Canadian Men’s and the NCAA

2009

Prepared by J.P Donville

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Dedication

At the heart of every great lacrosse club in is someone like Brian Kruse. He’s the person that quietly puts in unbelievably long hours in support of lacrosse, and at one time or another holds virtually every role in the club organization including President, coach, registrar, and referee. And, he manages to do this, year in and year out, with a smile on his face.

Brian Kruse, the driving force behind the Oakville Hawks Lacrosse Club and an important contributor to the Lacrosse Club and the Edge Lacrosse Club, lost his battle with cancer earlier this year. However, the mark that Brian has left on his community, his sport and thousands of kids, coaches and parents will go on forever.

Like so many others, I assumed that Brian Kruse himself would go on forever – I never knew how sick he was until he was already gone. As such, I never had the chance to say thank you to Brian for all things that he had done for the Oakville Hawks and the sport of lacrosse generally.

I therefore dedicate this inaugural edition of Canadian Men’s Lacrosse and the NCAA to Brian Kruse. Thank you so much for all that you have done to make our community and our sport a much better place. You will be missed but never forgotten.

Introduction

The Nationals Lacrosse Team was formed in part to help develop and support the growth of in Canada. One of the things we are interested in is the development and performance of Canadian players at the university level, both in Canada and in the US. This report examines the trends in participation rates by geographical region, city and player position as well as the statistical performances of the 153 Canadians who played NCAA lacrosse in the US in 2009. Statistics, data and information related to the tables included in this report were derived from public sources (primarily team websites) and all errors of omission and/or accuracy are the responsibility of the author.

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Field of Dreams

Playing lacrosse in the United States has increasingly become the dream of young lacrosse players throughout Canada. Those young players can of course draw inspiration from the likes of Paul and Gary Gait, Tracy Kelusky, John Grant Jr, Taylor Wray, Geoff Snider, Brodie Merrill and others who have played in the US college system and then gone on to further stardom in the NLL, MLL, and Team Canada. However, these ultra elite athletes might also convey the impression that only the very top athletes are wanted down south. In 2009, there were 153 Canadian men who played lacrosse in the NCAA at various competitive levels and at schools small and large. This is their story.

Let’s look at the numbers

It may come as a surprise to many fans of the sport of field lacrosse that there are so many Canadians playing in the US college system. According to data derived from US collegiate lacrosse program websites, there were 153 Canadian men playing in the NCAA in 2009, with 75 playing in Division I, 39 in Division II, and 38 in Division III. Close observers of Canadian lacrosse have always known about the high profile players who were at the top of the Junior A leagues and then went on to repeat similar stardom in US universities. However, the sheer breadth and depth of the Canadian contingent in the US today probably comes as a surprise to many. To the best of my knowledge no organization including the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) has ever tracked the number of Canadians playing in the NCAA prior to this year, but anecdotal sources suggest that as recently as 2002, the total number of Canadian men playing in the NCAA was less than 50.

In terms of provincial representation, the 153 Canadian players in the NCAA come from across the nation with seven provincial associations able to boast of at least one player in the NCAA. Our database also includes two players from Six Nations that have been listed under the “Iroquois” designation and one well-known goalie (Remington Steele) who has played for Team Canada but lists his home town as Dallas and is represented in the database as “other”. As we see below, Ontario represents the largest contingent of players in the NCAA in 2009 with 85 players (56% of the group), followed by BC with 41 (27%) and Alberta with 13 (8%).

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Canadians Playing in the NCAA in 2009 By Province of Origin

Ontario 85 BC 41 Alberta 13 Saskatchewan 4 Iroquois 2 Manitoba 2 Quebec 2 Nova Scotia 2 Other 1

0 102030405060708090

Source: Toronto Nationals Lacrosse (MLL) Scouting Department

Canadians tend to be recruited to play offensive positions in the NCAA and the reasoning behind this is quite simple – Canadians know how to score. This assertion is not based simply upon anecdotal evidence. For example, in 2009, Division I Teams (including Bryant and Presbyterian) scored 8,295 goals of which 828 of these goals were scored by the 75 Canadians. Based on a typical NCAA roster of 40 players, this means that Canadians represented 3.2% of the NCAA population but managed to score 10% of the goals (and 9.1% of the assists). Thus, not surprisingly Canadians tend to be represented largely at either midfield (46%) or attack (37%). However, the latent success of players such as Brodie Merrill (defence), Chris Sanderson (goalie), Kyle Miller (goalie), Geoff Snider (face-off) and others has slowly led to the realization that Canadians can contribute meaningfully at all positions in the sport. This point is reflected by the fact that 17% of the 2009 class is represented by either defence or goalies.

