Of the 2,977 people who were killed in the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001, 75 had known connections to lacrosse.
USA Lacrosse honors their memory with a 9/11 Memorial Garden that overlooks Tierney Field at its headquarters in Sparks, Md., as well as with an exhibit in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum that includes a piece of steel recovered from the World Trade Center.
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Terrence (Ted) Adderley Jr. was a lacrosse player at Detroit (Mich.) Country Day and was working on Wall Street when he perished in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Chris Blackwell was the father of a lacrosse player from Brewster, N.Y. A fireman for 20 years, he was assigned to Rescue Company 3 in the South Bronx as a specialist in collapsed buildings.
Bruce "Chappy" Boehm was a fan of Hofstra lacrosse and the father of Stacey, a lacrosse player in Franklin Square, N.Y. He had a zest for life and a love affair with the beach. His memorial service was held at Nassau Beach.
Brandon Buchanan was a beacon of light and his hard work made the difference in his lacrosse career. When he wanted to master some skill, he would go out and drill the ball against the side of his family's barn in Honeoye Falls, N.Y., until he was satisfied.
Dennis Buckley was a big man — 6 feet, 210 pounds, with an athletic build. He had been a star lacrosse player at Lynbrook (N.Y.) High School and graduated from the University of Maryland, which he attended on a full lacrosse scholarship. He left behind a wife and three young daughters Sept. 11, 2001.
Thomas Burke is the father of lacrosse players from Bedford, N.Y. Fresh out of Holy Cross in 1985, nobody wanted Tom on Wall Street. Undeterred, he put on his suit every day and attended training courses at Liberty Brokerage, uninvited. Impressed, the company hired him after three months. Eventually, he became a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald. He was just 38 when he was killed.
David O. Campbell is the father of two lacrosse players at Delbarton School, N.J. He was an accomplished collegiate swimmer, tennis player and golfer. His sons, who played soccer, hockey and lacrosse, would chide him for not participating in more "macho" sports. He would tell them that his sport — swimming — was the only one that could save your life.
James Christopher Cappers loved taking his athleticism into the great outdoors, where he often went water skiing, hiking and camping with friends and with his wife, Kathleen Vieira. He grew up in New Jersey, graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania and earned a degree in finance from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, where he played rugby and lacrosse. The father of two boys worked on the 94th floor in the North Tower as an assistant vice president and private client broker with Marsh & McLennan when his life was cut short on Sept. 11, 2001.
Tom Collins, of Dix Hills, N.Y., played lacrosse at Ithaca College and was an avid skier and outdoorsman. He spent every Thursday planning weekend activities and socials for his friends and family.
Tim Coughlin, with "his big Irish face" and magnetic personality, played lacrosse at St. Mary's (N.Y.) High School and was the kind of man who gave the towel guy at the gym his start on Wall Street. There was plenty of substance to back up his friendly appearance. When Coughlin was not trading treasury securities at Cantor Fitzgerald, he was taking his three children or planning social gatherings. He was a friendship hawk, good at circling back and seeing how friends were doing. Coughlin’s son, Sean, recently completed his college lacrosse career at High Point.
Welles Crowther played lacrosse at Nyack (N.Y.) High School and Boston College. He was a volunteer fireman for the Upper Nyack Fire Department. Crowther worked for Sandler O'Neill and Partners on the 104th floor of the south tower. Witnesses reported that after the plane hit, Crowther, with a red bandana covering his mouth and nose to protect him from the debris, re-entered the building at least three times to rescue people. He is directly responsible for saving the lives of at least 12 people. He was 24 years old when he perished during the collapse of the south tower of the World Trade Center.
Martin DeMeo played lacrosse and attended Port Washington High School and Nassau Community College. Martin, 47, was a New York City fireman and left behind a wife and two children.
Douglas DiStefano was a lacrosse player at West Islip (N.Y.) High School and a new employee of Cantor Fitzgerald. He had yet to receive his second paycheck when he perished on Sept. 11, 2001. He was 24.
Commander Bob Dolan was a player at Hanover Park H.S. and the U.S. Naval Academy. His decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal. Capt. Dolan, 43, was working on the first floor of the Pentagon as head of the Strategy and Concepts Branch, when a hijacked jetliner slammed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001.
Frank Doyle played lacrosse at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Doyle, 39, called his wife after terrorists struck the World Trade Center's north tower telling her he had to stay. Up to the last minute of his life, he was a team player.
