The last time Kevin and Mike Leveille played lacrosse together in the Capital District, it was in the backyard of their Delmar home.
The Leveille brothers returned to Albany on a rainy Saturday night as part of the Chicago Machine, a traveling Major League Lacrosse franchise. They each scored two goals in a 13-12 overtime loss to the Long Island Lizards in front of 2,132 spectators at University at Albany’s John Fallon Field.
It was nice, said older brother Kevin, who added three assists to his two goals. `It was a great turnout, even with the weather.`
Both brothers had show-stopping goals. Mike ` four years younger than Kevin ` faked out the Long Island goaltender and slammed home a shot from the right post in the first quarter to give Chicago a 4-0 lead. Then in the second quarter, Kevin took a pass from Mike, turned his back to the goal and fired an over-the-shoulder shot into the net to put the Machine ahead 7-3.
`He’s usually more flash than I am,` said Mike of Kevin.
The Leveille brothers’ exploits couldn’t save Chicago from a Long Island comeback, though. The Lizards scored four consecutive goals in the third quarter to erase the Machine’s four-goal lead. Chicago then built an 11-9 advantage in the fourth quarter before Long Island rallied to tie the game again. The Lizards scored early in the first 10-minute overtime period to pull out the victory.
`We just let them hang around,` said Mike. `We didn’t finish off our opportunities that could have put them away.`
`Things just changed [in the second half], and we got off track from what we wanted to do out there,` added Kevin.
Despite the loss, the Leveilles were appreciative of the fans’ willingness to weather the elements for a chance to see a professional lacrosse game.
`We’ve always known growing up that people take their lacrosse seriously up here,` said Kevin.
Albany was the third `home` game for Chicago, which is searching for a new owner and possibly a new city to call home. The Machine played their first two home games in Cary, N.C. ` a suburb of Raleigh ` and Pittsburgh. Their next home game is Saturday in Virginia Beach.
`For me, it’s not any different,` said Mike, who works as an accountant in New York City. `I live in New York City, so Chicago was always a place to travel to [for home games].`
Kevin added that the Machine’s travels have allowed him to see how much lacrosse has grown in popularity.
`There’s a lot of people that like the sport,` said Kevin, who makes his home in Syracuse. `We had a great turnout in Pittsburgh on Memorial Day weekend, and we had a good turnout in North Carolina.`
Still, the opportunity to play together at the pro level ` whether in Chicago, in Albany or somewhere else ` is something the Leveille brothers cherish.
`It’s a lot of fun,` said Mike. `We never had the opportunity [as kids].“