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Canadian Lacrosse Players in the NCAA - 2009 - Ranked by Position Played

Midfield 70

Attack 57

Defence 20

Goalies 6

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75

Source: Toronto Nationals Lacrosse (MLL) Scouting Department

Another statistical point that is worth noting from the class of 2009 is the surge in the number of freshman playing the sport. In 2009, freshman accounted for 42% of the Canadian’s playing in the NCAA. While it is normal for the freshman year to be larger than all others at any university given the fact that many students do not complete their studies, the surge in freshman numbers probably points to a confluence of factors that we will discuss subsequently. The key point to note however is that the number of Canadians playing in the NCAA has been rising rapidly over the past three or four years and will probably rise again sharply in 2010.

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Canadian Men in the NCAA in 2009 - Ranked by Class Year

Freshman 65

Sophomore 39

Junior 31

Senior 17

Post-Grad 1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

Source: Toronto Nationals Lacrosse (MLL) Scouting Department

So which specific communities have been the most successful at getting their student- athletes into the NCAA? The bulk of the Canadian lacrosse players in the NCAA come from the kinds of communities that we would expect – box lacrosse power houses such as Orangeville, Victoria, St Catherine, Coquitlam and New Westminster. However, further analysis points out some fascinating anomalies in the data which suggests that the strength of a community’s box lacrosse program explains only in part which communities are the best at getting their players to the NCAA. For example, 7.8% of the Canadians in the NCAA come from Orangeville which is clearly an important community in terms of youth lacrosse – but is this enough to explain Orangeville’s phenomenal success in placing kids in the NCAA? Oakville and Toronto (Beaches) are both among the top five communities in Canada in terms of placing players in the NCAA, yet neither is considered a powerhouse in Canadian box lacrosse. At the other end of the spectrum is Six Nations. This community of 18,000 has won virtually every significant trophy in Canadian Lacrosse in the past five years yet only boasts two players in the NCAA.

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Largest Concentration Of Canadian Lacrosse Players Playing in the NCAA in 2009 By City/Club

Orangeville 12 Victoria 8 Toronto 7 St Catherines 6 Oakville 6 Coquitlam 6 Calgary 6 Caledon 5 Ne w We s tm ins te r 5 Saskatoon 4 Brampton 4 Port Coquitlam 4

02468101214

Source: Toronto Nationals Lacrosse (MLL) Scouting Department

A look behind the numbers

The preceding discussion paints a fairly clear picture of the participation levels of Canadians in the NCAA from a variety of perspectives. However, it does not explain the sudden surge in participation levels in the NCAA by Canadian men over the past 3-4 years. It is my sense that the pre-conditions for this surge have been building in Canada for close to twenty five years but it is the emergence and proliferation of “intermediaries or agents” over the past five years that explains the sudden surge in participation by Canadians in NCAA lacrosse.

Field lacrosse was an important sport in Canada’s early history with huge crowds turning out to witness games in places like Toronto’s Centre Island and at Queens Park in New Westminster. However, with the large scale construction of hockey arenas beginning shortly after the First World War, moved indoors and Canada became almost strictly a box lacrosse nation for close to 50 years. This only began to slowly change in the 1970’s when legendary coach Bobby Allan and the likes of Mike French, Stan Cockerton, Johnny Mouradian, Jim Calder, Bob Flintoff and Dave Huntley led Canada to an upset victory at the 1978 World Championships. This breakthrough was followed by the introduction of youth programs in Ontario led by Bobby Allan, Don Barry, Jim Calder and Johnny Mouradian in communities such as Peterborough and St Catharines. At roughly the same time, Canada’s west coast was experiencing a field lacrosse renaissance of its own, led by a group of lacrosse supporters who formed a

Canadian Men’s Lacrosse and the NCAA 2009 Page | 7 traveling team out of Victoria called the Sea Sprays. This team, which was coached by a youthful Chris Hall and led by Kevin Alexander dominated west coast lacrosse from San Diego to New Westminster (at one point boasting a 68 game winning streak that spanned 4 years) and became the inspiration for youth field lacrosse teams throughout British Columbia.

The Sea Sprays’ line-up consisted mainly of Senior A players from the Victoria Shamrocks but it also included younger players from the Esquimalt Junior A team. Among these players were three individuals whose name would be linked with lacrosse excellence for the next 25 years – these young men were of course Paul and Gary Gait and Tom Marechek. The phenomenal entrance of the Gait’s and Marechek onto the US lacrosse stage in 1989 set in motion a second wave of interest in field lacrosse in Canada that saw the sport spread from hotbeds such as Peterborough, St Catharines and Victoria to places that included all of Canada’s prairie provinces and small outposts of interest in Canada’s Maritime provinces and Northern Territories. Fast forward to today and what we are now seeing is the first generation of Canadian lacrosse players that are not converted box lacrosse players but in fact players that has been playing both field and box lacrosse since they began with the sport.

As the preceding commentary has pointed out, the strength and breadth of our field lacrosse programs has grown steadily since the 1970’s. However, the latent strength of our minor field lacrosse programs does not explain the sudden surge in the number of Canadians playing field lacrosse in the US or why certain Canadian lacrosse communities are significantly over or under represented in the NCAA. In my opinion, three factors affect a community’s ability to send players to the US and they are 1) the quality of field lacrosse played in the community, 2) the socio-economic strength of the community, and 3) the existence of intermediaries or agents that promote and facilitate the recruitment of players to the NCAA.

