LAX Sports !

By Sean Connolly

In front of his fans, on his turf, Ryan Powell put on an unforgettable performance yesterday as the West beat the East, 31-15, in this year’s MLL All-Star game. Powell scored a record 6 goals yesterday breaking the mark for goals scored in an all-star game and had 7 points which tied the record. Powell made this night what it was, entertaining and enjoyable.

What a perfect guy to put on such a perfect performance. The hometown performer in front the fans that come out every game and support him. Powell showed the utmost respect by putting on a memorable show that will stay with fans forever. Before this game I was looking for John Grant or Brian Langtry to step up and make the game enjoyable to watch, but as the game went on there was no doubt that Powell was the man to do it.

Another entertaining aspect of this game was the skills challenge that was held during half time. Chazz Woodson wowed the crowd with his jump over two kids while shooting and took home the trophy for the freestyle portion of the skills challenge. Los Angeles Riptide midfielder Anthony Kelly won the fastest shot event with a blistering speed of 109 mph. Jake Byrne of San Fransisco won the first ever two point shot contest as well. I really like how the skills challenge is during half time and not on a separate day, it doesn’t drag out the all-star festivities and even though the game was really entertaining, the magic during half time kept me seated.

Looking back at this game, the MLL has to consider this a success. They brought out over 10,000 fans to Invesco Field at Mile High. The game itself was entertaining and put several unknown players into the limelight. The skills competition showed these MLL players’ range and versatility and how fun the game truly is. This really is a big step forward for the MLL.