2011, defeating theHamilton Nationals 10–9. Boston went 9–3 in the regular season, their best record since going 10–2 in 2005. After losing to Chesapeake 13–9 in the 2010 semifinal, the Cannons avenged the Bayhawks by defeating them 14–13 in the 2011 semifinal with a goal from Max Quinzani. Boston became the fifth charter franchise to win a championship. By 2011, the Cannons were one of four charter franchises still in the league that started with six teams in 2001. The other three remaining charter franchises (Lizards,Bayhawks, andRattlers had all previously won at least one Steinfeld Cup (the defunctBarrage had won three). Head coach Bill Daye stepped down a month after winning the Steinfeld Cup, citing he wanted to spend more time with his family.^[3] Entering the 2021 season, Daye remains the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season games coached (72), regular-season games won (43), and playoff games coached (6).

The Cannons in 2013 and 2014 finished 5–9 and 6–8. This included a 1–5 start in 2013 leading to Steve Duffy's firing on June 10.^[4]John Tucker took his place and played .500 for the rest of the season. After the Cannons missed the playoffs for the fourth time in franchise history in 2014, Tucker led the team back to the postseason in 2015 as the 8–6 fourth seed. They played theNew York Lizards and lost 16–15 in overtime. The Lizards went on to win the Steinfeld Cup.

John Tucker left the Cannons after the 2015 season to become the first head coach and general manager of the expansion teamAtlanta Blaze. On October 8, 2015, Sean Quirk was announced as the sixth head coach in franchise history.^[5] In an odd2016 year in which seven of the league's nine teams, including the Cannons, finished with identical 8-6 records, Quirk's team was not rewarded with one of the four playoff spots after tie-breaking procedures. On December 20, 2016, it was announced that John Tucker would be returning to the Cannons as the team's offensive coordinator in 2017.^[6] Tucker was fired mid-season by the Blaze after a 3–7 start.

Despite a Week 1 win in2017, the Cannons season turned around. At 3–6, the Cannons traded away captainWill Manny andJoe LoCascio to theNew York Lizards forDave Lawson andChris LaPierre on June 27.^[7] On July 14, the Cannons announced that neither Lawson nor LaPierre would suit up for the team that season. Dave Lawson informed team officials that he would be retiring from the league while Chris LaPierre decided not to report to the team.^[8] The Cannons finished the season on a six-game losing streak. At 3-11, the Cannons posted the worst record in the league and tied their franchise-worst record from 2001, their inaugural season.

Following the 2018 season,Paul Rabil launched thePremier Lacrosse League, baiting over 140 MLL players to migrate over. However, the Cannons maintained more of their roster than other teams like theDallas Rattlers or Rabil'sNew York Lizards.^[9] Two months prior to the start of the 2019 season, the league cut the team roster from nine to six when theOhio Machine andFlorida Launch folded andCharlotte Hounds suspended operations for two seasons.^[10] Taking this to their advantage, the Cannons posted a 9–7 record in 2019, good enough for the third of four postseason seeds and gave Boston its first playoff berth since 2015. Boston faced the Denver Outlaws in the semifinal, who were also hosting Championship Weekend. The Cannons got off to a hot start and led by as many as six goals, but ultimately fell, 17–15, ending their season.^[11]

2019 was the Cannons' first season inQuincy. During the offseason they announced a move to and $1.5 million renovation ofVeterans Memorial Stadium.^[12] The Cannons announced two sellouts in their first season in the updated venue.

Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was shortened to five regular season games in seven days, all to be played in front of no fans atNavy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium inAnnapolis, Maryland. The Cannons finished fourth place out of six teams with a 3–2 record, and were the only team to defeat theDenver Outlaws in the regular season. Heading into the postseason, the Cannons were scheduled to play the Outlaws in the semifinal. However, after a player from theChesapeake Bayhawks experience symptoms of COVID-19 and eventually tested positive, the two other postseason competitors, Chesapeake andConnecticut, withdrew from the tournament. The Cannons' semifinal game with the Outlaws was pushed back a day and would be played as the championship. Boston defeated Denver for the second time in two days, the latter in 13-10 fashion for the franchise's second title, first in nine years.^[13] Newcomer attackman Bryce Wasserman, who played for theDallas Rattlers the season before, was named league MVP for 2020.

On December 16, 2020, in a statement fromMajor League Lacrosse (MLL), the Boston Cannons officially became the eighth team in thePremier Lacrosse League (PLL). It was announced that the team would be dropping "Boston" from their name and become "Cannons Lacrosse Club" to fit league nomenclature, the roster would be set via an expansion draft, and the team would begin play in the PLL in the 2021 season. Small tweaks to the former Boston Cannons branding resulted in a PLL crest and logo reveal on January 12, 2021.^[14] One week later, the league announced that Sean Quirk would continue coaching the team.^[15]

The Cannons played their first game of the2021 season on June 4 atGillette Stadium inFoxborough, Massachusetts, falling to theRedwoods Lacrosse Club, 12–11.^[16] They would finish the season 7th in the league, falling in the first round of the playoffs.