In terms of the first factor, there are now enough quality field lacrosse programs across Canada to suggest that dozens of communities are capable of producing the next John Grant Jr. The second factor, being the socio-economic standing of the community probably explains why communities like Toronto, Oakville, and Calgary are so well represented in the NCAA relative to the strength of their lacrosse programs and probably also explains why communities such as Six Nations appear to be under represented relative to their box and field lacrosse prowess. The third factor, namely the emergence of intermediaries or agents, is the key variable that has changed the face of Canadian lacrosse over the course of the past five years and explains the sudden surge in the numbers of Canadians playing lacrosse in the NCAA.

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In lacrosse terms, an intermediary or agent can take many forms and includes coaches, guidance councillors and administrators who work within high schools, private schools, travel teams and club teams in Canada. Holy Cross High School in St Catharines is a case in point. Holy Cross was one of the earliest schools in Canada to realise that good lacrosse players in their community could lever their lacrosse skills in a way that would provide them with a strong education as well as the thrill of playing NCAA lacrosse. This high school was able to forge links with US programs such as Cornell University and Canisius College which meant that a lacrosse player with good grades was quickly channelled to a top US collegiate program. The result has been a crop of players that include Thomas Hajek, Sean Greenhalgh and Matt Vinc who all received university educations while starring in the NCAA. Thus, while St Catharines would be viewed by many as community facing tough economic times, the existence of a strong agent in the form of Holy Cross High School allowed some of its most promising players to still enjoy the benefits of an outstanding education while playing the sport that they love.

The importance of agents can also be seen in the case of the Orangeville lacrosse community. Brodie Merrill, who hails from Orangeville, is widely recognized as one of the top lacrosse players in the world. Upon graduation from Georgetown, Merrill joined the nascent Hill Academy and went about constructing the top US prep school-style lacrosse program in Canada. The Hill Academy routinely beats highly ranked US prep schools and high schools and “The Hill” is now seen as one of the go-to intuitions for aspiring Canadian lacrosse players (and a small number of US players as well). Nonetheless, local kids still make up the bulk of the Hill Academy’s student body and the existence of “The Hill” probably explains in part why Orangeville has become so successful in getting players to the NCAA. Besides the Hill Academy, members of the Orangeville lacrosse community have also built strong linkages with US prep schools including the Western Reserve Academy in Ohio and The Culver Academy in Indiana, which means that an aspiring lacrosse player living in Orangeville has multiple channels by which to pursue a higher education in the sport of lacrosse.

Looking to the future

It is my expectation that the number of Canadians playing lacrosse in the NCAA in the coming year or two will surpass the levels seen in 2009. Looking ahead to the 2009- 2010 season, a review of press releases on websites such as Laxpower, Inside Lacrosse and those maintained by NCAA teams, already shows a list of 27 Canadian freshman who are expected to be on an NCAA Division I roster in 2010. As such, with many teams yet to report their rosters, we would expect this number to eventually grow to perhaps 40 players in Division I alone. My sense is that there will also be an equally

Canadian Men’s Lacrosse and the NCAA 2009 Page | 9 strong surge in the number of players playing Division II and Division III lacrosse in the NCAA. For Canadian lacrosse fans, this means another exciting year lies ahead. However, before we look to 2010, the following pages provide a detailed recap of the statistics that were generated by the 153 Canadians in the NCAA in 2009 by position.

Figure 1 - Canadian Freshman Announcements for 2009/2010 NCAA Lacrosse Season

Player School Hometown Province Position

1 Matt Mackenzie Albany Spruce Grove Alberta Midfield 2 Mike Woods Albany Newmarket Ontario Midfield 3 Mitchell Mclaren Bellarmine Victoria BC Midfield 4 Matt Loopkey Bellarmine Furdale Saskatchewan Midfield 5 Nils Thompson Bryant Ponoka Alberta Midfield 6 Jake Thompson Cornell Orangeville Ontario Attack 7 Jason Noble Cornell Orangeville Ontario Defence 8 Cam Flint Denver Georgetown Ontario Midfield 9 Jordan Houtby Detroit St Catharines Ontario Defence 10 Joel Matthews Detroit St Catharines Ontario Defence 11 Ethan O'Connor Hobart Milton Ontario Defense/LSM 12 Jaime Lincoln Hofstra St. Catharines Ontario Attack/Midfield 13 Michael Burke Hofstra Caledon East Ontario Midfield 14 Ryan Serville Jacksonville Toronto Ontario Attack 15 Cameron Mann Jacksonville Hamilton Ontario Midfield 16 Zach Palmer Johns Hopkins Oshawa Ontario Attack 17 Reid Acton Loyola Toronto Ontario Defense 18 Kyle Dexter Providence Victoria BC Midfield 19 Jake Hayes Robert Morris Calgary Alberta Attack 20 Tyler Digby Robert Morris New Westminster BC Attack 21 Kevin Neufeld Robert Morris Coquitlam BC Defence 22 Mitchell Wilde Robert Morris Brooklin Ontario Midfield 23 JJ Laforet Stony Brook Georgetown Ontario Midfield 24 AJ Masson Vermont Newmarket Ontario Attack 25 Matt Cockerton Virginia Oshawa Ontario Attack/Midfield 26 Deron Dempster Yale Orangeville Ontario Attack 27 Kirby Zdrill Yale Edmonton Alberta Attack Source: NCAA Team Websites, Laxpower.com

