Making the Major LEague Lacrosse All Star Game is an honor, not a right. This year, there are some new faces that were selected on to the rosters, along with some reigning players from ASG’s past.
Newbies:
Six attack men (Pannell, Bocklet, Cunningham, Rubeor, Stanwick and Young), four midfielders (Crowley, Greer, Macintosh, and Snider), three defenders (Ehrman, Manley, and Schmidt), and one goalie in Kip Turner.
Always good to see new faces in the MLL ASG. It gives fans a view of the young talent from around the league and what the future holds.
Oldies but Goodies:
On Attack, Drew Westervelt (5). At Midfield, Kyle Dixon (5), Paul Rabil (6), Joe Walters (6) and Matt Striebel (9). Defensively, Kyle Sweeney (7), Lee Zink (7) and Brodie Merrill (8). Jesse Schwartzman has the most ASG appearances out of the goalies with six.
Some of these guys have made every ASG since they entered the league, and although nine might seem like a lot, Matt Striebel can still run and gun with the best of them.
Now it’s time to discuss who got snubbed from the All Star Game roster. There will always be testament as to who should be on the roster and who shouldn’t. Players selected do have outside of lacrosse lives and that’s why they are not listed.
Attack:
Tommy Palasek, NY Lizards – This kid has a beautiful way f finishing the ball. He leads the Lizards in points and has only underperformed a few times, which has also been due to defensive play.
Eric Law, Denver Outlaws – In his three games as a pro, he has more points than players that have been in the league longer.
Stephen Keogh, Hamilton Nationals – Started in the MLL late again because of the NLL season overlapping and still has more goals than Stanwick, who was selected on the ASG roster.
Matt Danowski, Charlotte Hounds – One of those players that would have been selected, but has other obligations that he informed the league of prior to the All Star Game.
Midfield:
Matt Poskay, Boston Cannons – 20 points so far this season, which is more than some of the players who were snubbed and should have been selected (Keogh). Has helped Boston win games with goals when needed, especially in the EMO. He seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Kevin Unterstein, NY Lizards – Heart, attitude, scrappiness, are just some of the characteristics in which Unterstein plays with every game. He’s also scooped up 34 ground balls. With FOGO’s obsolete, he is a top ground ball midfielder, not to mention a spectacular defensive midfielder.
Casey Cittadino, Charlotte Hounds – Just as emotional as Unterstein, shorter in height by an inch, but bigger by fifteen pounds. Someone you don’t want go up against on the wing or in the open field when he’s running down hill.
John Ranagan, Rochester Rattlers – One of the bigger younger players in the class of 2013, has only played in four games so far but has impacted his team greatly. After a no point first game showing, John’s found his groove and upped his goal total to ten, including four goals in his teams loss to Hamilton. Despite the losses, Ranagan’s given his team hope for the future, which in my eyes deserved a spot on the midfield portion of the roster.
Ben Hunt, Chesapeake Bayhawks – One more point than Jordan Macintosh (14), which have all been single goals. Four less goals than Jordan but has scored two 2pt goals and has acquired three assists and seven ground balls. I’m giving him credit because credit is due.
Defense:
Joel White, Rochester Rattlers – How? How does one get snubbed when you’re one of the most feared poles in the league? Not just defensively, but all around, including offense and transition. Baffling.
Matt Bocklet, Denver Outlaws – 46 ground balls so far this season. Only two away from Brodie Merrill, who is one of the most lethal poles in the game. If you’re almost even to one of the most dominant defenders in the league, how don’t you get picked? Merrill’s weapons are GB’s, transition, offensive minded and forcing you to make the mistakes, much of that you can see in Bocklets game.
Tucker Durkin, Hamilton Nationals – Rookie, but well deserving of a spot. Has helped Hamilton win games by stopping his opponent on more than one occasion, making a splash defensively in the MLL as expected and out performing some of the guys that have been in the MLL longer.
Goalie:
John Galloway, Rochester Rattlers – As one of the best clearing goalies in the game, not to mention the emotion he brings with every save, one has to ask, why? Is it because he’s on a squad that has underperformed? Maybe. The Lizards have not performed up to task, but Adams is still in. John also has the fourth highest save percentage at .553 and has let up eleven less goals than Adams. He has fifteen more saves than Schwartzman, though Jesse hasn’t really had to face that many shots. As well as twenty more saves than Queener. However, that’s just numbers and stats. A major difference between Galloway and these goalies are the defensive units in front of them. If Galloway had the Outlaws or Nationals defense, he would be in Charlotte without question.
