ESPNHS Lacrosse: Around The Crease
Aggie LandryHockaday girls lacrosse won the 2012 Texas State Championship 19-18 in overtime over St. John's.
Emma Reisman/ESPNHSBriarcliff senior Ben Adler won $2,000 for his short film "Addiction."Thus begins Briarcliff (Pleasantville, N.Y.) senior lacrosse captain Ben Adler's powerful short film, "Addiction," which earned him the overall prize in the creative category of the Greenwich Youth Film Festival.
The film is cryptic, graphic and bold in addressing its subject -- drug addiction.
"Addictions kills. That's definitely the message,” said the 17-year old Adler. “That and don't make assumptions because you don't know what the case is."
Adler narrates the video and cast his friends Mike Fisher, Justin Moritz and Mike Linde in the roles.
Intrigued?
So was Oscar-winning movie director, Ron Howard.
"A terse, tense tail with a surprising twist at the end that actually made me get up. Not an easy feat. I have seen many twists in my 50 years in the business," Howard was quoted as saying in the Pleasantville Patch. "'Addiction' was beautifully shot, scripted and acted with an innovative and simple premise -- a premise that held to the end. Kudos."
Among the top scorers for Briarcliff, Adler is also a top student in the classroom, according to assistant coach Paul Bordonaro.
"In the classroom, he's a very smart kid, and I'll give him all of the credit in the world," said Bordanaro. "In terms of his work ethic as a player, Ben is one of those kids who gives you 100 percent every time that he steps onto the field, and that's what we love about him. He brings it. You get that in every single practice and in every single game."
Adler will attend the University of Texas next year. He won a cash prize of $2,000 as well as a trip to New Mexico where he will spend part of his summer working with film producer Clayton Pecorin.
600 And Counting
Kathy Jenkins, the girls’ lacrosse coach at St. Stephens and St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.) since 1976, earned her 600 career victory with a 15-2 win over Holy Child (Potomac, Md.) on May 3.
Jenkins, who has been the coach since the inception of the sport at the school, only ranks behind Angela Tammaro who was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1996 and has won 668 games at Greenwich Academy (Greenwich, Conn.) over the course of 47 seasons. Jenkins' teams have gone undefeated eight times.
After the game, Head of School Joan Holden presented Jenkins with flowers as players, parents and other members of the school's community celebrated with her.
"600 is a lot of wins in a career, but I don't really think of it that way," Jenkins stated on the school's website. "I just think of it as I'm excited for the girls to be a part of this and to be playing."
The Saints are currently ranked No. 13 in the lastest POWERADE FAB 50.
Barb MessereWest Genesee head coach Mike Messere is the all-time wins leader in high school lacrosse.Old School Gets Results
On April 19, Michael Messere guided his West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.) team to a 7-3 victory over visiting Oswego (N.Y.). That was career win No. 748 for the coach and broke the national record for most career victories in high school boys’ lacrosse.
Messere was presented with a Native American Great Lakes' lacrosse stick, as well as two cakes decorated with the No. 748 during the post game celebration. But as grateful as Messere was for the honor, he was anxious to get back to his coaching routine.
So the next morning, Messere did what he always does: He woke up at 5:30 a.m., took his labrador retrievers, Buddy and Ozzie, for a walk, fed his three horses, read the newspaper, had a cup of coffee and began scouting Jamesville-Dewitt (DeWitt, N.Y.).
"Right after the game was over, along with the celebration of it, it was over for me," said Messere, a 68-year-old resident of Camillus who has been married to Barbara Messere for 43 years.
Win 748 broke the previous record set by former Ward Melville and Mount Sinai head coach Joe Cuozzo.
In 37 seasons, Messere has compiled a career record of 749-54 and has led the Wildcats to 15 New York state titles in 21 championship game appearances. He has 29 New York Section III titles, including 17 of the past 18 and the last 10 in a row. He guided the Wildcats to 91 consecutive wins from 1981 to 1984 and was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1994.
But for all the records and accolades, Messere is still working to teach his athletes.
"You tell the kids they have to be prepared, but they played the next game like they were afraid to lose. That was the hard part," Messere said, referring to the Wildcats game against Jamesville-DeWitt on April 21.
The Wildcats lost that game, 13-11, to FAB 50 ranked Jamesville-DeWitt.
"They had been building up to that game [Oswego] and that night, and I had a feeling they would relax after that and they did," said Messere. "There were a lot of things that we needed to correct, so as far as teachable moments this was it."