Christopher Duffy, 5-foot-10 and all muscle, was captain of his lacrosse team at Fordham Prep (N.Y.), where he spent a good bit of his time on the field knocking other players down.
Terry Farrell, who played lacrosse at Hicksville (N.Y.) High School, was a member of the FDNY Rescue Company 4, an elite unit specially trained to do things like extricate people from collapsed buildings. He was also a volunteer fireman near his home in Huntington, N.Y., a part-time construction contractor and a father of two. A few years before 9/11, he helped save the life of a child in Nevada by donating his bone marrow.
Bradley Fetchet was a youth lacrosse coach and former player at New Canaan (Conn.) High School and Bucknell University. He lived his life by this quote: “You can tell the character of man by what he does for the man who can offer him nothing.”
Mort Frank was a player at Lynbrook H.S. and Drexel University. He and his wife of one year, Jessica, had returned from a wedding in California on the day before the attack.
Peter Christian Fry, 36, of Wilton, CT, played varsity lacrosse at Curry College in Boston as well as club lacrosse on the masters level. He was a vice president of international money markets with Euro Brokers Inc. and left behind a wife and two daughters on Sept. 11, 2001.
Vincent Gallucci played lacrosse at Boonton (N.J.) High School and had the unique ability to make everyone around him feel great. Every member of his 1982 high school lacrosse team and the coach attended his memorial service, revealing how popular Gallucci was nearly 20 years later.
Kevin Hannaford was a lacrosse player at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, an avid skier and star soccer player. At 32, he still had a big zest for life and love of sports. He was an attentive husband and proud father who was expecting the birth of his second son when he perished on Sept. 11, 2001.
Thomas Haskell, a lacrosse player at Seaford (N.Y.) High School, was the battalion chief for Ladder Company 132 in Brooklyn and died in the line of duty. He loved football — "God help you if you got in the way of the TV on Sundays," his sister said — and he played on the FDNY team. His brother, Timothy, also died during the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Timothy Haskell, a lacrosse player at Seaford (N.Y.) High School, was a firefighter who had trained his dog Blaze to follow commands. "What do you do if your clothes are on fire?" (Blaze would stop, drop and roll.) "What do you do if you smell smoke?” (Blaze would crawl along the floor and touch the doorknob.) Haskell’s brother, Tom, was also a firefighter and was killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
W. Ward Haynes was a lacrosse player at Rye (N.Y.) High School and a parent coach for the community. He had just begun his new job at Cantor Fitzgerald in August 2001. He finally bought his dream car — a Porsche Boxster — the weekend before Sept. 11 and spent much of the weekend zipping around in it taking everyone for rides.
Michael Healy, a youth lacrosse coach and father of players from Patchogue, N.Y., was an 18-year veteran of the fire department and a lieutenant with Rescue Squad 41 in the South Bronx. He died in the line of duty Sept. 11, 2001.
Michael Horrocks was born in Glen Mills, Pa., and attended Hershey High School and West Chester University, where he quarterbacked the football team. He later became an officer (a pilot and flight instructor) in the U.S. Marine Corps. Horrocks’ son, Mick, played at High Point.
George Howard, a police officer in the Port Authority's emergency services unit, was enjoying a day off when he heard about trouble at the World Trade Center and raced to work amidst the chaos — the same as he did in 1993, when the trade center was bombed. In his spare time, Howard volunteered for the local fire department and trained other police and fire departments in safety and rescue work. He loved coaching his two children in lacrosse.
John Iskyan was competitive and loyal, playing high school lacrosse at Manhasset (N.Y.) and becoming an avid skier and hiker at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt. He was a youth lacrosse coach and administrator in Wilton, Conn. He joined Cantor Fitzgerald out of college and worked his way up to partner. After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Iskyan disliked the building. But he would not leave the firm.
Ronnie Kloepfer, who played for Sewanaka (N.Y.) High School and Adelphi University, was a sniper police officer with the elite NYPD Emergency Services Unit. Within the tight fraternity of the New York City Police Department is an even tighter fraternity: the men who wear the blue jerseys of the department's lacrosse team, which Kloepfer founded. He coached and played for the team. The annual charity game against the FDNY was played after Kloepfer’s death in his honor.
Gary Koecheler, of Harrison, N.Y., was the father of Paul Koecheler, who played lacrosse at Fordham Prep (N.Y.) and Nassau Community College, and John Koecheler, who played lacrosse at Fordham Prep. Koecheler was awarded the Bronze Star in Vietnam, but few of his friends or acquaintances knew about it until his memorial service. He was not the kind of man to brag. He never even told his children what he had done to receive the medal. They still do not know.
