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Team USA Rosters Announced for Champion Challenge

from press release

Casey Powell, who made an MLL comeback last summer with the Hamilton Nationals, is one of 21 members of the U.S. men's team that will compete Jan. 27-29 at Champion Challenge, a US Lacrosse event. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com

BALTIMORE – US Lacrosse has announced the U.S. national men's and women's senior teams rosters for the 2012 Champion Challenge, a US Lacrosse event. Both national teams will face off against top collegiate and international competition at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Jan. 27-29.

The 21-member U.S. men's senior team will play the University of Denver Sunday, Jan. 29. Leading the coaching staff for Champion Challenge will be several members of the U.S. men's national team that claimed Team USA's ninth title at the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Cup. The staff includes Kevin Cassese, currently the head coach at Lehigh University, Shawn Nadelen, entering his first season as head coach at Towson University, and Brian Dougherty, head coach at Chestnut Hill College. The roster includes players from the 2010 World Cup team and the 2009 training team as well as numerous professional level standouts.

The full U.S. men's roster:

The U.S. women's national senior team will play the English women's national team (Jan. 27), as well as the top two finishers in last year's NCAA Division I tournament, the University of Maryland (Jan. 28) and national champion Northwestern University (Jan. 29). This will be the final training opportunity for the 38-player 2011-12 squad, led by head coach Ricky Fried (Georgetown University women's head coach), before the roster is trimmed to 24 in preparation for a summer competition tour in Oshawa, Canada, host of the 2013 World Cup.

The full U.S. women's roster is the same as previously announced in August.

Also participating in this year's event are Notre Dame and Jacksonville Universities' men's teams, as well as Syracuse University's women's team.

Returners from the 2009 women's team: Sarah Albrecht (Northwestern '06), Sarah Bullard (Duke '09), Amber Falcone (North Carolina '09), Megan Huether (Duke '06), Erica LaGrow (North Carolina '08), Caitlyn McFadden (Maryland '10), Holly McGarvie (Princeton '09), Lindsey Munday (Northwestern '06), Regina Oliver (Ohio State '05), Katie Rowan (Syracuse '09), Acacia Walker (Maryland '05) and Devon Wills (Dartmouth '06).

Returners from the 2010 men's team: Mike Leveille (Syracuse '08), Stephen Peyser (Johns Hopkins '08), Max Seibald (Cornell '09) and Matt Striebel (Princeton '01). Returners from the 2009 training team: Stephen Berger (Washington College '04), Steven Brooks (Syracuse '08), Chris Eck (Colgate '08), Kevin Leveille (Massachusetts '03) and Lee Zink (Maryland '04).

Several Team USA members on both the men's and women's sides bring Florida ties to this seventh annual exhibition event. Men's team veterans Casey Powell (Boca Raton/St. Andrew's School), Doug Shanahan (Ft. Lauderdale/Pine Crest HS) and Chazz Woodson (Miami/Ransom Everglades HS) all reside and coach high school teams in Florida; while on the women's side, Erica LaGrow and Caitlyn McFadden both serve as assistant coaches of the University of Florida women's team.

The schedule of Team USA games is as follows:
Friday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m. – U.S. Women's Team vs. England Women's Team
Saturday, Jan. 28, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. – U.S. Women's Team vs. Maryland
Sunday, Jan. 29, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. – U.S. Women's Team vs. Northwestern
Sunday, Jan. 29, 1:30 p.m. – U.S. Men's Team vs. Denver

In addition to playing, both U.S. men's and women's national teams will host National Team Player Clinics for youth and high school players in grades 3-12 Saturday, Jan. 28. And, the U.S. women's team coaching staff will offer a clinic for local coaches to learn "The Team USA Way."