Connor Kelly’s indoor lacrosse career started Thursday at the Onondaga Nation Fieldhouse. He’s in the midst of a week that might change his career trajectory for the better, entering into a new brand of lacrosse for the first time. 

Kelly, the former Maryland star and Tewaaraton award finalist, wrapped up his Terps career at the final four in May. He played the Major League Lacrosse season with the Atlanta Blaze — who chose him second overall in last spring’s MLL Draft — scoring 16 goals and adding four assists in nine games.

He was in the beginning stages of his offseason when he got the call from U.S. indoor coach Regy Thorpe, asking him to try out for the 2019 team. Kelly jumped at the chance. 

“This opportunity doesn’t come around that often,” he said. “I got the call and right from there I was ready to go, studying and working out, putting myself in the best position possible. I wanted to put myself out there and prove myself, so it’s been a whirlwind week.”

Shortly after the U.S. indoor team invite, Kelly got another boost of confidence for a future in the game. He was drafted by the newly founded San Diego Seals in the third round of Tuesday’s NLL Draft.

The next day, he jumped in his car and drove four hours to Syracuse for the U.S. Indoor National Team tryouts, which are taking place during the Lax All Stars North American Invitational Thursday through Saturday.

He got one night of practice in before USA Blue took the field Thursday morning. It took less than three minutes for Kelly, who scored 128 goals in his Maryland career, to tally his first in the indoor game — part of a three-goal, two-assist effort in the Blue team’s 11-2 win over the Czech Development Team.

With the victory, the Blue team will battle LaserSharks Blanco at 10:10 a.m. The White team, who took down the Akwesasne Aces on Thursday, will face Casey Powell World Lacrosse at 8:30 a.m.

“He’s obviously a really good field player that has some good potential in box,” U.S. indoor team coach Regy Thorpe said of Kelly. “He’s got a lot of upside. He had some time to get some shots off and he’s super accurate and got a couple goals across. It should add to his confidence.”

Happy as he was to notch a hat trick in his first-ever indoor lacrosse game, Kelly was just excited to learn something new.

“Number one, I was just going to give it my all,” he said. “Number two, I just wanted to learn a ton. I’m playing with the best guys in the world and the country so I’ll keep learning from them so it can help my game. It was an awesome first game and I’m excited for more.”

Kelly’s indoor crash course began Wednesday night during a full-squad practice at the Onondaga Nation Fieldhouse. There, he showed glimpses of the talent that earned him praise throughout his college career and a spot as an alternate for the U.S. field national team.

He also caught the attention of veterans like Blaze Riorden and Marcus Holman. 

Riorden, the former Albany goalie turned Buffalo Bandits star, took time to chat with Kelly as the Blue team was warming up Thursday. 

“I was telling him that I thought he did a really good job playing to his strengths and he kind of shoots off his hip a little bit,” Riorden said. “I told him to keep shooting that screen shot. I noticed that it was a natural instinct because he’s never played box. I told him ‘One thing you do really well is that you get to the middle of the floor and you shoot off your hip and it makes it hard for the goalie.’”

Kelly said he’s grateful for the support he’s gotten over the past two days.

“I’m looking with sort of tunnel vision and it’s nice to get their perspective on things and open things up,” he said.

Kelly doesn’t have to look far to find someone who has gone through similar circumstances. His teammate, Marcus Holman, joined the 2015 U.S. indoor team with no official box experience. He made the 2015 roster and won a bronze medal on the Onondaga Nation.

Holman, who made the trip from Utah, where he serves as an assistant under his father, scored a team-high four goals in the Blue team’s victory. He’s had little time to rest after winning gold with the U.S. field team in July in Netanya, Israel.

“It was a hectic summer coming from gold and coming back and playing another game with the Machine,” he said. “I gave myself a couple days off. But I like to train and stay in shape. I gave this heavy consideration because I wasn’t sure, with my job in Utah. I knew this was a big time commitment. But if I’m going to be here, I want to be the best teammate that I can. My mind is definitely on indoor right now.”

And he's doing his part to help foster a new generation of American box lacrosse players. He spoke with Kelly and others in the morning before taking the field.

“It’s a little bit of a full circle there,” he joked. “It’s funny how times goes by like that. I would consider myself a veteran and I’m guiding those younger guys and trying to help them out. It’s really important to me. We all have a responsibility to leave the game better than when we found it. Hopefully, they think that I’m fun to play with and a good teammate.”

White Team Rolls

Not to be outdone, USA White followed USA Blue’s strong performance with a 10-0 shutout of the Akwesasne Aces. Former Cornell star Jake Pulver led the way with two goals and two assists. 

Pulver, who battled ulcerative colitis as a young adult and rallied to become a Big Red captain in 2018, made his MLL debut for the Rochester Rattlers this summer. At LASNAI, he’s playing under former Cornell coach Peter Milliman, who is an assistant on Thorpe’s staff.

The highlight of the day came off a feed from Pulver to Rob Pannell, who delivered a SportsCenter Top 10-worthy behind-the-back goal.

USA White moved the ball with ease against the Aces, anchored by the veteran presence of Riorden, who finished with a goal and an assist.

“All the guys did a really good job working for each other,” Riorden said. “I didn’t feel like we were stagnant or hesitating on anybody. The thing I was most impressed by was our willingness to get to the dirty areas. We were getting rebounds on ground balls and hitting in the corners. We did a really good job putting pressure on them.”

Visiting a Lacrosse Legend

After the U.S. indoor team picked up two combined wins, it made a trip to legendary stick maker Alf Jacques. Thorpe and the team first heard from another lacrosse great — former Syracuse coach Roy Simmons Jr. — about the importance of the game of lacrosse to the Onondaga.

Then, Jacques walked the team through the history of the lacrosse stick and showed off some of his best designs. It didn’t take long for some of the players to try out Jacques’ creations for themselves.

Thorpe, who grew up nearby the reservation, knew the importance of learning the origins of the game.

“[My friends on the reservation] are near and dear to me and have an unbelievable culture that I respect the heck out of,” he said. “For us to be playing on their soil, I thought it was appropriate to pay our respects to Alf Jacques and have Coach Simmons Jr. come in. Learning the history of the game is important for our U.S. people. It was really good for our guys.”