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Hey look, I’m writing about lacrosse again! I hope some of you have been able to check out my Eagles articles that I’ve been writing over at Birds 24/7, including my latest one from earlier today.
Besides following myself and the Birds 24/7 account on Twitter, make sure to throw a follow to the other two writers and editors of the site, Josh Paunil and former Bleeding Green Nation manager Brandon Lee Gowton.
Now the last time I wrote about lacrosse, there was our College Crosse fantasy league (thanks for all that joined!), the possibility of the Olympics adding lacrosse, and that dumb two-point goal gimmick. I still hate this. And don’t forget our 2017 Scouting Reports (and I promise we’ll get to those again soon!).
There been some player movement and transfer news during the summer. Here’s what you may have missed, with many coming from Ty Xanders:
NAME | POSITION | OLD SCHOOL | NEW SCHOOL |
Reece Belcher | FOGO | Syracuse (commit) | High Point |
Sean Cerrone | M | Villanova | Duke |
Henry Grass | A | Johns Hopkins | Syracuse |
Connor Harryman | M | Bellarmine | Towson |
Willie Klan | G | Ohio State | Syracuse |
Gerald Logan | G | Michigan | Johns Hopkins |
Jack Olson | FOGO | Johns Hopkins | Michigan |
Stephen Rehfuss | A | Holy Cross | Syracuse |
Hunter Sells | G | Johns Hopkins | Bucknell |
Max Spaan | A | Hobart | Drexel |
Since then, here’s what you may have missed:
Virginia Goalie Matt Barrett Suspended Indefinitely
Lars Tiffany didn’t even have a chance to meet with his entire new team, and already there’s controversy. Barrett was arrested in Ocean City, Maryland in the middle of August due to a noise complaint. But once police responded, they found Barrett "cutting white powder using a credit card on the kitchen table." Barrett later confessed that it was cocaine. A trial is set for November.
Not good at all. Currently, Virginia has senior Ryan Montgomery, junior Will Railey, and incoming freshman Griffin Thompson (Lawrenceville School) as goalies on their roster. Virginia is not playing in any fall ball scrimmages, so Barrett’s status for the traditional spring season is up in the air. Railey seems to be the probable starter over Montgomery, a walk-on, and the freshman Thompson.
FOGO Domenic Massimilian No Longer With Cornell’s Team
A big surprise here, as Massimilian, one of the top faceoff men in the nation, will not play with the Big Red this season. However, he will stay at the school and get that Cornell degree, before moving on to a different school next year.
The loss of Massimilian might have severely hurt Cornell’s chances of reaching the Ivy League Tournament this season, with senior goalie Christian Knight returning from an injury that kept him out for all of 2016, and top freshman recruit in attackman Jeff Teat. Knight also has a year of eligibility left after missing last year, but there’s no word yet on if he has any intention to play at a different institution for 2018.
Look for senior Grant Mahler or incoming freshman Paul Rasimowicz (Trinity-Pawling) to battle for the primary faceoff job.
Also in Cornell news, former OCC LSM Granger Sasso will be part of the Big Red this season. Sasso’s teammate, defenseman Aidan Christian, will head to Bellarmine.
Seth Oakes No Longer At Albany
Another surprise in New York, as the senior attackman is no longer at the school, according to head coach Scott Marr. Oakes led the Great Danes last year with 44 goals and was an Honorable Mention All-American.
With the Great Danes adding no notable attackmen in their latest recruiting class, look for senior Bennett Drake and junior Justin Reh to be the top candidates to be alongside Connor Fields at attack.
Alex Woodall Heads Closer To Home To Towson
As first reported by Ty Xanders, Woodall was one of the top FOGO recruits in the country last season, as he spent his freshman year at High Point. He won 52.8% of his faceoffs during his year with the Panthers, leading the team in faceoff wins and ground balls in the process.
Last year, the Tigers were ranked 44th in the country in faceoffs, but won the CAA and upset #2 seeded Denver in the first round. Woodall will compete with senior Alec Burckley to be the primary faceoff taker.
Bomberry, Orazietti Head To Syracuse
These last names should ring a bell already for fans of the Orange. Tyson Bomberry is a sophomore defenseman, while Alec Orazietti is a redshirt-freshman attackman. Their brothers, Brendan Bomberry and Robert Orazietti, will join them in Central New York.
We’ll start with Bomberry, a midfielder. Last year, he was on the Pios’ second midfield line and part of their top man-up unit. The junior had 33 points last season on 19 goals and 14 assists, with 11 of those goals coming on extra man situations, which was tied for the most in the country. He’ll definitely add a punch to the Orange man-up unit, which lost Derek DeJoe to graduation. With Matt Lane taking over DeJoe’s old role as the team’s EMO sniper, it’ll be interesting to see how Bomberry fits in.
As for the elder Orazietti, he was a former US Lacrosse All-American in 2012 before committing to UMass. He transferred to Lafayette (Ed Note: Go Lehigh) and played there for two seasons, but was not on the Leopards’ roster in 2016. He played attack at Lafayette, but similar to Nick Mariano a year ago, I wouldn’t be surprised if he might move to midfield. Or he takes a path that Nick Piroli took last year and just stays at attack.
But what makes Orazietti a really good pickup for the Orange is that he’s studying Television, Radio, and Film in the Newhouse School. I’m not alone now. #NewhouseMafia
Did I miss any? Hopefully not, but if so, please comment below! And go Birds!
UPDATE: Dickson Smith, a former LSM from Virginia, is at Michigan for a graduate season. According to his bio on UVA's website, he suffered a season-ending injury at the beginning of his freshman season and applied for a medical hardship. He played in 11 games with the Wahoos last season, recording eight ground balls. He'll reunite with his younger brother, Eric Smith, who's a junior defenseman.