The announcement of the 2008 National Lacrosse League season awards concluded today with the Reebok Most Valuable Player Award, which goes to Athan Iannucci of the Philadelphia Wings. Iannucci emerged in his second season in the league as the top offensive force in 2008, leading the league in both goals (71) and points (100). He also led the tied for the league lead in game-winning goals (5) with Sean Pollock of the Minnesota Swarm.

The young forward scored 17 of his goals on the power play, helping the Wings convert on 40% of their chances. On the penalty killing unit, Iannucci scored five short-handed goals (tied for second best in the league with John Grant of Rochester). In addition, Iannucci collected 138 loose balls, tied for sixth in the NLL, and added 29 assists.

Iannucci's 71 goals not only helped the Wings score more goals than any other team this season (225) but it also set the new record for number of goals scored by an individual player in a single season. Iannucci surpassed the previous league record of 61 (Gary Gait, 2003) on April 12th against the Minnesota Swarm. Iannucci is also the only player to ever score 70 goals in a season in the league's history.

Iannucci helped lead the Philadelphia Wings to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth in the East Division, their first playoff appearance since the 2002 season. The Wings posted a 7-1 record at home, tying Buffalo for the most home wins in the league this season.

Recent winners of the Reebok Most Valuable Player Award for the regular season include John Grant (Rochester 2007), Steve Dietrich (Buffalo 2006), Colin Doyle (Toronto 2005), Jim Veltman (Toronto 2004), and Gary Gait (Colorado 2003).

The award winners were chosen by a vote of the leagues coaches, general managers, and executives. Voting took place following the end of the regular season and concluded prior to the start of the playoffs.

The MVP award was the final announcement leading up to the 2008 Edge National Lacrosse League Championship Game on Saturday, May 17th at 7:30 PM ET. The Buffalo Bandits will host the Portland LumberJax at HSBC Arena in a one-game, winner-take-all championship final. ESPN2 will air the game on Tuesday, May 20th at 2:00 PM ET. The game will air LIVE on ESPN360, The Score Television Network, Eurosport2 and online at NLL.com. SIRIUS Satellite Radio will air the game live on channel 119.

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Philadelphia Wings' forward Athan Iannucci was honored as the NLL's Reebok Most Valuable Player for the 2008 season. Iannucci is only the second Wings player to win the award. Lacrosse great Gary Gait won three straight MVP awards as a member of the Wings between 1995 and 1997.

“Winning the MVP award is a great honor. I owe my success this season to all of my teammates and coaches who made me a better player out on the field,” said Iannucci. “I am excited about the future of this team. We are a young, talented group and we plan to build on the success we had this season.”

2008 was a historic season for Iannucci, who broke the NLL single-season goal scoring record. He scored 71 goals in 16 games, ten more goals than Gary Gait's previous mark (61). Iannucci also received the NLL's Player of the Month Award three times (January, February, April), which was a league first. The 2008 overall scoring title went to Iannucci as well, who was the only player to reach the 100-point plateau (71G, 29A). He also led all forwards in the NLL in loose balls (138). Iannucci was selected to his first All-Star Game in 2008 and was the Wings only starter in the game.

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2008-05-15