In 1990, Pittsburgh became home to a professional team in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League. The Pittsburgh Bulls lasted until 1994.
Then, in 2000, Baltimore's franchise in the National Lacrosse League relocated here but lasted only one season. The Pittsburgh Crossfire moved to Washington for the next campaign.
On Sunday, Major League Lacrosse, which is in its 10th anniversary season, comes to Pittsburgh with an eye peeled for interest.
The Chicago Machine will face the Chesapeake Bayhawks at 4 p.m. at Robert Morris University's Joe Walton Stadium, and MLL officials, expected to vote on expansion in the coming months, say they'll gauge the public's reaction to the game.
"Major League Lacrosse is very excited to come to Pittsburgh this season," comissioner David Gross said. "It is one of the many growing lacrosse markets across the country, and we're confident that this will be a great event for all the lacrosse fans in the region."
Chicago is playing its games at neutral sites this year for that very reason, said club president John Algie, a graduate of Pitt.
"Pittsburgh is as die-hard a sports city as any," he said.
The site of the game is the home of the Robert Morris men's and women's teams. The Colonials enter their first season in the Northeast Conference next year.
Chesapeake's leading scorer, midfielder Peet Poillon, is a Seneca Valley graduate who also leads the MLL with 14 points through the season's first two games.
During his senior year, Poillon was voted the player of the year in the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association.
He went on to attend Howard (Md.) Community College, where he was a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American, Ohio State and Maryland-Baltimore County before signing with the Bayhawks, who are coming off a 25-12 victory over defending league champion Toronto.
