Philadelphia, PA - With a playoff spot tightly secured, the Philadelphia Barrage prepare for their final game against the Baltimore Bayhawks. When these two teams met at Villanova Stadium on July 27, it was an interesting event with a long lightning delay, followed by another lightning delay with three minutes left in the first quarter, following by another delay, ending the game three minutes early. Despite the constant delays the Barrage managed to top the Bayhawks 22-11. This second match-up is important for the Barrage; they need a win to be dubbed the Eastern Division Champions. The Bayhawks, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, could be the spoiler for the Barrage because with a loss, Philadelphia will drop to second place, allowing the Boston Cannons to take the title, only if the Cannons win, which would put the Barrage, third in the playoffs. A Philadelphia win would also put the team one step closer to clinching the number one seed in the playoffs. In order for that to happen, the Denver Outlaws would have to lose to the Los Angeles Riptide. If Denver wins, Philadelphia will be seeded second.

The Barrage is coming off a four-game winning streak, after dashing Rochester hopes of making the playoffs, handing them a 13-18 loss. Key players for Philadelphia are attackman Ryan Boyle, who had a season high of nine points (5G, 4A) against Baltimore the first time they met and 36 total points (13G, 23A), midfielder Roy Colsey who leads the Barrage in points, 41 overall (24G, 5 2ptG, 12A) and goaltender Brian Dougherty, who has an 11.55 goals against average and a .633 save percentage, putting him in second place in the MLL.

This will mark the final regular season game of 2006 for the Barrage as they travel to Towson, Maryland to face the Bayhawks. Face off is set for Saturday, August 12 at 7:00 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The 2006 New Balance Championship Weekend will take place August 25-27 at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, California. The semifinal rounds will be held Friday, August 25 at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The Championship game will be held Sunday, August 27 at 2:00 p.m.