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Attacks

In 2009, there were 57 Canadians playing the attack position in the NCAA at the Division I, II and III levels. These 57 players collectively scored 1,200 goals or slightly more than 21 goals per player. These players also contributed 535 assists and picked up 895 ground balls. It is also worth noting that 42% of these attack men were freshman.

Division I

The Canadian attacks in Division I in 2009 had a tremendous year with Zack Greer (Whitby) leading the way in terms of points per game (4.5) and ground balls (44). Greer’s performance allowed Bryant University to successfully debut in the NCAA Division I with a winning record that included several upset victories over ranked opponents. In terms of total goals scored, Stephen Keogh () led that category with 49 goals and played a key role in Syracuse’s successful pursuit of an NCAA Championship. Joel Delgarno (Port Coquitlam) capped a great career at Ohio State in 2009 and led all Canadian attacks in terms of assists with 28. The 2009 rookie crop was also deep at the attack position with Siena’s Bryan Neufeld (Virgil) leading his class with 38 goals, 51 points and 26 ground balls.

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Figure 2 - Canadian Attacks In NCAA Div I - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB 1 Zack Greer Bryant Whitby Ontario Post-grad 15 42 26 68 4.5 44 2 Joel Delgarno Ohio State Port Coquitlam BC Senior 16 33 28 61 3.8 21 3 Corey Small Albany St Catharines Ontario Senior 10 31 5 36 3.6 15 4 Jordan McBride Stony Brook New Westminster BC Soph 15 42 8 50 3.3 25 5 Garrett Billings Virginia Langley BC Senior 18 38 21 59 3.3 39 6 Stephen Keogh Syracuse Toronto Ontario Soph 18 49 6 55 3.1 20 7 Curtis Dickson Delaware Port Coquitlam BC Junior 15 33 12 45 3.0 29 8 Trevor Moore Robert Morris Port Coquitlam BC Soph 16 31 16 47 2.9 19 9 Jay Card Hofstra Caledon Ontario Soph 15 35 9 44 2.9 28 10 Bryan Neufeld Siena Virgil/Niagra Ontario Freshman 18 38 13 51 2.8 26 11 C. Tao-Brambleby Robert Morris Coquitlam BC Soph 16 31 14 45 2.8 25 12 Aidan Genik Hartford Toronto Ontario Freshman 13 24 10 34 2.6 12 13 Denver Oshawa Ontario Freshman 14 24 9 33 2.4 17 14 Carter Bender Hartford Caledon Ontario Freshman 13 18 11 29 2.2 10 15 Cody Jamieson Syracuse Six Nations Iroquois Junior 6 9 3 12 2.0 4 16 Kyle Bergman Drexel Toronto Ontario Freshman 15 18 11 29 1.9 5 17 Alex Gajic Denver Burnaby BC Freshman 13 16 6 22 1.7 19 18 Kyle Belton Stony Brook Langley BC Freshman 15 18 4 22 1.5 11 19 Dave Brock Albany Burlington Ontario Junior 13 11 8 19 1.5 10 20 Jesse Fehr Harvard Calgary Alberta Junior 12 6 11 17 1.4 6 21 Luke Acton Bellarmine Saskatoon Sask Freshman 13 8 10 18 1.4 12 22 Kyle Buchanan Robert Morris Nepean Ontario Freshman 16 8 13 21 1.3 37 23 Josh Gillam Dartmouth Peterborough Ontario Junior 11 7 5 12 1.1 11 24 Simon Giourmetakis Canisius Edmonton Alberta Freshman 12 8 5 13 1.1 14 25 Cliff Smith Denver Surrey BC Senior 13 10 4 14 1.1 13 26 Jordan Wong Bellarmine Victoria BC Freshman 10 1 6 7 0.7 4 27 Jesse Gamble Cornell Rockwood Ontario Soph 4 1 0 1 0.3 1 28 Travis Gibbons Canisius Owen Sound Ontario Freshman 10 1 1 2 0.2 0 29 Ryan McClelland Colgate Brampton Ontario Junior 15 1 1 2 0.1 15 30 Sean Robinson Hobart Coquitlam BC Freshman 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 31 Brandon Bortignon Canisius Coquitlam BC Freshman 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 32 Leif Paulson Cornell Prince George BC Junior 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 33 Andrew Bromley Providence Surrey BC Freshman 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 Totals 396 592 276 868 1.8 492

Division II

The Canadian attacks in Division II in 2009 were small in numbers (7) but they more than made up for it in scoring prowess. The seven Canadians playing in Division II scored 217 goals or on average 31 goals each. Stephan LeBlanc (Restoule) and John McClure (Brampton) led this lucky group of seven with 54 goals each, while Kyle O’Brien (Whitby) led the group in the assists category with 31 for Dowling. John McClure led all Division II attacks in ground ball collections with 53 and there were no freshman among the “super seven” attacks playing in Division II.

Figure 3 - Canadian Attacks In NCAA Div II - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB 1 Stephan LeBlanc Queens/NC Restoule Ontario Senior 14 54 21 75 5.4 38 2 John McClure Dowling Brampton Ontario Junior 13 54 13 67 5.2 53 3 David Hodgins Mars Hill Windsor Ontario Sophomore 15 40 25 65 4.3 22 4 Kyle O'Brien Dowling Whitby Ontario Junior 13 20 31 51 3.9 9 5 Drew Comeau Notre Dame De Namur Red Deer Alberta Sophomore 5 15 3 18 3.6 15 6 Eric Benesch Mars Hill Bloomingdale Ontario Sophomore 15 27 24 51 3.4 41 7 Jesse Peterson Dominican College Saskatoon Sask Sophomore 14 7 16 23 1.6 15 Totals 89 217 133 350 27.41 193

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Division III

The 17 Canadian attacks in Division III scored 391 goals in 2009 which equates to 23 goals per player. Keegan Bowman (New Westminster) narrowly edged out Matt Quinton (Elora) in terms of goals per game but Quinton easily led the group in terms of total goals scored with 55. In terms of assists, Andrew Lackey (Orangeville) was tops with 24 while Tyler Midwinter (Hamilton) picked up the most ground balls with 37. It is also worth noting that the 2009 Division III class of attacks was loaded with freshman including the statistical leader Keegan Bowman.

Figure 4 - Canadian Attacks In NCAA Div III - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB 1 Keegan Bowman Carthage New Westminster BC Freshman 10 24 12 36 3.6 23 2 Matt Quinton Roanoke Elora Ontario Junior 19 55 12 67 3.5 22 3 Andrew Stoner Lycoming Orangeville Ontario Sophomore 8 24 4 28 3.5 16 4 Anthony Lackey Whittier Orangeville Ontario Senior 13 21 24 45 3.5 26 5 Brad Levick Elmira Newmarket Ontario Senior 13 33 9 42 3.2 0 6 Daniel McQuade Whittier New Westminster BC Freshman 13 31 10 41 3.2 21 7 Tyler Midwinter Randolph Macon Hamilton Ontario Freshman 14 35 4 40 2.9 37 8 Andrew Kirkaldy Gordon Red Deer Alberta Freshman 14 27 12 39 2.8 12 9 Jeff Ivey Adrian Orangeville Ontario Sophomore 13 26 7 33 2.5 5 10 DJ Clevely Adrian Orangeville Ontario Freshman 11 19 6 25 2.3 3 11 TJ Cook Adrian Caledon Ontario Freshman 13 24 3 27 2.1 8 12 Sean Gilles RIT Oakville Ontario Junior 15 20 8 28 1.9 20 13 Todd Hosmer Potsdam Scarborough Ontario Freshman 9 13 3 16 1.8 10 14 Curran Lee Virginia Wesleyan Calgary Alberta Sophomore 13 19 4 23 1.8 0 15 Jordan Joncas Potsdam Kanata Ontario Junior 9 11 4 15 1.7 7 16 Rick Acorn Elmira Barrie Ontario Freshman 10 9 4 13 1.3 0 17Trevor EvansNew England CollegeMaple Ridge BCFreshman20000.00 Totals 199 391 126 518 41.38 210

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Midfielders

In 2009, there were 70 Canadians playing midfield in the NCAA at the Division I, II and III levels. These 70 players collectively scored 581 goals or slightly more than 8 goals per player. These players also contributed 286 assists and picked up 1,119 ground balls. It is also worth noting that 41% of these midfielders were freshman.

Division I

The Canadian midfielders in Division I in 2009 had a tremendous year with Kevin Crowley (New Westminster) leading the way in terms of points per game (3.4), assists (23) and ground balls (57). Adam Jones (Owen Sound) of Canisius led the Canadian goal scorers with 33. The top rookie in the group was Robbie Campbell (Delta), a team mate of Crowley at Stony Brook who scored 21 goals in his freshman season. Freshman accounted for 33% of this group.

