VAIL, Colo. — Another Vail Lacrosse Shootout is in the books, and, as always, it was a spectacular eight days at 8,000 feet. The men’s championship game featured a rematch of last year’s championship teams, On The Hop Nation/Lacrossewear and The Cage Goes All Out. This year, it was Lacrossewear’s turn to take home the first-place trophy after a 12-8 win. Team STX won yet another championship in a landslide victory over CRSLax.com in the Women’s Elite division.
Results for Sunday 7/6
Men’s Elite
Championship Game
On The Hop Nation/Lacrossewear 12, The Cage Goes All Out 8
It was almost déjà vu at the Lacrosse Vail Shootout, but this time around On The Hop Nation / Lacrosswear went home with the hardware, edging out defending champion The Cage Goes All Out.
The two teams faced off last year in the men’s elite finals game with The Cage Goes All Out winning in a thrilling double-overtime game.
On Sunday though, after jumping out to an early lead, Lacrosswear was able to hang on, winning, 12-8.
Lacrosswear got on the board first with early goals from attack men Anthony Biscardi and Deemer Class. After a slashing penalty, The Cage Goes All Out took advantage of the man-up situation and Billy Ward found twine. But Lacrossewear midfielder Ryan Tucker got the goal back just 30 seconds later to put his team up, 3-1, after the first quarter.
In the second frame, the two teams traded goals with neither team scoring more than two goals in a row. The Cage Goes All Out found the net twice early, evening the score at 3-3. Then Class found himself with a clear look again after a dish from Steve Romano, and put the ball in to give Lacrossewear the edge again.
Next, The Cage Goes All Out’s Kevin Wylie netted a goal to even the score, but just seven seconds later, Kevin Massa of Lacrossewear won the face off and took the ball down the field for a quick score.
The Cage Goes All Out scored the next two goals, and then Lacrossewear’s Nick Mariano took over.
Mariano evened the score at six goals apiece with just under two minutes to go in the half, and then, got another shot to go with less than two seconds to go in the frame to send Lacrossewear into the half up by one. Mariano wasn’t done though; he kicked off the third quarter with his third goal of the game to complete the hat trick.
“I was just put in a good opportunity to finish the ball,” Mariano said. “That’s why I’m on the team, just to finish the ball and look for my open opportunities and just score. I had good shots on goal and luckily they went in.”
Lacrosswear’s Ryan Brown fired a goal in off of a Ryan Tucker assist to put his squad up, 9-6, giving it its largest lead of the game up until that point. The Cage Goes All Out snagged one more goal before the frame’s final whistle to set the stage for the fourth quarter with Lacrossewear leading, 9-7.
Defenses dominated the first half of the fourth, but Lacrossewear finally broke out with goals from Romar Dennis, Class and TJ Neubauer. Ward got a goal for The Cage Goes All Out late, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Lacrossewear.
“The guys did a great job today,” said Lacrossewear head coach Paul Landaiche. “They really played well. They’ve been very consistent all week in how they’ve played. A lot of times out here it’s matchups, so we really didn't know until we got near the game exactly how it was going to play out, and Nick and Anthony both on attack did really, really well today matching up so we kept them in there.”
Landaiche isn’t starting to think about next year’s tournament just yet.
“I’m only thinking now how I’m going to get that big trophy through security,” he said.
Lacrossewear’s Kevin Massa was named to the All-Tournament team for the second straight year, as was The Cage Goes All Out’s Billy Ward.
Tournament organizers are already planning for the 2015 Vail Lacrosse Shootout. The tournament will return to the mountain town in full force June 27-July 5, 2015. Next year’s tournament will feature four more divisions as the Shootout returns to its typical eight-division setup.
The tournament will also feature a new and improved complex at Ford Field in 2015 which while will provide multiple fields in one location and increased convenience for players and fans.
“The scenery is magnificent,” said Team Australia head coach Glenn Merit who participated in his first Vail Lacrosse Shootout this year. “The people are terrific. The place is fantastic. I can’t believe I haven’t been here before.”
Consolation Championship Game
Rock-it Pocket Pirates 11, Rocky Mountain Oysters 10
The Rock-it Pocket Pirates battled in this back and forth matchup. The Colorado State heavy roster of the Pirates proved to have too much depth for the Rocky Mountain Oysters’ short bench, am ultimately won the 2014 Vail Lacrosse Shootout Consolation Championship.
3rd Place Game
The Big Green Herd 12, Brine Elite 4
Brine came out hard and fast paced with attackman Ryan Danehy scoring six unassisted goals in the first half. All of Big Green Herd’s goals came in the second half with D-pole Kyle Menendez scoring an underhand two-point snipe.
5th Place Game
The Sharks 16, Adrenaline Tropics 6
7th Place Game
Jammin’ Salmon 10, Millenium Chiefs 7
Both teams were injury ridden but still displayed a battle for a 4-4 tie at the half. Jammin’ Salmon scored a two pointer to take the lead in the second half. The Chiefs never regained their momentum.
11th Place Game
Israel National Team 14, Steve French 4
It was a friendly match between Israel and French. Israel came out strong and moved the ball well. Their well-executed fast breaks made all the difference in this game. Steve French had a slow start, but had a good few runs and shots.
