Casey Powell and Matt Vinc helped lead the Orlando Titans to the East Division regular season title with a franchise-best 11-5 record, and last week were named the National Lacrosse League’s 2010 Most Valuable Player and Goaltender of the Year, respectively.

Casey Powell scores a goal from behind the net in a first round playoff game against Boston on May 1. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Bershaw/Orlando Titans)

Powell led the Titans in scoring this season with 80 points in 14 games, including a career-high 44 goals which were good for second in the NLL behind the 46 goals scored by Washington’s Lewis Ratcliff. Powell’s 3.14 goals per game were best in the league in 2010.

Powell accomplished the feat despite missing two games with a knee injury. He returned to the lineup to score 22 goals and earn game MVP honors five times in his final seven games of the season. He also scored three goals or more in a game in 11 out of the 16 total games he played.

Perhaps most impressive was his effort in the Titans first postseason game in Orlando against Boston, where he scored five goals and had two assists to help the Titans crawl out of a 7-3 hole and advance with a 12-11 win. The Titans fell one game short of the Champion’s Cup final with a 15-10 loss to Toronto in the next round.

The veteran credited his team for helping him earn the MVP award by explaining, “We had a great defense, a great goaltender and great coaching this season and that made my job a lot easier.”

Matt Vinc (Photo by Scott McCall)

And speaking of goaltenders, Vinc led the NLL in minutes played (902), total saves (609), saves-per-game (40.6), save percentage (.810), and regular season wins (10); while ranking third in goals against average (9.51).

His 609 saves tied his 2009 total as the third highest in NLL history, which he could have improved on had he not sat out the season finale once the Titans already had the division in hand. The all-time single-season saves record of 644 was set by Albany’s Rob Blasell in 2002.

Both Powell and Vinc, affectionately referred to as “VNO” by the home crowd, were named to the first unit of the NLL All-Pro Team. Orlando defenseman John Orsen and transition/forward Jordan Hall were named to the second team. The Titans led all teams with four total selections.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –