The Iroquois Box Lacrosse Roster has been released officially to the public. There are 24 big-time players ready to suit up for the Nationals at the 2015 WILC! It’s time for the much-anticipated 2015 Iroquois box lacrosse roster!
Wait, 24 players on the list? How is that possible? If teams can only have 23 on their roster, and dress 18 for games, how do you have 24? My guess is that one of the four remaining Iroquois goalies will get cut still. If that’s true, we have a very good idea of what this team really looks like! Oh, yeah, the Iroquois have four goalies on their roster right now. But I’ll get to that. Let’s start with the guys who score most of the goals. Then go from there.
Johnny Powless, Jeff Shattler, Austin Staats, Haina Thompson, Brett Bucktooth, Roger Vyse, Craig Point, Lyle Thompson, Randy Staats, and Miles Thompson will be leading the offense it seems. Without Cody Jamieson, some think the Iroquois could suffer on O, but with this group on the Iroquois box lacrosse roster, that seems highly unlikely.
You have a really solid balance of lefties and righties with this group. There are also some very serious shooters from the outside. The bonus is that you get them on both sides of the floor. Some guys bring the heat, others snipe corners. Some do both. All are pretty darn deadly.
Austin Staats is by far and away the youngest member of the group and will likely be one of the younger guys at the entire tournament (being born in 1998), but he has been tearing it up this Summer in Jr A. The rest of the group has a good deal of experience under its belt, even if some of the players are relatively young. Will we see a Thompson/Staats line at some point, or 4 Thompsons together? I truly hope so. Shattler, Point, and Vyse should all provide plenty of leadership and experience for the group.
The only question for this Iroquois team on offense is their inside game. Jammer got to the middle like few others in the game, so who fills that hole? A couple of guys stand out as potential answers in my eyes, like Johnny Powless and Lyle Thompson. Of course, another could emerge here as well, like Jerome Thompson or Brett Bucktooth. To take advantage of their shooters, the Iroquois will certainly need a serious inside presence from someone.
On defense, the Iroquois have a nice balance of experience and athleticism, and should be tough to beat. Sid Smith returns for another go and brings a serious perspective on winning to this unit. Tyler Garrison, Brandon Goodwin, Tom Montour, Adam Bomberry, and Brier Jonathan have size, strength, and toughness, and 4 of the 5 have NLL experience. Bomberry is younger, but a rising star to watch for years, who should be able to hold his own.
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Wenster Green, Kedoh Hill, Jeremy Thompson, and Josh Becker should provide plenty of work moving the ball up and down in transition, and this group brings a very good set of stick skills and some transition scoring punch when needed. I could also see one of the Staats or another Thompson taking some runs at transition. Other players moving around to different positions for the team would not surprise me either. While this isn’t the biggest group, it is a quick and skilled group, and a perfect complement to the bigger defenders.
In goal, the Iroquois box lacrosse roster places four players in the running. Angus Goodleaf has to be the obvious front runner, but Mike Thompson has really been working his way back into it lately, and could see some time if he is called upon. Warren Hill and Gowah Abrams are both younger goalies, with far less international experience than either Goodleaf or Thompson, but both have talent, and will benefit from playing, or from just being on the team for a World Games. There is a definite nod to the future in the Iroquois’ goalie group.
Overall, you have a strong group on offense, but they will need to play excellent team lacrosse if they want to win gold. On defense, the group is tough and athletic, and the transition players complement this group nicely. Goaltending seems rock solid right now, and the only real questions are the inside game, and face offs against Canada. Other than that, the Iroquois certainly look like a medal-worthy team, at least on paper. Will the Nationals live up to the hype? In mid-September, we all get the joy of finding out!
2015 Iroquois Box Lacrosse Roster
Syracuse, NY – August 21, 2015 – The Iroquois Nationals announced their official team roster today for the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championships (WILC). They are also the host team as the World Games will be held at the home of the game: The Onondaga Nation, capital of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Iroquois Nationals finished second behind Canada in the 2011 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championships but are on the quest for gold this September.
“We are very excited about the national team we have assembled for the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championships,” said Ansley Jemison, Executive Director of the Iroquois Nationals. “We feel we have a good mixture of both experienced and youthful athletes that will help us take on the many challenges that we are sure to face in the World Games this September. We were also diligent in making sure we had the right combination of players that would truly represent the Iroquois National community without sacrificing talent.”
The Games will be played September 18-27th at three venues in and around the Syracuse area: Opening Ceremonies and first tournament matches at the War Memorial Arena; Tournament matches as well as Cultural Festivals and Activities at Onondaga Nation Arena; and Closing Ceremonies and Bronze & Gold Medal Games at the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University on Sunday, September 27th. The Iroquois Nationals will open up their first game against Team USA on Friday, September 18th at 8:30 PM in the War Memorial Arena. The full WILC schedule can be found here as well: wilc2015.com/schedule/
The official Iroquois Nationals roster:
Angus Goodleaf – Rochester Knighthawks (NLL)
Mike Thompson – Kahnawake Mohawks
Warren Hill – Six Nations Rivermen
Gowah Abrams – Seneca Warchiefs
Johnny Powless – Georgia Swarm (NLL)
Jeff Shattler – Calgary Roughnecks (NLL)
Austin Staats – Six Nations Arrows
Jerome Haina Thompson – Buffalo Bandits (NLL)
Roger Vyse – Six Nations Rivermen
Craig Point – Rochester Knighthawks (NLL)
Lyle Thompson – University of Albany – NLL Draft ‘15
Randy Staats – Syracuse University – NLL Draft ‘15
Miles Thompson – Georgia Swarm (NLL)
Sid Smith – Rochester Knighthawks (NLL)
Tyler Garrison – Vancouver Stealth (NLL)
Brandon Goodwin – Buffalo Bandits (NLL)
Tom Montour – Six Nations Rivermen
Adam Bomberry – Akwesasne Indians
Brier Jonathan – Rochester Knighthawks (NLL)
Wenster Green – Peterborough Lakers
Brett Bucktooth – New England Black Wolves (NLL)
Kedoh Hill – Buffalo Bandits (NLL)
Jeremy Thompson – Saskatchewan Rush (NLL)
Josh Becker – Allegany Arrows (CAN-AM)
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Let us know who you are excited to watch next month at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship 2015 at the Onondaga Nation! Tickets are still on sale, pick them up NOW!
