Dialed In: Your Lacrosse Fix for Wednesday, Aug. 9

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

1. Nearly 150 of the nation’s top high school girls’ lacrosse players are at USA Lacrosse this week for the National Team Development Program (NTDP) National Combine. Forty-four will be selected to comprise the USA Select U18 and U16 teams.  The three-day event concludes today after some inspiring words and spirited competition the first two days.

There’s no better feeling than representing the RED, WHITE and BLUE #ThePursuit pic.twitter.com/RtYbO6ILsE

— USA Lacrosse (@USA_Lacrosse) August 8, 2023

The sun is bright. The smiles are brighter.

Day of the Girls’ National Team Development Program Combine kicked off on Tierney Field. pic.twitter.com/JymaaYfx7V

— USA Lacrosse (@USA_Lacrosse) August 7, 2023

The future of women’s lacrosse is in GREAT hands #ThePursuit pic.twitter.com/sJmt6p4zfK

— USA Lacrosse (@USA_Lacrosse) August 8, 2023

These girls brought the HEAT to Tierney Field on day of the National Team Development Program Combine pic.twitter.com/Z8u6NBEZ72

— USA Lacrosse (@USA_Lacrosse) August 8, 2023

2.  It’s pro lacrosse hot stove season.

A rare midseason Premier Lacrosse League trade saw the Redwoods send midfielder Myles Jones to the Atlas in exchange for midfielder Romar Dennis. Neither play has moved the needle for their respective clubs this summer in what amounts to a change-of-scenery swap. Dennis does give the Redwoods the 2-point threat they’ve lacked this season.

In the National Lacrosse League, the Vancouver Warriors continued their offseason makeover, signing veteran forward Kevin Crowley and welcoming back defender and former captain Matt Beers. This after poaching head coach Curt Malawsky from Calgary last month and former NLL Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Dilks from Saskatchewan.

The Roughnecks, meanwhile, tabbed Malawsky’s successor Tuesday. They hired former Hall of Fame forward Josh Sanderson, who won an NLL championship with Calgary in 2009. After retiring in 2016, Sanderson was on the staff in Toronto and San Diego but had been out of the league since 2018.

3. Denver continues to capitalize on the momentum of its first NCAA women’s lacrosse semifinal appearance. The Pioneers announced Tuesday that the team has added attacker Olivia Penoyer, a graduate transfer from Yale who led the Ivy League with 40 assists last season. Penoyer joins midfielder Payton Vaughn in the Yale-to-DU pipeline. Denver also landed Jane Earley, a two-time Division III Player of the Year at Middlebury, this offseason. Quite a haul for the Pios.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• A red, white and blue summer for Hofstra assistant coach and USA Lacrosse devotee Michael Gongas.

• A Cape Cod boat crash that tragically killed high school lacrosse player and Gettysburg commit Sadie Mauro is under criminal investigation.

• How the Syracuse women and Virginia men fared vs. expectations in 2023.

• Remembering Hall of Famer Sue Schooley.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Army men’s lacrosse coach and former U.S. men’s national team assistant Joe Alberici’s “Be a Tough Guy in Life” talk to summer campers is making the rounds again on social media. It’s the rare thing on social media that never gets old and always makes you smile.

INCLUSION: How do you support inclusion on your teams? Here's Army lacrosse coach Joe Alberici sharing a key message with young athletes. We know this will resonate in Chappaqua. Kindness always wins! #GoGreeley #WeAreChappaqua pic.twitter.com/ByZvZnkuFa

— Greeley Sports (@GreeleySports) August 7, 2023

WHAT’S ON TAP

• Our 2023 Top 30 series continues with lookbacks on the seasons of NCAA runners-up Duke and Boston College.

• The USA Lacrosse National Team Development Program (NTDP) National Combine concludes in Sparks.

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