Ryan Kohart, a defenseman for Garden City (N.Y.) High School and the University of North Carolina, was elected by his teammates to captain the Tar Heels his senior year. The team was in turmoil and in need of his positivity, his thoughtful and caring nature, his leadership skills. Kohart worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and had recently gotten engaged. The Ryan Kohart Memorial Scholarship provides funds to a lacrosse player at the University of North Carolina.
Stephen Lamantia was a player at East Meadow (N.Y.) High School and Roanoke College. A big personality with a big laugh, he was the president of his fraternity in college and the self-proclaimed captain of his cul-de-sac where he lived with his wife and two young children. He was one of the few men whom the mothers on the cul-de-sac trusted to watch over the children as they moved from yard to yard.
David Laychak, 40, was one of the 184 people who died Sept. 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. A former football player at Brown University, David became a youth coach for every sport his son Zachary played — lacrosse, basketball and baseball. Zachary is continuing the legacy of his father. He is heavily involved with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, an organization for military families of the fallen, as well as Tuesday’s Children, an organization that provides support for children of 9/11 and others impacted by global terrorism.
David Leistman's memorial mass on Long Island drew scores of lacrosse players. Many were in their early 40s. They had played with Leistman, an All-American midfielder at Adelphi University and previously Sewanhaka (N.Y.) High School. Many others were teenagers or younger, players whom he had coached in Garden City, N.Y. More than skills, Leistman taught love of the game and the values of competition, team work and sportsmanship. Winning was not the only thing.
Edward Maloney III — known to all as Teddy — was born in Berlin, Germany, but was raised in Andover, CT. While attending Proctor Academy, Teddy played varsity lacrosse and hockey. He continued playing lacrosse at New England College and hockey for the Rye Rangers of Rye, N.Y. In November 2002, Proctor dedicated the Maloney Memorial Ice Rink to his memory. Teddy left behind a wife and daughter; his second daughter was born three months after his death on Sept. 11, 2001.
George Morrell, 47, of Mt. Kisco, N.Y, a father of players from Bedford/Greenwich, CT, was a partner and vice president of mortgage department with Cantor Fitzgerald.
Eamon McEneaney, known as Cornell's “Wild Irish Rose,” was a lacrosse legend and an American hero who led 63 people to safety during the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. A star lacrosse player at Sewanhaka (N.Y.) High School, Cornell University and for the LI Hofstra and North Hempstead lacrosse clubs, McEneaney is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a loving husband, the father of four children and was a senior vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald when the planes struck the World Trade Center's north tower.
Stacey Sennas McGowan of Basking Ridge, N.Y., was a lacrosse player at Nyack High School and Boston College and the mother of two young daughters. "Hers was a hug that would essentially render every other hug you'll ever receive in your life a complete insult to hugging," said her friend, Patrick Corry, in a eulogy. The spirit of “Staciness” endures in the Nyack lacrosse community in the form of the annual Stacey Sennas McGowan Memorial Games.
Frank McGuinn was the father of a women's lacrosse player and a youth coach from Greenwich, Conn. Though slightly too young to be drafted into the Vietnam War, he badly wanted to volunteer. His parents talked him out of it, yet he regretted not having served. If he were alive at the time of the 9/11 attacks, his wife is confident he would have gone to Afghanistan to serve in the war against terrorism.
Rob McLaughlin, a defensive midfielder at Lehigh University in the early 1990s, died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The man they called “Eagle McLaughlin” had endless heart and hustle. He was the vice president of emerging markets at Cantor Fitzgerald and left behind a young son.
William Minardi was the father of lacrosse players from New Bedford, N.Y. He lived 48 hours in a day, never wanting to miss anything. His favorite team was University of Louisville basketball, coached by his best friend and brother-in-law Rick Pitino.
Jim Munhall was the husband of Susan, a former player at Montclair (N.J.) High School and current women's lacrosse official from Ridgewood, N.J., and devoted father to their daughter. Munhall would spend every Saturday, renamed "Dad-urday," with her getting bagels, teaching her to read sports stats in the newspaper and riding bikes.
Robert Noonan was a lacrosse player for Greenwich (Conn.) High School and Portland LC who lived in Rowayton, Conn., with his wife and son. He was a broker for Cantor Fitzgerald and perished on Sept. 11, 2001.