Figure 5 - Canadian Midfielders In NCAA Div I - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB 1 Kevin Crowley Stony Brook New Westminster BC Soph 15 28 23 51 3.4 57 2 Adam Jones Canisius Owen Sound Ontario Soph 12 33 5 38 3.2 21 3 Derek Hopcroft Bellarmine Toronto Ontario Junior 14 27 10 37 2.6 18 4 Jarrett Davis Bellarmine Port Moody BC Junior 14 20 14 34 2.4 18 5 Robbie Campbell Stony Brook Delta BC Freshman 15 21 12 33 2.2 10 6 Mike Pires Ohio State Saanichton BC Soph 16 24 8 32 2.0 18 7 Chase Williams Bellarmine Vancouver BC Junior 14 12 8 20 1.4 12 8 Kiel Matisz Robert Morris Stoney Creek Ontario Freshman 16 10 10 20 1.3 8 9 Brock Armour Towson Victoria BC Junior 14 8 8 16 1.1 13 10 Dave Morton Robert Morris Orangeville Ontario Freshman 16 8 9 17 1.1 2 11 Illija Gagic Denver Burnaby BC Junior 6 1 5 6 1.0 21 12 Garett Kerr Quimmipiac Caledon Ontario Junior 13 7 4 11 0.8 10 13 Mitch McMichael Cornell Port Perry Ontario Freshman 10 3 5 8 0.8 8 14 Jaime Lincoln Denver St Catharines Ontario Soph 9 5 2 7 0.8 2 15 Michael Cudmore Hartford Ashburn Ontario Soph 13 6 4 10 0.8 14 16 Karsen Leung Bellarmine Victoria BC Freshman 14 3 6 9 0.6 35 17 Jonathan Thomson Cornell Orangeville Ontario Soph 12 5 2 7 0.6 3 18 Brock Sorenson Ohio State Peterborough Ontario Freshman 16 4 3 7 0.4 7 19 Bob Snider Bellarmine Calgary Alberta Senior 13 4 0 4 0.3 44 20 Graham Bergsma Fairfield St Catharines Ontario Junior 8 1 1 2 0.3 6 21 Jordan Sealock Robert Morris Airdrie Alberta Junior 16 1 2 3 0.2 19 22 Dan Coates Canisius St Catharines Ontario Junior 11 2 0 2 0.2 16 23 Clark De Geer Hartford Orangeville Ontario Freshman 8 1 0 1 0.1 0 24 Garett Ince Virginia Oakville Ontario Soph 14 1 0 1 0.1 11 25 Michael Howe Cornell St Catharines Ontario Junior 15 0 0 0 0.0 15 26 Liam Teer Vermont Vancouver BC Soph 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 27 Nick Diachenko Delaware Courtice Ontario Freshman 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 28 Garett McIntosh Drexel Coquitlam BC Freshman 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 29 Colton Clark Bellarmine Nanaimo BC Freshman 3 0 0 0 0.0 2 30 Austin Thomas Bryant Mississauga Ontario Soph 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 31 Brad Richardson Denver Langley BC Senior 2 0 0 0 0.0 1 32 Brandon McLean Ohio State Victoria BC Freshman 1 0 0 0 0.0 2 33 Kevin Brownell Robert Morris Burlington Ontario Freshman 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 Totals 332 235 141 376 0.8 393

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Division II

The dominant Canadian midfielder in Division II in 2009 was Mars Hill’s Danny Farmer (Calgary) who scored 53 goals in 15 games. Farmer led all Canadian midfielders in terms of goals (53), assists (16), pts (69) and points per game (4.6). Fellow teammate Kevin Woods (Newmarket) gathered up the most ground balls with 64. Braden Artem (Acton) was the top freshman middy in Division II by virtue of his 31 goals in 13 games for Catawba.

Figure 6 - Canadian Midfielders In NCAA Div II - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB 1 Danny Farmer Mars Hill Calgary Alberta Junior 15 53 16 69 4.6 42 2 Braden Artem Catawba Acton Ontario Freshman 13 31 4 35 2.7 33 3 Tyler Burton Mercyhurst London Ontario Junior 14 24 13 37 2.6 17 4 Dan MacIssac American Intl Port Perry Ontario Soph 12 16 10 26 2.2 14 5 Cameron McLean Mercyhurst Victoria BC Soph 14 27 1 28 2.0 19 6 Gabe Sutherland Dominican College Saskatoon Sask Freshman 14 20 7 27 1.9 10 7 Ty Farmer Mars Hill Calgary Alberta Soph 15 12 11 23 1.5 18 8 T.J.Cowx Mars Hill Delta BC Soph 15 9 4 13 0.9 25 9 Owen Williams Notre Dame DN Red Deer Alberta Senior 9 6 1 7 0.8 7 10 Cade Zulak Mars Hill Ajax Ontario Freshman 12 5 1 6 0.5 7 11 Tyler Douglas Dominican College St Albert Alberta Soph 14 5 1 6 0.4 17 12 Mike Jacques Wheeling Jesuit Sarnia Ontario Senior 12 5 0 5 0.4 7 13 J.A. MacDougall Mercyhurst Brantford Ontario Freshman 5 2 0 2 0.4 5 14 Kevins Woods Mars Hill Newmarket Ontario Junior 15 3 2 5 0.3 64 15 Jackson Decker Limestone Port Moody BC Freshman 8 1 1 2 0.3 4 16 Chad Howson Mars Hill Newmarket Ontario Freshman 4 1 0 1 0.3 1 17 Mitch Barnard St Andrews Barrie Ontario Freshman 14 3 0 3 0.2 15 18 Matt Bertrand Seton Hill Oakville Ontario Freshman 7 1 0 1 0.1 0 19 Eric Whettell American Intl La Salle Manitoba Freshman 12 0 0 0 0.0 11 20 Blake Mattinson Mars Hill Coquitlam BC Freshman 10 0 0 0 0.0 5 21 Kyle Kallay Mercyhurst Orangeville Ontario Freshman 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 Totals 234 224 72 296 1.1 321

Division III

The 16 Canadian midfielders in Division III were led by Jordan MacIntosh (Oakville) of Gordon College. Although Macintosh only played in 9 games, he managed to score 21 goals and 33 pts for a 3.7 ppg average for the season. Greg Norris (St Catherines) scored the most goals with 26 and was also tops in assists with 17. Dan MacCrae (Oakville) grabbed the most ground balls with 89 while Tyler Tanguay (Port Colborne) had the best numbers amongst rookies including 19 goals.

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Figure 7 - Canadian Midfielders In NCAA Div III - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB 1 Jordan MacIntosh Gordon Oakville Ontario Soph 9 21 12 33 3.7 34 2 Greg Norris Susquehanna St Catharines Ontario Senior 16 26 17 43 2.7 20 3 Aaron Fill Becker Ladner BC Junior 11 20 9 29 2.6 27 4 Ben McCullough Potsdam Brampton Ontario Junior 13 15 15 30 2.3 47 5 Tyler Tanguay Adrian Port Colborne Ontario Freshman 14 19 6 25 1.8 12 6 Eric Hubert Adrian Mississauga Ontario Freshman 14 9 6 15 1.1 10 7 Joe Stanley Potsdam Lakefield Ontario Soph 10 3 2 5 0.5 3 8 Mike Pantelone Neumann Aurora Ontario Freshman 14 4 1 5 0.4 7 9 Jaime Dunbar New England Coll. Halifax NS Soph 13 0 3 3 0.2 15 10 Dan MacCrae RIT Oakville Ontario Junior 16 1 2 3 0.2 89 11 Alex Crepinsek RIT Oakville Ontario Freshman 16 3 0 3 0.2 54 12 MJ Kiekebelt RIT Caledon Ontario Soph 16 1 0 1 0.1 69 13 Matt McMurray Gettysburg Orangeville Ontario Freshman 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 14 Grant Gosselin U of New England Beaconsfield Quebec Soph 16 0 0 0 0.0 18 15 Jeff Sproule Whittier New Westminster BC Freshman 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 16 Scott Gamble Elmira Toronto Ontario Soph 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 Totals 184 122 73 195 1.0 405

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Defence

In 2009, there were 20 Canadians playing defence (and/or long pole middy) in the NCAA at the Division I, II and III levels. Ranking these players statistically is virtually impossible as there is no consensus on which statistic if any provides a meaningful ranking of this position. Given the fact that the current defender of the year in the MLL is Brodie Merrill and that his ground ball stats are extremely impressive, I have chosen to use GB’s per game to rank the defence in the class of 2009. These 20 players collectively grabbed 482 ground balls or roughly 24 per player. These players also contributed 286 assists and picked up 1,119 ground balls. It is also worth noting that 45% of these defenders were freshman.

Division I

The Canadian defenders in Division I in 2009 had a great year led by Sid Smith (Oshweken) who played a key role on the Syracuse team that won the NCAA championship. Smith picked up 39 ground balls over the course of the season and made several big plays late in the game in Syracuse’s come from behind win over Cornell in the NCAA finals. Matt Campbell (Orangeville), Greg Miceli (Stony Brook) and Richard Cambrey (Port Coquitlam) also had big years in Division I.

Figure 8 - Canadian Defenders In NCAA Div I - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB GB/G 1 Sid Smith Syracuse Ohsweken Iroquois Senior 18 0 1 1 0.1 39 2.2 2 Matt Campbell Bellarmine Orangeville Ontario Senior 14 1 1 2 0.1 27 1.9 3 Greg Miceli Stony Brook King City Ontario Freshman 13 0 0 0 0.0 16 1.2 4 Tyler Collins Colgate Toronto Ontario Junior 3 0 0 0 0.0 3 1.0 5 Robert Koger Georgetown Toronto Ontario Freshman 1 0 0 0 0.0 1 1.0 6 Richard Cambrey Robert Morris Port Coquitlam BC Soph 14 0 0 0 0.0 7 0.5 7 Jacob Wipf Bellarmine Saskatoon Sask Freshman 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 Totals 64 1 2 3 0.0 93 1.1

Division II

Although he only played in six games in 2009, Cory Upshaw (Orono) had the best ground ball numbers in terms of GB/G in 2009. In terms of overall performance, Dave Marreese (Winnipeg) grabbed 69 ground balls, more than any other Canadian Defensemen in Division I, II or II in 2009. Chris Cudmore (Whitby), (Brampton) and Brandon Ree (Barrie) also had big seasons in Division II.