It is challenges like those, along with remaining consistent with his methods against the constantly changing student-athlete and technology that Messere still enjoys after all of these years.
"I just started using a computer last week, and I still don't have a cell phone. I’m old school,” Messere said. “The challenge is understanding where the kids are coming from and how they think today. It used to be that kids didn't give any backtalk; they didn't have all of these computers and video games. In the offseason they were out working on their own. Today, if you don't organize things for them, they're going to stay in their houses and play video games. They have too many other distractions."
To play for West Genesee means adhering to Messere's rules.
"We don't let them have their pants down around their knees and all of that sort of stuff. You want them to be polite and be nice to people and present themselves well," said Messere. "We've had players who didn't want to tow the line. We don't keep them. We don't even let them try out. You can be judged by one guy, so you're under a microscope."
West Genesee rebounded after its loss to Jamesville-DeWitt, defeating Cicero-North Syracuse 6-1 and giving Messere career win 749. The Wildcats have six games remaining in the regular season. One of the favorites in Class A this season, West Genesee is looking to win its first state championship since 2008.
Quietly Setting A Record
It was a quick mention in the eighth paragraph in the Jacksonville Daily News on March 14, but Topsail (Hampstead, N.C.) senior Dominique Fortunato set a national record by scoring 20 goals in a 29-2 victory over Northside (Jacksonville, N.C.) on March 13.
Fortunato scored the Pirates’ first five goals of the game and scored nine in the first half. She scored 11 in the second half, notching her 20th goal as the buzzer sounded.
The National High School Federation had the previous record of 17 goals in a game by Katie Farrell from Fayetteville-Whitewater (Ga.) in 2010.
According to the NFHS, Fortunato’s 11 goals in the second half is also a record for the most goals scored in a half. The previous record was nine by Molly Malone of Ossining (N.Y.) in 2011 and was tied by Fortunato during the first half of the Northside game.
Courtesy Jenn DoyleJenn Doyle and Coral Shores are hoping to make a deep playoff run in 2012.Coming A Long Way
While the Coral Shores (Tavernier, Fla.) girls’ lacrosse team has come a long way in just seven years of existence, its team members still have to be willing to go to great lengths -- literally -- in order to achieve success.
It’s necessary when your program is located in the Florida Keys just above Cuba and its nearest rival is about 60 miles away with the farthest being about 110 miles. Trips average two hours by bus with a maximum of about three hours.
"Our school is only 690 students. And most of the schools we play against have three and a half thousand students," said Mark Hall, 52, the Hurricanes' coach since the program's inception. “We're the southernmost team in the continental United States. Many of the teams we play are in Miami and in Broward and Palm Beach County."
Playing away games is a challenge.
"It is difficult and definitely different from a home game. When we arrive, it takes a while to stretch and completely wake up," said senior attack Jenn Doyle, the Hurricanes' second-leading scorer. "We stay motivated by encouraging and exciting each other. We are motivated by each others' presence."
So far, so good.
Members of the Florida High School Athletic Association, the Hurricanes are two-time defending South Florida (District 25) champions, and took a mark of 10-3 into Wednesday's District 25 semi-final.
Not bad for a program whose first lacrosse program took the field just over a decade ago.
"My oldest son, who is 26, started the boys’ lacrosse program 12 years ago when he was a freshman in high school. That grew to what it is now, which is two, full boys teams," said Hall. "In 2006 when we started the girls lacrosse team basically from scratch. None of our girls ever played lacrosse before high school. We don't have any feeder programs. We're hoping to get some middle school programs started. So lacrosse has taken off at our school. It's the largest athletic program at our school."
Doyle (60 ground balls, 36 goals, seven assists) and junior attack Julia Lozano (91, 77, 16) are the team’s scoring leaders.
Doyle will play at Saint Leo University near Tampa next spring, and Lozano has already committed to Stetson University in Deland, Fla., where senior defender Camie Lopez and senior attack Raisa Santiesteban will play next spring.
"Camie will be there for Stetson's inaugural season, and she's a phenomenal player and actually our first Division I recruit," said Hall.
Life Is Grand
ESPNHS caught up with the Grand Cities' Predators Lacrosse team, a first-year program located in Grand Forks, N.D. Comprised of 17 boys ranging from eighth-to-11th grade from East Grand Forks (Minn.). The team was featured in a previous Around the Crease.
The Predators’ program won its first game, an 8-7 overtime victory against Proctor (Minn.), during which they overcame a 4-1 second-quarter deficit.
The win came over the course of three-game stretch April 14-15 at Denfield (Duluth, Minn.). The Predators went 1-2.
Tanner Lindstrom scored the game-winning goal to give the team the win. It was Lindstrom’s fourth goal of the game. Christian Hanson had four assists and one goal, Colton Ramsey had one goals and one assist. Chris Kjenstad scored once, Mason Kallock had an assist and Jake Young recorded 10 saves.
"There was some good, some bad, and some ugly," Predators head coach Brent Lindstrom said. "But we did get a win, the kids celebrated like it was a world championship, and we all had a great time.”
Robert WeissenfelsCaroline Carlson has 18 goals and 14 assists this season for Coronado.
Geri StrangeKyle Manning and Kent Roosevelt have dedicated their season to former star Adam Hamilton who died in Afghanistan last year.
Jimmy Hurlburt/ESPNHSAlexandra Bruno and Garden City (N.Y.) seek their sixth straight Class B state championship.It’s Never Too Early
The season is just starting in many areas of the country, but already several players are putting up video-game type statistics.
ESPNHS continues its weekly feature, Around the Crease, which takes a look at players, teams and high school lacrosse news from around the country.
No Distance Too Far
How far will one team go to play lacrosse?
If the team is the Grand Cities Predators, then more than 1,250 miles this season.
No Distance Too Far
How far will one team go to play lacrosse?
If the team is the Grand Cities Predators, then more than 1,250 miles this season.
Donna Coppolino/ESPNHSKris Coppolino holds the Winter Springs (Fla.) school record for points in a career.Stats Galore
With the season underway in several states, the statistical leaders list has received a few updates over the last week.
ESPNHS continues its weekly feature, Around the Crease, which takes a look at players, teams and high school lacrosse news from around the country.
ESPNHS continues its weekly feature, Around the Crease, which takes a look at players, teams and high school lacrosse news from around the country.
News & Notes
Just in time for the launch of our 2012 Season Preview, the Denver Post has published a list of the all-time lacrosse champions for both boys and girls.
News & Notes
Just in time for the launch of our 2012 Season Preview, the Denver Post has published a list of the all-time lacrosse champions for both boys and girls.
ESPNHS continues its weekly feature, Around the Crease, which takes a look at players, teams and high school lacrosse news from around the country.
News And Notes
It is an exciting week for the growth of lacrosse. Not only is Florida adding 30-35 new teams that will begin play in less then two weeks, but districts in Pennsylvania and Illinois have approved the formation of new programs this week.
News And Notes
It is an exciting week for the growth of lacrosse. Not only is Florida adding 30-35 new teams that will begin play in less then two weeks, but districts in Pennsylvania and Illinois have approved the formation of new programs this week.
Donald Obrecht/ESPNHSBoys' Latin (Baltimore, Md.) coach Bob Shriver is 438-128 in 32 years. Record Setters
Our 2012 Season Previews have not started yet, but it is not too early to take a look at some coaches who could be reaching milestones this season.
Mike Messere should win his 750th career game this season. The West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.) coach currently has 740 career wins and has been coaching since 1969.
Boys’ Latin (Baltimore, Md.) coach Bob Shriver looks to win his 450 career game. He is 438-128 in 32 years.
Brad Touma from Charlotte Country Day (Charlotte, N.C.) will try to win his 400th game this season. His current record is 385-109.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) coach Terry Crowley needs 14 wins to reach 300.
Jay Watts, Westminster (Atlanta, Ga.) girls' coach, is 16 wins away from his 250 career victory.
Ben Mrva, Hutchison (Memphis, Tenn.) girls' coach needs 12 wins to get his 100th career victory.
Steve Finnell from Garden City (Garden City, N.Y.) is 13 wins shy of 100.
Fort Mill (Fort Mill, S.C.) boys coach Jim Van Blarcom looks for his 50th career victory. His current record is 42-14.
ESPNHS will update as we discover more coaching milestones for the upcoming season. To submit coaching information, please have a head coach or assistant coach fill out our 2012 Season Preview form.
News And Notes
The 2012 high school season is just three weeks away from starting, but Florida got interesting this week with the return of the all-time leader in wins returning to the sideline.
ESPN 760 reported that Jeff Goldberg, who won 380 games and 14 state championships with St. Andrew’s (Boca Raton, Fla.) joined the coaching staff at St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Aquinas head coach Terry Crowley is No. 2 on Florida’s win list with 286.
