Ned Crotty, a three-time U.S. national team player and the hero of the 2010 world championship game, announced his retirement from the sport today on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ned Crotty (@crottykid22)

“It’s crazy to think that I stumbled along the game of lacrosse as a 5^th grade in 1998 and am now just ending my career 24 years later,” Crotty wrote. “Along the way, I met unbelievable people, created lifelong friendships, accomplished things I dreamt about as a little kid and made some of the best memories of my life. Lacrosse has given me so much, and although I struggle walking away from the game, I can do so confidently knowing that I gave the sport everything I had.”

Crotty, the New Jersey Player of the Year in both hockey and lacrosse while playing in high school at Delbarton, won the Tewaaraton Trophy at Duke in 2010 as the nation’s top collegiate player. He led the Blue Devils in scoring with 86 points with his 63 assists setting a new Duke record. Duke won its first NCAA championship that year and Crotty was named an All-American for the third consecutive season.

Later that summer, Crotty was the lone collegiate player to play on the U.S. team in the world championship in Manchester, England. He responded in the gold medal game, scoring the game-tying and go-ahead goals in the fourth quarter to spark the U.S. to a 12-10 victory over archrival Canada.

Crotty went on to win a silver medal with the U.S. team in 2014 in Denver and then set a key pick on Tom Schreiber’s game-winning goal in the 2018 world championship gold medal game in Netanya, Israel. He combined for 36 points (24g, 12a), tied for 12^th all-time in U.S. team history with Hall of Famer Vinnie Sombrotto, in his three world championship appearances.

The first overall pick in the 2010 Major League Lacrosse Draft, Crotty played 12 professional seasons in the MLL and Premier Lacrosse League, earning all-star recognition seven times and all-pro honors twice. He had 351 points (17^th all-time) and 179 assists (eighth all-time) in his professional lacrosse career. Crotty won an MLL championship with the Long Island Lizards in 2015.