There are many of reasons as to why a player, big or small, will pull themselves from a tryout. For the US Men’s National team, those reasons ranged from injuries to jobs.
There were six players all together who crossed themselves off the roster. They included Casey Powell, Peet Poillon, Matt Gibson, Jordan Wolf, Ryan Boyle, and David Earl. With Powell not in the lineup, it is the first time since 1994 that there hasn’t been a member of the Powell family at a US Lacrosse tryout. Casey said in a tweet that he made the decision to withdraw his name. Wether it’s his new job or a form of injury, the number 22 will be worn by someone else in Denver for team USA.
Hours before Powell made his announcement, Poillon had also withdrawn. His reason was to focus on his newly acquired job as a Hobart assistant coach. One of, if not the best quarterback of Team USA in Boyle, said that he felt it was time to move on. Boyle’s been through the procedure three times and knows the level of commitment that goes into the team. He’s quoted, “It’s arguably the highest honor that one can achieve in the sport. That’s what I believed growing up and what I still believe. At this point in my life, I wasn’t ready to make that commitment, if I even was selected.”
Gibson suffered a concussion, Wolf extracted with an undisclosed injury and Earl made the decision to go tryout for Team Canada instead.
Since they’ve withdrawn, the team has cut to 52 players. The roster will eventually slim to 23, making it an even tougher decision for Coach Meade and the US Team assistants in who they want to dawn the Red, White and Blue during July 2014 in Denver, CO.
