In the MLL's inaugural season in 2001, the Long Island Lizards split their home games between
Hofstra Stadium, now James M. Shuart Stadium, and
EAB Park (now
Bethpage Ballpark). For the 2002 season, they used Hofstra Stadium as their home field. As of 2003, the Lizards played all home contests at
Mitchel Athletic Complex, in
Uniondale, New York until 2008. The team returned to
James M. Shuart Stadium for their home games in 2009. The Lizards have won American Division championships in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and Major League Lacrosse titles in 2001, 2003 and 2015. The team made the playoffs in 2005 as a wildcard despite a losing record. The team's name and logo are based on the
Italian wall lizard, a small reptile that was imported to Long Island (which has no native lizards) in the 1960s and which populate areas of the team's hometown of Hempstead in
Nassau County. On December 14, 2012, the Lizards changed their name to the New York Lizards. Prior to the 2015 season, the Lizards made a trade with the Boston Cannons for
Paul Rabil. In exchange for Paul Rabil and Mike Stone, the Cannons received Max Seibald, Brian Karalunas and three draft picks. That season, the Lizards won their third Steinfeld Cup and first in 12 years by defeating their instate rival Rochester Rattlers 15–12. The Lizards won the game at
Fifth Third Bank Stadium in
Atlanta, Georgia before a Steinfeld Cup-record 8,674 fans. Prior to the
2019 season, Rabil and his brother Michael formed the
Premier Lacrosse League, which would compete directly with Major League Lacrosse and lead to an attrition in talent. In the Lizards' first season after the pro lacrosse landscape changed vastly, they lost a franchise worst 11 games in
2019, and posted their second-worst winning percentage (.313). In
2020, a week-long, quarantined tournament thanks to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Lizards joined the 2006 Chicago Machine as the only two teams in league history to post a winless season. ==Rivalry==