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Summer Tourney: Citylax Shootout

2010 marked the 2nd year of the Citylax Summer Shootout in Southampton out on Long Island.  The Shootout is a one day tournament and all of the proceeds from the event go to Citylax to help fund their lacrosse program in New York City.  Mat Levine, who played goalie at Williams College back in the day, founded Citylax and he, along with a number of dedicated volunteers, organizes the Shootout as a fundraising vehicle for the not-for-profit.

A citylax alum currently at St. John's takes it to the hopper.

Last year we brought the Southampton LC out to the Shootout and we had such a good time that we all came back in 2010 for another go.  The lacrosse is good, the weather is fantastic, the beach is close and the vibe is nice and relaxed.  Everyone is out there to support and spread the game of lacrosse so this tourney definitely has a different feel from a lot of the other summer events and it’s a really great way to end the summer lax season.  This year, they added a women’s division as well and the New York Athletic Club even sent out a team.

Brown alum vs. Middlebury Alum. Nice.
Virginia vs. W&L... what is this, 1972?

There were some pretty high-level players at the tourney like Mike Timms (Toronto Nationals defender and UVA alum), Derek Cherney (ex-Bayhawk and Amherst Alum) and Chris Rodgers (ex-NJ Pride and Hobart Alum).  And then there were the rest of us.  Alumni from Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Wesleyan, Amherst, Yale, St. John’s, Columbia, Virginia, Hobart and Fairfield littered the fields and this made for some great action.  There were 2 teams made up of free agents and this is also where some of the kids who played on a Citylax High School team could be found.

Connor Wilson, #4, cutting to the ball... not bad for a defenseman!

Southampton won its first two games against one of the Citylax squads and the Columbia club team.  In our last game we played against a Yale/Amherst alumni team and ended up losing 6-5 in OT after coming back from a 5-2 deficit in a somewhat shortened game to end the day.  This is the first time in my life that I have lost to Amherst in lacrosse in any fashion but I wasn’t even mad.  That’s just how good the feeling at the tourney is.

As always, the Southampton uniforms were the tops.

By virtue of their last second win, Yale/Amherst were crowned unofficial champions as they were the only undefeated team (similar to last year where Southampton lost to Brown Alumni in OT in our last game to come in unofficial 2nd place), and they got free t-shirts from last year’s Shooutout.  This year’s T-Shirts were designed by Grant Hewit (Princeton alum, Citylax Board Member) and they came out amazing.  We better win the championship next year because I want another one of those shirts!

More random action from the Shootout...
Mike Timms going to town on some poor shortstick
For some reason I brought along the woodie. Also note I'm using NEW Reebok 10K gloves. Review coming soon!

If you have a group of alums who want to get together for a one day lax tourney, this is it!  Start an email chain and mark the second to last weekend in August on your calendars because it simply doesn’t get any better than this.

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About the Author: Connor is a life-long lacrosse player who doesn’t know when to give up on the game. He played and coached at Wesleyan University and now plays for the Southampton LC in NYC. Connor lives with his fiance in Brooklyn and thanks her for allowing him to keep the dream alive.

Contact him at connor@lacrosseallstars.com.