13th Place Game
Motive Pure 14, New Zealand 13
The match between Motive Pure and New Zealand was an intense battle with most of the game as a tie. Both teams wanted one last win before heading home, but in the end, Motive Pure left with a victory.
Consolation Game
Warrior X 12, Team Gutman 10
Warrior X and Team Gutman had a friendly match where even the goalies switched goals in the middle of the game.
Consolation Game
LOFers 8, Prestige Lacrosse Club 0
The LOFers came out to play on their last day of the tournament. Josh Russell of the LOFers dominated the game with three goals. Prestige’s goalie Mitchell Fenton put up a good fight with 11 saves, but couldn’t manage to stop the determination of the LOFers.
Final Standings
1st Place: On The Hop Nation/Lacrossewear
2nd Place: The Cage Goes All Out
3rd Place: The Big Green Herd
4th Place: Brine Elite
5th Place: The Sharks
6th Place: Adrenaline Tropics
7th Place: Jammin’ Salmon
8th Place: Millennium Chiefs
9th Place: Rock-it Pocket Pirates
10th Place: Rocky Mountain Oysters
11th Place: Israel National Team
12th Place: Steve French
13th Place: Motive Pure
14th Place: New Zealand
15th Place: Warrior X
16th Place: Team Gutman
17th Place: LOFers
18th Place: Prestige Lacrosse Club
Men’s All-Tournament Team
Attack
Anthony Biscardi (Umass, 2012) – On the Hop Nation / Lacrossewear
Nick Mariano (Umass, 2017) – On the Hop Nation / Lacrossewear
Ryan Danehy (Dartmouth, 2006) – Brine Elite
Billy Ward (Syracuse, 2014) – The Cage Goes All Out
Midfield
Brad Heritage (Dartmouth, 2006) – The Big Green Herd
Ben Newman (Australia) – The Sharks
Korey Hendrickson (Hofstra, 2015) – Jammin’ Salmon
Tyler German (Virginia, 2015) – The Cage Goes All Out
Long Stick Midfield Specialist
Ross Hamilton (Australia) – The Sharks
Face-off Midfield Specialist
Kevin Massa (Bryant, 2016) – On The Hop Nation / Lacrossewear
Defense
Kyle Menendez (Stevenson, 2011) – The Big Green Herd
Callum Robinson (Australia) – The Sharks
Andrew Newbold (Sacred Heart, 2014) – Jammin’ Salmon
Tanner Scales (Virginia, 2015) – On The Hop Nation / Lacrossewear
Matt Landis (Notre Dame, 2016) – On The Hop Nation / Lacrossewear
Goalie
Connor Darcey (Penn State, 2017) – Brine Elite
MVP
Chris Selva (Hofstra, 2015) – Goalie - On The Hop Nation / Lacrossewear
Women’s Elite
Championship Game
Team STX 15, CRSLax.com 3
It was a sunny morning as Team STX and CRSLax went head to head for the women’s Elite Championship at Athletic Field. With Whitney Houston singing the national anthem as both teams took to the field, the initial draw was set. Team STX received the draw and scored on the possession. Using that as a foundation Team STX fueled a full on attack staking a 7-0 fun. CRSLax goalie was bombarded with shots and has 3 saves though Team STX scored twice more making it a 9-0 game. With quick play CRSLax’s #1 Lauren Uhr finessed her way around the goal to slide one in getting her team on the board. Going into the half Team STX had an 11-1 lead. In the second half Team STX scored first with #13 Liz Fey assisting a goal to #3 Jessica Mucci of CRSLax for a score also. As play continued Team STX scored 3 goals to CRSLax’s 1 by #3 Jessica Mucci, her second of the game. The match ended with Team STX on top 15-3 with hard found game by CRSLax. #4 Kitty Cullen of Team STX walked away with MVP of this year’s Vail Lacrosse Shootout.
Final Pool Game
CU Club 9, Lakeshore 8
Final Standings
1st: Team STX
2nd: CRSLax.com
3rd: Team Wild
4th: Lax Rats
5th Tie: 'Merica
5th Tie: CU Club
5th Tie: Lakeshore
Women’s All-Tournament Team
Sarah Lautman - CU Club
Kaity Weiland - Lakeshore
Natalie Foerster - ‘Merica
Michaela Michael - Lax Rats
Nikki Bracken - Lax Rats
Sarah Kellner - Lax Rats
Ashley Mitchelides - CRSLax.com
Katelyn Driscoll - CRSLax.com
Cacki Helmer - Team STX
Lauren Schmidt - Team STX
Alyssa Murray - Team STX
Frankie Caridi - CRSLax.com
MVP
Kitty Cullen - Team STX
Coach
Ifat Ribon - Lakeshore
Keeper of Lacrosse
Beth Calder - Lax Rats
2014 Vail Lacrosse Shootout Awards
Keeper of Lacrosse – Michelle Secor
Earl Bill – Gina Felt, Martin Thomas, Spencer Tiburcio
2015 Vail Lacrosse Shootout Schedule
Super Masters: June 27th to June 30th
Grand Masters: June 27th to June 30th
U-19 High School Boys: June 28th to July 1st
U-19 High School Girls: June 28th to July 1st
Men’s Elite: July 2nd to July 5th
Women’s Elite: July 2nd to July 5th
Masters: July 3rd to July 5th