After a great deal of turmoil over months and months the day has finally come. Tonight the Charlotte Copperheads and Jacksonville Bullies play their first ever in league game, and its been a long time coming. These two teams were announced almost a year ago now, but that’s for another time. Today is all about getting out on the floor and playing some lacrosse.
The Copperheads head to Jacksonville with one game under their belt from last St. Patrick’s Day. The team defeated Team Ireland in dominating fashion. Tonight they have their first PLL test in the Bullies. The Copperheads are lead by a strong group of forwards including Greg Rogowski and Ethan Farrell. The player to watch however, and maybe the best in the PLL, is Nick Cotter. Cotter has played three seasons in the NLL, his best year coming in 2010 when he had twenty goals and fourteen assists. This summer he signed a contract with the Buffalo Bandits to play in the NLL again this winter. Ryan Hotaling, another former Blazer, has been one of the major faces of the Copperheads from the beginning.
On the other side of things this game is Jacksonville’s first ever contest, which the team is very excited about. They also get the pleasure of hosting the first ever PLL action at the Jacksonville Memorial Arena. The Bullies unveiled their uniforms yesterday through their Facebook page and instagram, not surprisingly the team will be clad in navy blue, grey, and yellow accents. The team has not released their roster yet, so it is still unknown who will be suiting up in this new gear tonight.
The game starts at 7:00 tonight at the Jacksonville Memorial Arena. Tickets are still available for as little as $10. The game is currently the only one scheduled due to New Jersey backing out for this season, so it is not currently known how many games the three remaining teams will be playing. Tonight is a good milestone for the league however, especially since some were questioning whether they’d ever play an actual game. No matter how you feel about what has gone on in the past it has to be seen as a positive occurrence that the people of Jacksonville are able to finally watch indoor lacrosse. Tickets can be purchased at jaxbullies.com for anyone in the area, and make sure to spread the word!
