People were wondering when the USA indoor team was going to come out with a roster, being so close to the world games next month and not hearing of anything since the tryouts way back in November. Well, we have life and USA Lacrosse put out a 31 man roster, which looks much different than the names of the tryout applicants who were first listed way back in the fall. This team looks more ready for the box game and could compete for the top spot. There are some names of Iroquois players such as Ty Thompson and veteran team USA member Jake Henhawk. Native Americans are duel Citizens so even though Jake is from Canada and resides there he can still play as well as any other Native American player.
There is also word around that more Native American players may join this lineup with the Nationals cutting some players late. The one person who got left off who could’ve really helped the roster is Sam Bradman. He was at last fall’s tryouts and was a regular in the Swarm’s lineup and right now is going to be playing the Presidents Cup for the Capital Axemen.
For the offense you have NLL players Kevin Buchanan of the New England Black Wolves, Drew Westervelt of the Colorado Mammoth, Joe Walters from the Rochester Knighthawks and Joe Resetarits also from the Knighthawks. These players look to be the big guns and they also add to the mix Ty Thompson, retired NLL player Jeff Ratcliffe, and Vermont Voyageurs Brandon Dube.
Marcus Holman has spent time with the Swarm practice team in the NLL and I got to see Tim Desko play up close this summer for the Onondaga Redhawks and Blaze Riorden win Ontario’s with the JR B Akwesanse Indians. Both are very good box players. For Drew Snider, he is a top MLL player and knows how to score.
For the defense and transition players who are locks are New England Black Wolves faceoff man Ryan Hotaling, Brett Manney, Brian Megill, and Drew Petkoff. Drew is from Hamilton, Ontario originally and grew up playing box; now he lives in New York City.
Chris O’Dougherty may be from New Jersey but while living out in the state of Washington he plays for the Vancouver Stealth and in the WLA during the summer. Greg Downing is currently a Georgia Swarm defender. Both are locks for making the team.
Some former NLL players are Joe Cinosky who has played for the Swarm and CJ Costabile, Steve Holmes, and John Ranagan, who are all former Wings players. Scott Ditzell is a retired player from the Rochester Knighthawks who had a great career at Syracuse and Herkimer Community College. Another Herkimer product on the list is Donny Moss. Moss used to play in the Can-Am league for the Rochester Gray Wolves and is a current MLL player for the Rattlers. Others on the list are Jeff Reynolds and Matt Abbott who are not known for playing box, other than short stints in Boston and Philadelphia, but are two of the better midfielders in the MLL.
For goalies, Chris Collins has seen time in both the MLL and NLL and now is a coach for the New England Black Wolves and Drexel University. Jake Henhawk is from the Six Nations Ontario and has been a member of team USA before. Jake last played in the NLL for the Knighthawks and now plays CLax for the Ohsweken Demons and St. Catherine’s Senior B and is looking for a President’s Cup. David Mathers is a former Junior A starter who now plays WLA for the Langley Thunder where he saw game action in one game. Ni McComber is another opinion in net—he is Native American and last played for Vermont.
People may still be questioning the roster but things could be worse. It is filled with players who are current and former NLL pros as well many who play Senior and Juniors in Canada. Canada and Iroquois will be good but the USA will be looking to win gold. Their first test is this weekend when they take on the Vermont Voyageurs before making final cuts.
