Sign up for the latest news & updates

© 2024 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.

Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. Canadian women’s lacrosse is on the rise, with box lacrosse-bred players not only infiltrating the NCAA ranks, but also bringing their flair to the international game. Danita Stroup, the Northwestern star and LIU Brooklyn transfer who on Wednesday was granted an extra year of eligibility to return in 2018, most memorably had the behind-the-back assist that sparked Canada’s under-19 team to an upset of the U.S. in 2015. Stroup will suit up for Canada’s senior World Cup team looking to dethrone Team USA in the upcoming FIL Women’s World Cup in England. As will Allison Daley, one of two goalies on the roster and collegiate assistant coach who has returned to Binghamton after one season at Delaware.

2. The BBC will broadcast live eight games during the medal round of the World Cup, marking the first time the sport will be televised for free in the U.K. while adding global distribution of the events — a bigger deal than most people realize. The BBC schedule includes the quarterfinals July 19, the semifinals July 20 and the bronze and gold medal games July 22.

3. New York Lizards attackman Will Manny enjoyed a dazzling debut for his new team. Manny, acquired from the Boston Cannons last week, scored five goals in the Lizards’ 15-14 win over the Ohio Machine to earn Major League Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week honors and this hat tip from halfway around the world.

Other MLL award winners for Week 11 were Denver Outlaws defenseman B.J. Grill (Defensive Player of the Week) and Chesapeake Bayhawks midfielder Jake Froccaro (Rookie of the Week).

4. The Under Armour All-America Game’s choreographed goal celebrations, love them or hate them, are generating a ton of buzz — none more so than Bubba Fairman’s “RKO outta nowhere.”

Fairman, a Utah native and Maryland signee, is one of the nation’s top recruits in his class. As for his nickname, well, that’s what happens when you’re born a 13-pound baby.

What We’re Reading

  • Research shows female athletes are more prone to concussions than males and suffer worse symptoms.

  • Quietly last week, the Colorado Mammoth announced that team president Steve Govett, a long-time National Lacrosse League executive who has overseen the Mammoth since their 2002 inception, is leaving the franchise. Govett was a guest on Teddy Jenner’s “Off the Crosse Bar” podcast, and while he did not outright refute a College Crosse report that connected him to a potential expansion franchise in San Diego owned by Alibaba Group co-founder (and former Yale lacrosse player) Joseph Tsai, he did call it “premature.”

  • As Team USA embarks on its journey across the pond, two-time World Cup veteran Kelly Rabil shed her tips for getting your hands free on a dodge, while assistant coaches Amy Bokker, Liz Robertshaw and Jess Wilk discussed the meaning of their roles within the program.

  • A new brand of jeans made by former lacrosse players targets active women with an athletic build.

  • An oral history, from the Team USA perspective, of the first women’s lacrosse World Cup in 1982.

  • Notre Dame-bound goalie Matt Schmidt’s breakthrough season was a big reason for Culver Academy (Ind.) finishing No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in the Midwest.

What We’re Watching

In addition to the Under Armour All-America Game goal celebrations, the other most trending lacrosse video this week has been goalie Jack Kelly’s full-field heave for a goal in the Denver Outlaws’ blowout of the Atlanta Blaze – and the unflattering result on the other end for water bottle-wielding Blaze goalie Adam Ghitelman.

"I don't think I'll ever do something that cool ever," Kelly said afterward on Lax Sports Network.

Then again, he kind of did it once before.

Long Island Express defeated Prime Time Lacrosse in the third-annual World Series of Youth Lacrosse final Tuesday in Denver. The tournament featured some of the nation’s top teams age 13 and under and a 102-mph shot by Prime Time’s Tucker Kellogg in the skills competition.
 

What’s on Tap

  • With the MLL All-Star Game on tap this week in Sacramento, Phil Shore revisits the golden era for pro lacrosse in California — including the beloved Riptide years.

  • World Cup preview coverage continues with a story on Australia’s effort to regain its place in the international pecking order.

  • The final Nike/US Lacrosse Northeast Top 10 and Epoch/US Lacrosse Northeast Player of the Year for girls’ lacrosse are revealed.

“DIALED IN” IS POSTED DAILY MONDAY-FRIDAY AT 8 A.M. EASTERN ON USLAXMAGAZINE.COM. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR A WEEKLY DIGEST DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX.