Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/21/08
So far this year, the undefeated Philadelphia Wings have had everyone in the National Lacrosse League seeing red.
Friday night they are encouraging all fans attending their 8 p.m. showdown with the Minnesota Swarm at the Wachovia Center to join in the fun by wearing red as the Wings attempt to take sole possession of first place in the East Division.
“There has been incredible excitement from our fans surrounding this team’s amazing start,” said Wings President Russ Cline. “With the debut of our red jerseys on Friday, we had an opportunity for our fans to show their support by wearing red as well.”
The Wings (4-0) are one-half game behind the Swarm (6-1), with three less games played. Philadelphia is the league’s only undefeated team.
“We have the best fans in the NLL and they always give us and advantage when we’re playing at home,” said Wings’ forward and leading scorer Athan Iannucci. “Having our crowd decked out in red will be a huge boost when we get out on the floor on Friday night.”
The Wings will add wear their red jerseys for the first time and the new team jersey features the traditional Wings crest on the front with the distinctive Wings “W” on the back, extending out on each arm to give the appearance of actual wings.
Iannucci, the NLL Player of the Month for January, leads the Wings with 19 goals and 10 assists while Jake Bergey has 14 goals and 8 assists. Rookie Merrick Thomson has 11 goals and 11 assists while Jamie Rooney has 8 goals and 8 assists.
The Philadelphia defense is led by Taylor Wray and Kyle Sweeney (Springfield-Delco) and goalkeeper Rob Blasdell, who has 171 saves and a .767 save percentage. Transition players Geoff Snider (3 goals, 8 assists), Patrick Heim and John Christmas (Lower Merion, 9 assists) have been integral in keying the Wings’ fast-paced attack.
