Team 24/7 Lacrosse this past weekend hosted the Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game Youth Tournament in Charlotte, NC. The youth tournament featured 36 teams from across the country competing for championships at the U11, U13 and U15 levels. During the first day of competition on Saturday, the MLL All-Stars came out to the tournament to help coach, sign autographs and take pictures with the kids. “Having the All Stars out here, and the kids being able to get coached and goof around with them was awesome,” said Top Left Loggerheads Director Tom Harris. “They don’t get to do that a lot.”
The U11 Championship featured the Top Left Loggerheads out of Charleston, S.C., and the Fort Mill Fury out of Fort Mill, S.C. The Fury controlled the game from the get go, putting up six goals before the Loggerheads were able to get on the board late in the second half. It would be the only goal scored by the team though, and the Fury added another tally in the game’s final minute to secure a 7-1 victory.
The U13 Championship saw Valley Select Black out of Roanoke, VA, face off against the Old North State Cavs out of Greesnboro, N.C. The game was back-and-forth and locked at 3 all before the Cavs put together a three-goal run to pull ahead 6-3. But Valley responded with a four-goal run of its own to take a 7-6 advantage in to the half. The momentum stayed with Valley as they opened the second half with back to back tallies to extend their lead to 9-6. The Cavs were able to pull back within one, 9-8, but Valley went on another three-goal run to move comfortably ahead 12-8. The Cavs scored one more goal, but Valley matched it to take a 13-9 victory.
The U15 Championship also featured the Top Left Loggerheads, who were matched against Low And Away Lacrosse, the Pittsburgh-based program run by MLL All-Star Peet Poillon. The Loggerheads got on the board first, but Low And Away quickly responded with a goal of their own to tie to the game at 1-1. The Loggerheads tallied two straight to move ahead 3-1 before Low And Away scored to cut the lead back down to one, 3-2. However, that would be the last goal of the game for Low And Away. The Loggerheads notched one more goal in the closing minute of the first half, then shut out Low And Away in the second half while putting up another five goals of their own to cruise to a 10-2 victory.
All of the weekend’s games were held at Elon Park in Charlotte. Harris after the tournament said, “They had great facilities, it well run and we had a good time. We’d definitely come back for another event like this.”
Teams will have the opportunity to return to the Queen City and face some of the South’s best this fall, as Team 24/7 Lacrosse has announced it will host The Team 24/7 Lacrosse Fall Throwdown the weekend of Oct. 19-20. The Fall Throwdown will be open to 48 teams at the U11, U13 and U15 levels. All teams will play five games over the course of two days in a championship format. All games will be held at the Mecklenburg Sportsplex in Charlotte, and each participant will receive a free T-shirt and admission to the Team 24/7 Lacrosse Clinic with MLL All-Star Ryan Flanagan of the Charlotte Hounds. To register for the 2013 Team 24/7 Lacrosse Fall Throwdown Tournament please visit www.Team247Lax.com.