Brian Novotny was a Le Moyne lacrosse alum and a bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. He always got to work early and often stayed late. Although his life was cut short at 33, his spirit lives on.
Rick O'Connor played high school lacrosse in Watertown, N.Y., and at Clarkson University. A descendant of dirt farmers in upstate New York, he was fiercely proud that he went from dirt to sky when he became a senior vice president for Marsh & McLennan on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center.
Sean O'Neill, 34, was an equities trader at Cantor Fitzgerald and expecting his first child in October 2001. He played lacrosse at Rye (N.Y.) High School.
Peter O’Neill Jr. graduated from Holy Trinity (N.Y.) High School and played lacrosse at Bentley College. He lived in Amityville, N.Y., and was 21 years old when he died. O’Neill worked for Sandler O’Neill & Partners and was a volunteer firefighter in Amityville. He intended to become an emergency medical technician.
Peter Ortale, a bond broker at Euro Brokers, was often playing lacrosse when not working or sending thoughtful presents for no reason. Ortale was one of the best players on his high school team in Philadelphia and at Duke University. After he graduated, he played in Australia. Once he began his career, he continued to play for the New York Athletic Club and in various leagues on weekends.
Thomas Anthony Palazzo, who lived in Armonk, N.Y., coached youth lacrosse and golfed, skied and snowboarded. An avid boater, water-skier and fisherman, he whisked his wife, Lisa, and three daughters off to Nantucket every summer.
Durrell “Bronko” Pearsall, 34, was a member of the New York Fire Department’s Rescue 4 in Queens. He always dreamed of becoming a fireman. At 6-2, 285 pounds, Pearsall could bench press 455 pounds with ease. He played for LIU’s lacrosse team.
Chris Quackenbush was a youth lacrosse coach in Manhasset, N.Y. He combined high values with the ability to inspire others to act for the good, was a wise businessman and a counselor who thrived on sharing his wealth. He created the Jacob Marley Foundation, which provides scholarships and programs for poor children on Long Island.
Donald Robertson, a lacrosse player at Columbia (N.J.) High School, Lynchburg and Montclair State, eventually coached youth lacrosse in Maplewood, N.J., for his four children. Although Robertson had a shamrock tattoo, he never made it to Ireland. His mother took his ashes from Ground Zero to an ancient burial ground in Glendalough, County Wicklow, Ireland. Robertson was 35.
Ronald J. Ruben did not mind getting his hands dirty. A former lacrosse player at Montclair High School in New Jersey, when Ruben was not trading equities on Wall Street, he was fixing old cars or building toy boxes, tables and chairs. He was a people person and children loved him. As a memorial, family and friends had a Habitat for Humanity house built in Ruben’s name.
Jonathan S. Ryan was a lacrosse player at Herrick (N.Y.) High School and Stony Brook University. Ryan, 32, worked at Euro Brokers and lived in Bayville on Long Island. He was looking forward to the birth of his second child — and first son — on Oct. 2, 2001.
John "Pepe" Salerno Jr. played lacrosse at St. John's and for North Hempstead Lacrosse Club. Pepe, a childhood nickname inspired by his superabundance of pep, was loyal, funny and generous. Salerno knew what he wanted. He wanted a family and was expecting his first child in March 2002. He was a broker at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Michael San Phillip was a lacrosse player at the University of Pennsylvania. Though he had catapulted himself to vice president at Sandler O'Neill & Partners, an investment house on the 104th floor at 2 World Trade Center, the title he craved was that of grandfather. He was expecting his first grandchild in December 2001.
John Schroeder was a lacrosse player at Princeton, Duke and TOBAY Lacrosse. Everyone at Princeton knew him as “Stinky.” The nickname was applied when he visited the campus as a high school lacrosse recruit. It stuck as John played lacrosse for clubs while he worked on Wall Street; he joined Fred Alger Management as an equity trader in July 2001.
Michael Simon was a lacrosse player at Rye (N.Y.) Country Day and Hobart College. A sportsman whose passions rubbed off on his three children, he set aside time to coach the soccer teams of all three children and a fourth squad. Though lacrosse and hockey had been Simon’s activities in college, golf and tennis were his weekend-warrior pursuits after graduating to Wall Street. His dream was to start a lacrosse league in Harrington Park, N.J., where he and his wife lived. He had not yet made it come true, but he was only 40; he imagined he would get around to it.
