June 16, 2005

BALTIMORE - As the 24 selectors for the 2006 U.S. Men's National Team lumbered off the UMBC field last night around 10 p.m. they all knew they had a long night ahead of them. It was time to go back as a group and rank the players, like they do after each session, but there was a feeling this session was going to be more troublesome then usual.

"It is going to be tough," said a first-year U.S. Men's National Team selector. "We'll see how much we get done tonight."

There is a lot to be decided on in less then a 24-hour span. Choosing ONLY 23 players out of a pool of over 115 elite lacrosse players in the country, if not the world, is a rather daunting task. According to sources, the selection committee was able to pare the list down to 60 players before last night's evening session. That means another 37 players need to be cut off that list, soon, as we are hours away from knowing who will represent the United States in the 2006 International Lacrosse Federation World Championships in Ontario, Canada from July 13-22, 2006.

The official announcement of the 2006 U.S. Men's National Team will be made on the US Lacrosse Web site www.uslacrosse.org Thursday afternoon.

Eight sessions of games in three days are in the books. Thursday's morning session is the last time for the players to make an impression on the selection committee, which consists of some of the best college lacrosse coaching talent ever assembled, but for some, last night's third session under the lights was their time to shine.

In the third and final game, which contained the majority of 'big names', UMass attackman Kevin Leveille stole the spotlight with a three-goal performance. Leveille's first goal came off a sweet feed from Michael Powell midway through the first half. The four-time All-American from Syracuse ran to midfield, from his attack position, and threw himself into a scrum of five players fighting for the loose ball. Powell scooped up the ground ball and darted towards the cage. He then whipped a behind-the-back pass to Leveille on his left who, in stride, finished the feed by beating goalie Rob Scherr.

"I saw that he [Powell] was going to grab that ground ball so I started to cheat down towards the net," said Leveille. "He put his flash onto, it was a perfect pass, and I just had to make sure I finished it."

Other players who helped their stock in the afternoon and evening sessions on Wednesday night:

Blake Miller: The Long Island Lizard midfielder was a trooper in the first evening session. Miller has been hobbled with injuries as of late went down hard late in the game but not before scoring three goals and passing out an assist.
The Powells: Casey played in the first evening game and scored two goals while his siblings Michael and Ryan teamed on the first attack line in the third evening game. Ryan passed out two assists in the first half before scoring two goals in the second half. Michael scored two goals and one assist, all in the first half.
Jed Prossner: The North Carolina attackman scored three goals in the second evening game to lead all scorers.
Nick Bonacci: The Dartmouth attackman had a strong afternoon and evening session. He scored two goals and one assist in the afternoon before reversing those numbers in the evening to one goal and two assists.
Matt Russell: The Navy goalie only had one save in the last evening game but that was because his offense of Michael and Ryan Powell, John Christmas and Kevin Leveille were doing damage on the other side of the field. Russell held the opposition to four goals in the half. He also made seven saves in the afternoon session.

Everywhere a Battle
Wednesday's morning sessions featured some intriguing faceoff matchups. In the second scrimmage, MLL veteran Paul Cantabene of the Baltimore Bayhawks squared off against Georgetown graduate Andy Corno. Cantabene leads the MLL through three games with a 57 percent success rate on faceoffs. Corno graduated as the Hoyas' all-time leader in faceoffs at 65 percent.

Unofficially, Cantabene won 11 faceoffs to Corno's two, though both were whistled for multiple illegal procedures.

"He's a warrior. You can't take anything away from him," said Corno. "He's been in and out of every league you can possibly be in, so he knows all the tricks and the ins and outs. He works his butt off out there just to get the ball."

"You just have to play your game. I was fairly successful doing my thing," said Cantabene. "[Corno's] a good faceoff guy. All the college guys are good when they come out. But once you get out of college, you have to go to the next level. He'll continue to improve. I think he'll be great as the years go by."

In the third game of the evening session Cantabene went up against Doug Shanahan of the Philadelphia Barrage and a member of the 2002 U.S. Team. Shanahan took two of three from Cantabene in the second half but both of them had trouble with the referee who whistled both for two illegal procedures.

Still No Front Runner
The buzz around the sidelines and stadium last night was still about the goalie situation. As first reported on Lacrosse Magazine Online in Tuesday's Tryout Notebook, the keeper situation is wide open without Greg Cattrano or Brian Dougherty in the mix. Billy Daye, 34, continues to not play like his age as he was solid again yesterday afternoon and evening. Daye, who has taken time off from the game, has showed little rust from the lay off.

"This is my last go around," said Daye, who also tried out for the 1998 U.S. team. "I got the opportunity to come tryout so obviously I want to make the team. That's why I am here. Hopefully, I can do it."

Another goalie who has been playing solid is Navy goalie Matt Russell. The short and scrappy goalie said it is great to be part of the tryout but his goal is to make the team.

"I have no idea where I sit," said Russell. "Obviously, I would love to be the guy but there are a lot of other great goalies here. I think I have played well enough to do it."

Defending on the Fly
International rules, perhaps most noticeable the quick restarts and substituting only on the fly, have governed the play of team scrimmages. That lends itself to an obvious playbook of transition offense - not necessarily something that requires much preparation by attackmen and midfielders.

But what about the defense?

"It's pretty much all on the fly, with whatever the goalie's most comfortable with," said defenseman Joe Ceglia when asked about slide packages and the lack of scheming the longpoles have employed, primarily due to the absence of preparation time.

Defenses had some success in the morning session. Only three of six teams reached double figures in scoring. Ceglia, a 2000 graduate of Syracuse, covered fellow Orange alum and Baltimore Bayhawk attackman Michael Powell at times.

No Name Dropping
The excruciating tryouts have been grueling for big and small names alike. This is one tryout where your name and background from college or the pro leagues do little to help your odds of making the team.

"I realize nobody has any spots no matter what anybody says or who is returning," said Philadelphia Barrage midfielder and 2002 U.S. Team member Ryan Boyle. "It is a tryout. If they are going to call it a tryout then that's the way I am going to approach it as."

"It is not like the USA Olympic Basketball team when they pick the team. It is performance based."

A majority of players and observers have been saying Michael Powell is hands down the best player on the field and they are probably right. Michael has more then likely solidified a spot onto the team but it hasn't come without his stellar play on the field.

"Once you get to this level there is no difference. If you are a DI, DII or DIII guy it is all the same. You are representing your country which is awesome," said Salisbury defenseman Jeff Bigas. "If I don't make the team I am not going to look back at it as a negative thing. It has been a great experience. You know as they say, better luck next time."

Tomorrow afternoon 97 tryout players will have to settle for just that.

Stick Checks
* With a lot of Major League Lacrosse players trying out the speed of the game has been dramatically fast paced. The MLL players are used to getting a shot off quickly as their league has a 60-second shot clock.

* The tryouts have been running smoothly, besides the heat, but comfort in the dorm rooms seem to be lacking. The 'paper thin mattress,' as one attackman described it, is not comfortable at all after three games in a day. "You just stick to it," said Salisbury graduate Joe High.

* It has been a busy week for Ryan Boyle as he has been trying out. Boyle, who has played in all of the sessions, needs to play the late game each night because he is working a nearby lacrosse camp from 5-8 p.m.

* Baltimore temperatures again soared into the 90s, but less humidity and a nice breeze provided some relief.

* The U.S. Men's Team will play its first game as a team at the Lacrosse for Leukemia Tournament on October 1, 2005 at the St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Md.

Lacrosse Magazine Online staff writer Paul Krome contributed to this article.