Canadian Men’s Lacrosse and the NCAA 2009 Page | 17

Figure 9 - Canadian Defenders In NCAA Div II - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB GB/G 1 Cory Upshaw Notre Dame De N'r Orono Ontario Senior 6 1 2 3 0.5 36 6.0 2 Dave Marrese Dominican College Winnipeg Manitoba Soph 14 0 2 2 0.1 69 4.9 3 Chris Cudmore Mars Hill Whitby Ontario Freshman 15 0 1 1 0.1 56 3.7 4 Kyle Rubisch Dowling Brampton Ontario Junior 13 0 0 0 0.0 48 3.7 5 Brandon Ree St Andrews Barrie Ontario Freshman 16 0 0 0 0.0 38 2.4 6 Brandon Miller Notre Dame De N'r Calgary Alberta Soph 9 0 0 0 0.0 18 2.0 7 Trevor Veres Wheeling Jesuit Windsor Ontario Senior 12 2 0 2 0.2 19 1.6 8 Kiernan Limming Mars Hill Victoria BC Freshman 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 Totals 87 3 5 8 0.1 284 3.0

Division III

The 5 Canadian defenders in Division III collectively picked up 105 ground balls in 2009. The group was led by Andrew Suitor (Orangeville) who averaged 4.3 GB per game for Adrian College and Tom Longland (Dunnville) who averaged 3.5 ground balls per game for Morrissville.

Figure 10 - Canadian Defenders In NCAA Div III - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP G A Pts PPG GB GB/G 1 Andrew Suitor Adrian Orangeville Ontario Soph 8 1 0 1 0.1 34 4.3 2 Tom Longland Morrissville Dunnville Ontario Freshman 15 1 1 2 0.1 53 3.5 3 Kris Clement Oswego Pierrefonds Quebec Junior 8 0 0 0 0.0 6 0.8 4 Jacob Ryan New England Coll. Victoria BC Freshman 14 5 0 5 0.4 9 0.6 5 Dan Shupe New England Coll. Dartmouth NS Freshman 11 0 1 1 0.1 3 0.3 Totals 56 7 2 9 0.1 105 1.9

Canadian Men’s Lacrosse and the NCAA 2009 Page | 18

Goalies

In 2009, there were 6 Canadians playing goalie in the NCAA at the Division I, II and III levels. Indeed, this position could best be described as a work in progress as goalie is the least represented position among Canadians in the NCAA. This is not to say that the six players in the US do not have talent. At least three have won medals at the World U- 19 Championships in recent years and players such as Angus Dingley, Kyle Miller, and Chris Sanderson have shown that Canadians can certainly play this position at the NCAA and World Class level.

Division I

Alex Peatty (Victoria) led the two Division I goalies with 145 minutes played and two wins for the Loyola Greyhounds.

Figure 11 - Canadian Goalies In NCAA Div I - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP Mins Saves Pct Wins GB 1 Alex Peatty Loyola Victoria BC Senior 5 145 19 40% 2 6 2 Vermont Orangeville Ontario Soph 1 6 2 100% 0 0 Totals 6 151 21 0.702 2 6

Division II

None of the three Canadian goalies in Division II saw significant playing time in 2009.

Figure 12 - Canadian Goalies In NCAA Div II - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP Mins Saves Pct Wins GB 1 Michael Pecchia Catawba Coquitlam BC Freshman 4 87 20 42% 0 3 2 Remington Steele Limestone Dallas US Soph 4 38 8 80% 0 1 3 Spencer Stobbe Mars Hill Edmonton Alberta Freshman 4 29 9 60% 0 1 Totals 12 154 37 0.606 0 5

Division III

Jason Crawford (Burlington) played in seven games in 2009 and recorded one win and saw 150 minutes of playing time.

Canadian Men’s Lacrosse and the NCAA 2009 Page | 19

Figure 13 - Canadian Goalies In NCAA Div III - 2009

Rank Player School Hometown Province Year GP Mins Saves Pct Wins GB 1 Jason Crawford Randolph Macon Burlington Ontario Freshman 7 150 30 50% 1 5 Totals 7 150 30 0.167 1 5

Canadian Men’s Lacrosse and the NCAA 2009 Page | 20

Final Thoughts

In 2009, 153 Canadian lacrosse players left home, headed south and put on a show. The statistics speak for themselves but the stats don’t say it all. These boys were the “Canadians” on their respective teams and to the best of my knowledge these young men represented our sport beyond our borders with skill, determination and class. This is something that everyone associated with Canadian lacrosse can be proud of and I therefore offer my praise and congratulations to the class of 2009 for a job extremely well done!

Bring on 2010!

J.P. Donville