Ireland’s Tim Chryssikos loses his stick after a great check from Rhodri Evans of Wales at the World Lacrosse Championships, Tuesday, July 18, 2006, in London, Ontario, Canada. (Click for a larger version: 140K.) Chryssikos had 3 goals and an assist as Ireland thumped Wales, 12-4.
Men’s lacrosse coach Dom Starsia announces that attackman Ben Rubeor, defenseman Ricky Smith and midfielder Drew Thompson have been selected team captains for the 2007 season.
Rubeor, a junior from Towson, Md., enters his third season as a starter on the attack. One of the most dynamic offensive players in the country, he earned second-team All-America honors last season as the Cavaliers won the national championship with a 17-0 record. He finished second on the team behind Player of the Year Matt Ward in points (58) and assists (24), both career-high figures. He also notched 34 goals and led the team on eight occasions.
Smith, a senior from Hicksville, N.Y., has been one of the team’s most underrated performers throughout his career. A two-year starter on close defense, he will be looked to as a defensive leader this season. A slick stickhandler, he led ACC longsticks with 51 ground balls and was named a third-team All-American.
Thompson, a senior from Northport, N.Y., will be one of the top midfielders in the country this spring. He blossomed last season into an exceptional all-around player, playing offense, defense and taking face-offs. He tallied 23 assists, 17 goals and 40 points a year ago. He led the nation’s middies with 23 assists and was one of only seven to score at least 15 goals and add at least 15 assists last season. Thompson also snared 67 ground balls and won 57 percent of his faceoffs.
»» Read the rest of this entry »
Wed 27 Sep 2006
The University of Vermont has named Ryan Curtis as its new men’s lacrosse coach. Vermont Director of Athletics Dr. Robert Corran made the announcement today. Curtis replaces Steve Beville who resigned on August 28th to become the men’s lacrosse coach at Division III Cortland State.
“We are excited to have Ryan assume the head coaching role in our men’s lacrosse program,” Corran said. “He brings tremendous experience as a player at every level of the game and all the attributes of a leader and coach. He has a bright coaching future ahead of him and I’m thrilled that it will be as a Catamount.”
“I am very excited to be here and this is a great opportunity for me professionally and for my family,” Curtis said. “Dr. Corran and Chris McCabe (Assistant Vice President for Athletic Marketing and Business Development) have been great and I want to thank them for this opportunity. Plans are in place for the team to succeed here and I am excited to get started.”
»» Read the rest of this entry »
Tue 26 Sep 2006
The University of Virginia’s Men’s Lacrosse program is the source of a significant number of impact players in the MLL. One of those players is Michael Culver, who was named the MLL’s Sportsman on the Year. He received some early attention by “guaranteeing a win” for the Chicago Machine against the Los Angeles Riptide. (The Machine lost, Culver donated his salary for the game to The Children’s Heart Foundation.) Culver recently sat down with Major League Lacrosse correspondent Dan Campagna for an in-depth interview.
Chicago Machine defensemen Michael Culver was on top of the college lacrosse world. His University of Virginia team went undefeated en route to a NCAA title and he was selected in the first round of the 2006 Collegiate Draft (7th overall pick). He was on a hot streak, but things cooled down for Culver in the windy city as the Machine went winless in 2006. MLL was able to chat with Michael and get some details about an interesting change of scenery.
Read the complete interview here.
Sat 23 Sep 2006
Like the Men’s team, the Virginia Women’s team ended up ranked by Inside Lacrosse in its annual Recruiting Issue. In fact, while the Men’s team was rated #3, Virginia’s first-year class tops the list at #1.
While only one Cavalier — Brittany Kalkstein (Roland Park)– made the Top 10 Freshmen list, Inside Lacrosse had this to say about Julie Myers’s newest recruits:
The Cavaliers loaded up with seven Under Armour All-Americans. Do-it-all performer Brittany Kalkstein is the headliner, but Kaitlin Duff, Marye Kellerman, Allo Perry, Missy Sunseri, Caity Whiteley and defender Katelyn Strasdauskas add to the embarrassment of riches.
Fri 22 Sep 2006
A midfielder for Japan’s Team Zipang resets the offense against the Long Island Jesters in the Master’s tournament at the World Lacrosse Championships, Thursday, July 20, 2006, in London, Ontario, Canada. (Click for a larger version: 212K.) The Jesters won convincingly.