Amsterdam, Netherlands – In a just a few weeks a special group of lacrosse players representing the HEADstrong Foundation™ will board a plane headed for Amsterdam to compete at the Amsterdam Lowlands Lacrosse Games June 28th-30th. The HEADstrong National Team consists of players from 7 states including: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania representing 20 colleges and universities. The team is being led by HEADstrong Illinois Head Coach Tim Duffy, former UVA All-American and National Champion Matt Kelly and Kevin Finneran. And while the team has their sites on the European championship, they hope to share the HEADstrong mission and pass blood cancer awareness with players from across the Atlantic.
Serving as ambassadors of the HEADstrong Foundation™ the team will play in lime green uniforms, which serves as the awareness color for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The team will also distribute awareness bracelets and helmet decals to their opponents after each game. Additionally, members of the team will also have the opportunity to tour the city and experience firsthand the culture of the Netherlands.
The roster is chalked full of talented collegiate lacrosse players, several who have played competitively in high school for the HEADstrong Lacrosse Club. The team is anchored by four members who helped lead the USA U-22 All-Star Team to a gold medal at the World Games in 2010: Zach Johnson, former defenseman from University of Maryland, Rutgers midfielder Anthony Terrinova, Seth Molek, former attackman at Fairleigh Dickinson and TJ Harris a current long stick midfielder at Loyola.
Other HEADstrong National Team Members include:
Kellen McCarty - Marymount University
Sean Sauder - Widener University
Peter Moreno - University of Tampa
Zach Friedman - Ohio Wesleyan University
Kelton Heverly - Mount Saint Mary's University
Kevin Benson - Florida Southern University
Kevin Miller - Saint Joseph's University
Evan Mulcrone - Ohio State University
Andrew Eidenshink - Fairfield University
Mason Quinn - Quinnipiac University
Ian Hare - Towson University
Dan O'Malley - Marquette University
Tommy McDermott - Chestnut Hill College
Nate Cain - University of Denver
Ryan Eidenshink - Widener University
Jack Kelly - Rollins College
"We are really looking forward to sharing this incredible opportunity with our players. We have put together a roster of not only talented lacrosse players but genuine young men that we believe best represent the HEADstrong Foundation. Our hope to provide our players with a lacrosse experience of a lifetime. We are looking forward to sharing Nick's story and the HEADstrong mission with players from Europe. It is so special to have several of our players who have come up through the HEADstrong Lacrosse Club and have witnessed firsthand the impact that the organization has in the blood cancer community."
Tim Duffy, HFN Head Coach
"We are truly honored to have this special group of young men represent the HEADstrong Foundation this summer at the Amsterdam Lowlands Lacrosse Games. It is incredible to think that the game of lacrosse is connecting people from all over the world and even more so that we are part of it. Our Nick strongly believed in the power of the fraternal family which makes up our game and envisioned players serving the mission as ambassadors. We are so proud to see his vision coming to fruition thanks in part to these young men. It means more than you will ever know."
Cheryl Colleluori, HEADstrong President and Nick's Mom