The USA Box Blue Vs White scrimmage for Saturday night is all set, rosters have been released, and if you’re in Maryland for LaxCon or otherwise, you should really consider checking this game out.
I will DEFINITELY be there, and I can’t wait to see some of these guys get after on the floor. Come say hello and watch some box with me, Ryan Conwell, and Mark Donahue. None of us would miss it!
Let’s get the when and where out of the way immediately.
USA Box Scrimmage Details
The game will be played at 7pm on Saturday (January 20th) night, at du Burns Arena. Du Burns Arena is located in Canton, Maryland, which is about 5 miles East of the Baltimore Convention Center. It’s basically still Baltimore. It’s close by!
A LaxCon pass will get you in for FREE, and if you don’t have a pass, you can still get a ticket for $5. Well worth it either way.
USA Box Scrimmage Rosters
Check out the rosters below, and as you read through them, please know that there is more info below, which will explain how these guys got picked, and why other players were left off the lists.
USA Box Blue Team
Name – Position – College
Mitch Belisle – Defense/Transition – Cornell ‘07
Connor Buczek – Defense/Transition – Cornell ’15
Chris Collins – Goalie – Delaware ‘05
Nick Coyne – Forward
Dylan Donahue – Forward – Syracuse ‘16
Tim Edwards – Defense/Transition – Canisius ‘15
Davey Emala – Forward – North Carolina ‘13
Courtney Fleming – Defense/Transitiion – Mercy ‘15
Brendan Fowler – Defense/Transition – Duke ‘14
Joe Gillis – Defense/Transition – Syracuse ‘17
Kyle Hartzell – Defense/Transition – Salisbury ‘07
Dylan Maltz – Forward – Maryland ‘17
Will Manny – Forward – Massachusetts ‘13
Nick Mariano – Forward – Syracuse ‘17
David Mather – Goalie – U. of Washington ’17
Matt McMahon – Defense/Transition – Penn ‘15
Dylan Molloy – Forward – Brown ‘17
Bill O’Brien – Defense/Transition – Sacred Heart ‘11
Cody Radziewicz – Defense/Transition – Johns Hopkins ‘17
Stefan Schroeder – Goalie – Ohio State ‘08
Drew Snider –Defense/Transition – Maryland ‘12
Joe Walters – Forward – Maryland – 06
USA Box White Team
Name – Position – College
Dominique Alexander – Defense/Transition – Ohio State ‘13
Tim Barber – Defense/Transition – Syracuse ‘16
Martin Bowes – Forward – Hartford ‘12
Ross Bucktooth – Goalie – Onondaga CC ‘07
Roy Colsey – Forward – Syracuse ‘95
Matt Dunn – Defense/Transition – Maryland ‘16
Joe Fletcher – Defense/Transition – Loyola ‘14
Jake Froccaro – Forward – Villanova ‘17
Josh Hawkins – Defense/Transition – Loyola ‘13
Marcus Holman – Forward – North Carolina ‘13
Myles Jones – Defense/Transition – Duke ‘16
Anthony Kelly – Defense/Transition – Ohio State ‘03
JoJo Marasco – Forward – Syracuse ‘13
Brandon Miller – Goalie
Donny Moss – Defense/Transition – Adelphi ’09
Adam Osika – Defense/Transition – Albany ‘17
Rob Pannell – Forward – Cornell ‘13
Blaze Riorden – Forward – Albany ‘16
Drew Simoneau – Defense/Transition – Nazareth ‘15
Travis Tunstall – Goalie – Metropolitan State U. of Denver ‘10
Ryan Walsh – Forward – Colgate ‘15
John Yozzo-Scaperrotta – Defense/Transition – Brown ‘16
Breaking Down The USA Box Rosters
The first thing you’ll probably notice is that many of these guys are primarily field lacrosse players. Sure, you have a bunch of guys who have played lots of box (Walters, O’Brien, Riorden, Kelly, Miller and others), and some guys who have played for the US in the past (Collins, Walters, Riorden, Moss, Holman and others), but most of the guys on this list have made their name playing field lacrosse.
This is INTENTIONAL, to an extent, as the US is still very much looking for the best players pretty much wherever they can find them.
First off, you’ll notice that NO current American NLL players are playing in this game. That means Schreiber, McArdle, OD, Downing, Buchanan, Manney, Ranagan, Resetarits, White, and others weren’t invited to this game, as they are focused on playing NLL right now, and are verified box lacrosse studs. I can’t seen any of the above guys not making the 2019 team, but that’s irrelevant.
The point of this Blue White game is to give some OTHER players a look, and see what the US really has to offer when it comes to box lacrosse.
I like it, but this above perspective also brings up a big question for me – Where is Paul Rabil?
Rabil is not playing NLL this year, but he is also not playing in this scrimmage game. Is PR99 done with box? He played in the Heritage Cup against Canada, and I sure hope not! Maybe he’s considered to be at the same level as the current NLL guys by the coaching staff, or maybe he just couldn’t make it work with everything he’s got going on this weekend, but I’d like to see him playing more box, just because it’s fun and he’s an impact player. We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out on that one.
Another question I have is – where are some of the other “long-term US box guys” like Greg Rogowski, Grant Whiteway, Joe Evans, and others who played for the Voyagerus, and now play in leagues like the BBLL in Boston? I’d like to see more of these guys given a shot, at least at this point, but given how much bigger the current training/selection pool is, I have a hard time complaining in any real way. This is a huge step up for US Box Lacrosse, and I applaud it! Maybe some of those other guys will be brought in later. I really do trust this coaching staff to make smart decisions.
I’m also really excited to see guys like Myles Jones, Marty Bowes, Adam Osika, Dylan Molloy, Nick Mariano, and Dylan Donahue play in this game. I’m pumped to see Mitch Belisle back out there playing again after retiring from the NLL at the end of last year. I can’t wait to see what Roy Colsey can still do. He graduated from Cuse in 1995, but the man is an ageless wonder and played in the NLL for years. Expect experience to shine! Bill O’Brien is trying out for the US team… WOOOOO! Rob Pannell will be playing his second box game ever, and I can’t wait to see what he can do as he gets better and better in the box. The list just goes on and on I’m excited to see each and every one of these guys play the box game on Saturday, including each and every guy I have and have not mentioned by name.
This is going to be LIT!
My only real advice is – don’t go in to this game expecting to see a final USA team, a well-oiled machine, or a team that will strike fear in the hearts of Canada or the Iroquois. Why? Because this is still a starting point, and the finish line is off in the distance. But it’s not just the end of the race that matters, the beginning is important too! So come check out what is still the beginning of the USA’s 2019 box lacrosse journey, and enjoy what should be an incredibly excellent night of USA box.
Looking past this scrimmage and to the NLL guys joining the USA team fray, we can also look to players like Brent Adams, Nick Osello, Jarrod Neumann, Tim Edwards, Isiah Davis-Allen, Liam Byrnes, and others. So far, the US group is big, athletic, and as diverse as its ever been. The process has never started this early, so give it some time and get on board with USA Box Lacrosse!