After the 2023 season the PLL assigned home cities to each of the eight teams. The Cannons were rebranded from Cannons Lacrosse Club to become the Boston Cannons.^[17]Since setting their "Homecoming Weekend" to the Harvard Stadium, the Cannons have performed well with two repeating 7-3 records in 2023 and 2024, a noticeable increase from their 3-6 record in 2022.^[18] However, they have yet to win the championship since establishing their home city, being bounced in the playoffs in the semi-final by the Philadelphia Waterdogs 17-6 in 2023 and by the Carolina Chaos 8-4 in the 2024 quarterfinals.^[18]

The Boston Cannons became the first team to go back to back in winning the Championship Series, defeating the Utah Archers 21-14 with Matt Campbell leading the way on offense with 8 points (7G, 1A).^[19] Campbell also won the Golden Stick Award for the most points (23 points) over the course of the series. Colin Kirst also set a record for the most saves during the 6v6 tournament, 72.^[20]

The 2025 PLL season begins on May 30, 2025 in Albany, NY. However, the Cannons don't begin their 2025 campaign until the next day, May 31, against the New York Atlas.^[21]

• David Gross (2001–2005)
• Jason Chandler (2006–2007)
• Mark Kastrud (2008–2011)
• Kevin Barney (2011–2017)

• Head coach - Brian Holman
• Assistant coaches - John Klepacki, Sean Kirwan

(C) indicates captain^[47][48]

*Indicates player is on Holdout list^[49]

**Indicates player is on PUP list

^Indicates player is on sabbatical^[50]

• Source:^[51][52]

• Head coach – Brian Holman
• Assistant coach – Jim Mitchell
• Assistant coach –Kyle Hartzell

Most Valuable Player

• Conor Gill:2004
• Paul Rabil:2009,2011
• Matt Poskay:2010
• Bryce Wasserman:2020

Rookie of the Year

• Conor Gill:2002

Coach of the Year

• Scott Hiller:2002,2005
• Bill Daye:2011
• John Tucker:2015
• Sean Quirk:2020

Defensive Player of the Year

• Ryan Curtis:2003
• Zach Goodrich:2020

Offensive Player of the Year

• Paul Rabil:2009,2011,2012
• Matt Poskay:2010

Goalie of the Year

• Chris Garrity:2005
• Kip Turner:2010

David Huntley Man of the Year

• Nick Marrocco:2019

Most Improved Player

• Chris Eck:2009
• Davey Emala:2015

Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year

• Lyle Thompson:2022
• Marcus Holman:2023

Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award

• Lyle Thompson:2021,2022

Jimmy Regan Teammate Award

• Brodie Merrill:2022

Dick Edell Coach of the Year

• Brian Holman:2023

• 2001: None
• 2002: Steve Dusseau,Georgetown (2nd overall); Conor Gill,Virginia (3rd overall)
• 2003: Chris Fiore,UMass (3rd overall)
• 2004: Chris Passavia,Maryland (6th overall)
• 2005:Johnny Christmas,Virginia (5th overall)
• 2006: None
• 2007: Kip Turner,Virginia (2nd overall)^[53]
• 2008:Paul Rabil,Johns Hopkins (1st overall)^[54]
• 2009: Brandon Corp,Colgate (4th overall)^[55]
• 2010: Max Quinzani,Duke (3rd overall)^[56]
• 2011: Shamel Bratton,Virginia (6th overall)^[57]
• 2012: None
• 2013: Cam Flint,Denver (6th overall)^[58]
• 2014: Scott McWilliams,Virginia (8th overall)^[59]
• 2015: Ryan Tucker,Virginia (4th overall); John Glesener,Army^[60]
• 2016: Greg Coholan,Virginia (6th overall), Brandon Mullins,Syracuse (9th overall)^[61]
• 2017: Sergio Perkovic,Notre Dame (2nd overall)
• 2018:Trevor Baptiste,Denver (1st overall)
• 2019: Zach Goodrich,Towson (3rd overall)
• 2020: Nick Mellen,Syracuse (4th overall)

• 2021: None
• 2022: None
• 2023: None
• 2024: Pat Kavanagh,Notre Dame (6th overall)
• 2025: (3rd overall); (4th overall)

• 2020:Lyle Thompson (1st overall); Zach Goodrich (6th overall)^[62]

The Cannons often reach out to the local community, hosting a variety of lacrosse camps and events for local youth.^[63] In addition, the Cannons support MetroLacrosse, by arranging scholarships for MetroLacrosse players and donating tickets for each home game to MetroLacrosse players and families. MetroLacrosse also maintains a booth in the Fan Zone for each home game.

• Official website