Peter Siracuse was a leading scorer for the Bethpage (N.Y.) High School football team in the late 1980s and a lacrosse midfielder who won 15 of 17 faceoffs in a single game. Long Island coaches voted him to the All-Nassau-County team in 1990. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher and lacrosse coach before becoming a broker for Cantor Fitzgerald.
Paul Skrzypek of Little Falls, N.J., was a lacrosse player at Montville High School, Kutztown State and for Shearson LC. Skrzypek was constantly in motion: he ran with the bulls in Pamplona, he completed the Chicago Triathlon and the New York Marathon, and he rollerbladed, biked and skied his way through the changing seasons. The only things he would sit still for were New York sporting events.
Donald F. Spampinato Jr. was a lacrosse player from Manhasset, N.Y., and a youth coach there. In very good condition, he once qualified for the Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii and had completed a triathlon at Point Lookout on Long Island on Sept. 8, 2001. He left behind a wife and three children.
Robert Andrew Spencer was an all-state lacrosse player and one of the leading scorers in the state during his senior year at St Joseph's High School in Metuchen, N.J. After high school, Andy attended the University of Maryland, where he became President of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and he was a huge supporter of Terrapin lacrosse. Andy had a great personality, a constant smile on his face, and he lived every day to the fullest. He left behind a wife and three young children. In a celebration of life, Andy's wife held his memorial service and the baptism of their one-month old son on the same day.
Andrew Stergiopoulos, 23, of New York City, was a player at Great Neck H.S. and an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald.
Richard H. Stewart Jr. graduated from The Lawrenceville School in 1985, where he played lacrosse for two years. He went on to play Division I hockey at St. Lawrence, where he was part of a team that won the ECAC and played in the national championship game.
John Swaine was a player at Garden City H.S., New York Maritime and Sound Shore Lacrosse Club, as well as a youth coach from Larchmont, N.Y. Aggressive and full of boundless energy, he worked at Cantor Fitzgerald for about 10 years.
Eric "Rick" Thorpe played lacrosse at Phillips Exeter Academy (N.H.) and Lafayette College. His booming voice, competitiveness and self-assurance helped Thorpe become the star quarterback of his undefeated high school football team. But he kept business success in perspective. He helped run a soup kitchen during college, served as a Big Brother and participated in Hands Together, an anti-poverty program in Haiti. He left behind a wife and daughter at age 35.
Walter P. "Wally" Travers was a youth lacrosse coach from Upper Saddle River, N.J. If one of his three kids played a sport, he coached it — even soccer, which he did not really like or understand. Travers had a way of putting both the children and their parents at ease, always getting down on one knee and looking the kid in the eye.
John Damien Vaccacio played lacrosse at Holy Trinity (N.Y.) High School and continued at Hartwick College. He lived in New York City and was 30 years old. He was employed by Cantor Fitzgerald.
Frederick Varacchi was a youth lacrosse coach from Greenwich, Conn., the COO of Cantor Fitzgerald and president of its electronic trading platform eSpeed. A dedicated family man, Varacchi would schedule a 6 a.m. tee time on Saturdays so he could be home before his three kids woke up.
John Vigiano, 36, was a man who enjoyed life. A member of the New York Fire Department, he was a former lacrosse player and Eagle Scout. His son, John, would later follow in his footsteps on the lacrosse field. His brother, Joseph, was also killed in the attacks.
Joseph Vigiano, 34, was killed on 9/11 while attempting to rescue victims trapped in the World Trade Center. One of the NYPD’s most decorated officers, he had been shot and wounded three times in his 14-year career. His brother, John, also died in the attacks. He was honored posthumously with the New York City Police Department’s Medal of Honor.
Glen James Wall was a lacrosse player at Lynbrook (N.Y.) High School and Johns Hopkins University. He had a zest for life and did everything for his two young daughters. A poem from his nieces read at his memorial service: His piggyback rides and dances/Had everyone waiting for a turn/Music from our hands/Was just one thing he helped us learn/But the most important thing he taught us/Was to live life on the “Bright Side of the Road”/And enjoy it while you can/You'll always be in our hearts and minds/Our uncle, our friend, Glen.
Kenneth Watson Sr. was the father of C.W. Post player Ken Watson Jr. Watson, 39, was a firefighter with the New York Fire Department from Smithtown, N.Y.
Glenn Wilkinson played lacrosse at Levittown Memorial (N.Y.) Memorial High School and Hofstra University and was a Suffolk County lacrosse official. Wilkinson, of Bayport, N.Y., was a lieutenant firefighter with the New York Fire Department.