Last week ESPNHS highlighted the Champion Challenge in which former ESPNHS No. 2 goalie Bridget Bianco was expected to see her first college action.
Bianco recorded nine saves in her college debut, an 18-1 loss to the US Women's National Team. The event was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida, Jan. 27-29, 2012
What You Might Have Missed
Top Story: Having been the first team selected for the 2012 Under Armour Underclass All-Star Lacrosse Tournament, the West team has gained a number of views and is the most viewed story on ESPNHS for the second straight week.
The roster features 15 players from California, five from Colorado, two from Nevada and one each from Arizona and Washington.
The remainder of tryouts will be held starting in June, beginning June 2 with the South. For a complete listing of 2012 tryouts you can visit the Under Armour site here.
Top Boys’ Commitment: One advantage of our 2012 Season Preview form is picking up commitments that we were not aware of before. That is what happened when we received our information for Memphis University School (Memphis, Tenn.) junior Peyton Klawinski, who was selected as the No. 50 junior. The midfielder has chosen North Carolina.
Top Girls’ Commitment: Another Top 50 Junior has chosen her college destination. The No. 14 player in the ESPNHS Top 50 Junior list, Linda Attanasio from Garden City (Garden City, N.Y.), has verbally committed to play women's lacrosse for Dartmouth.
Looking Ahead
As ESPNHS gets ready to launch its 2012 Season Previews on Feb. 7 we spend this week discussing what it takes to get ranked in the POWERADE FAB 50 (Feb. 1) and what to expect during our previews (Feb. 3).
A complete look at what lies ahead can be found on our 2012 Season Preview Central home page.
Around the Crease: Jan. 24, 2012
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By Mike Loveday & Tom Peace | ESPN.com
Courtesy Peters Family/ESPNHSCaroline Peters from Good Counsel (Md.) will play for the Ireland Women's National Team in 2012.
Courtesy Greg Speed/ESPNHSNick Ramsey from DeMatha (Md.) with his club team, SoCo.Look Who’s Playing
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) could have one of the better-kept secrets in the nation waiting to get his shot in goal.
Sophomore goalie Nick Ramsey was a member of the Stags junior varsity team last season, but over the summer he participated in the Brine Shootout and put on a show for the college coaches in attendance.
“For a kid who just finished his freshman year and to go out there and play goalie, he had incredible poise and ability to position his defense,” Ramsey’s club coach Greg Speed said. “He didn’t care that he was a rising sophomore. He just took control.”
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound sophomore separates himself from other goalies in his class with his ability to read the opposing offense and put his teammates in the best possible position.
“He is a kid who could play at a high level,” Speed said. “I’ve already spoken to several college coaches about Nick.”
News & Notes
ESPNHS learned over the weekend that Kanatiio Adams from Salmon River (Fort Covington, N.Y.) passed away on Jan. 2.
Adams was ESPNHS's No. 14 long stick midfielder and had been accepted to play men’s lacrosse at Cornell.
Adams had transferred to Salisbury School (Salisbury, Conn.) for his senior year and was recently selected to play for the U19 Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team.
No details were given surrounding Adams passing.
What You Might Have Missed
Top Story: The Friday before Christmas, ESPNHS reported on the story of Tommy Mallon who broke his neck during his final high school lacrosse game and has used that event to help athletes recognize the signs of concussions and other head and neck injuries.
For the second-straight week the Mallon story has been the most popular story on the site.
The story and video can be seen here.
Top Girls’ Commit: New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.) junior attacker Kelsey Murray is the No. 19 player in the ESPNHS Top 50 Junior list and is the latest player to announce her verbal commitment to play women’s lacrosse for Stanford.
Top Boys’ Commit: Conor Whipple’s verbal commitment to Georgetown was announced over the weekend and picked up enough views to be our top boys story for the week.
The St. Andrew’s (Boca Raton, Fla.) junior has been a starter since his freshman year and has 134 career points.
On The Horizon
This week we continue our build up to the 2012 season with the release of the assist leaders who return this season. We started last week with goal leaders and launched 2012 Season Preview Central.
The 2012 US Lacrosse Convention is this weekend in Philadelphia, Pa. Billed as "the unofficial start to the lacrosse season," this event gathers the very best the sport has to offer, and provides the sport’s largest educational opportunity. ESPN analyst Herm Edwards will be the keynote speaker on Friday.