Chris Vale, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Long Island is one of two locations starting a new NLL franchise next season. Box Lacrosse may not be the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking about the home of Billy Joel, beaches and excellent food but there is quite a bit of history from the New York island connected to the game. Long Island is well known for its field game at the college level and the MLL Long Island Lizards and it may surprise you how many connections they have to the indoor game already. The East Coast has always been a hotbed for premier lacrosse talent, but even Paul Rabil in an interview with Barstool Sports said that Long Island is a “top dog” in terms of talent.
Chris Panos, the current Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach at Queens University of Charlotte is one of those talents and may be the best-known box player in the area. Panos is from Suffolk County and played collegiately at Hofstra University, helping the Pride appear in two NCAA Tournaments (1995, 1996). In 1997 he was the fourth overall pick in the NLL draft, going to the Boston Blazers. His 12-year NLL career saw him play for numerous NLL teams and he appeared in three Champions Cups, winning in 2001 as a member of the Philadelphia Wings. Panos also played north of the border in the Senior A league. He found success there as well, winning the Mann Cup three times, twice with the Victoria Shamrocks, and once with Peterborough Lakers. In 2001, he was selected as part of the Team USA Indoor team where the trophy case continued to fill up. The teams he competed with won a Heritage Cup in 2001, Bronze Medal at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in 2003 and 2007, and the Bowhunter Cup in 2010. After retiring from playing, Panos went on to coach. From high school ball he moved to the University of Tampa, leading the team to tournament success before taking the job at Queens University of Charlotte. Most recently, he was named assistant Coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Greece National Team at the 2018 World Games in Netanya, Israel.
Another top name from Long Island is Kevin Finneran who played for Nassau Community College before Ohio Wesylan. Finneran played for 12 seasons in the NLL, 10 with the Philadelphia Wings where he won four NLL championships. He played his last season in 2003 with the Toronto Rock where he won his fifth Champions Cup. As a member of Team USA, he hoisted the Heritage Cup in 2002 and 2004, and was ordained captain of the ‘04 squad. He played five seasons in the MLL, four with the Long Island franchise. He also went to coaching after his playing days, most notably as the head coach and general manager of the MLL Chicago Machine.
Brian Langtry was born in Massapequa, NY and played College ball for Hofstra University. In 2000, he played in three games for the New York Saints and then didn’t reappear in the NLL until 2003 where he spent nine years as a member of the Colorado Mammoth. During that time, he was regarded as one of the top forwards in the league. From 2006-2009 he also played for the Denver Outlaws in the MLL.
Enough about offense. One of the greatest lacrosse goaltenders of all-time hails from Lindenhurst, NY and played with the NLL New York Saints for 11 seasons. Sal LoCascio was one of the only goaltenders to find success in both indoor and field lacrosse. He was a four-time All-American at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1985-1989 and signed with the New York Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1990. He spent a decade in between the pipes in the NLL and one season for the MLL Long Island Lizards. In 1990, 1994 and 1998 he helped Team USA win three gold medals in the World Lacrosse Championship. He went on to coach the Bridgeport/Philadelphia Barrage in the MLL where he won the Major League Lacrosse Steinfeld Cup and Major League Lacrosse Coach of the Year Award in 2004.
Pat McCabe from Elmont, NY spent 11 seasons as a top defender in the NLL for the New York Saints after playing his college ball at Syracuse. He also played in the MLL for six seasons with the Long Island Lizards. In 2006 he was elected into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame after wrapping up his professional playing and coaching career.
Photo Credit: John Zumbado (Liam Byrnes)
Right now, there are four current players in the NLL from Long Island. Two are quickly becoming household names. The first is Tom Schreiber, better known as “Captain America”. Schreiber signed with the Toronto Rock, where he still plays today, as an unrestricted free agent in 2016. That season he scored 94 points on his way to being named NLL Rookie of The Year. The other is Kieran McArdle, who is not only from Long Island but played college lacrosse in Queens, NY for St. Johns University. McArdle is having a career year for the Toronto Rock alongside Schreiber, and even had a highlight featured on TSN in Canada. Liam Byrnes (West Islip, NY) and Justin Guterding (Garden City, NY) are the other two current Long Islanders in the league. Both have seen limited time this season playing for the Philadelphia Wings.
Photo Credit: Di Miller (Challen Rogers)
Not too leave any aspect out, there are currently 15 international players that played field lacrosse for colleges in Long Island (and Brooklyn) currently on NLL squads. Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY has produced Kevin Crowley (Philadelphia Wings), Challen Rogers (Toronto Rock), Rhys Duch (Calgary Roughnecks), Brody Eastwood (Vancouver Warriors), and Jordan McBride (Vancouver Warriors). Kevin Crowley is the only player ever taken number one overall in both the MLL and NLL. Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY turned out Adrian Sorichetti (Saskatchewan Rush) and Josh Byrne (Buffalo Bandits). Casey Jackson (San Diego Seals), Reid Mydske (Vancouver Warriors) and Brandon Goodwin (Vancouver Warriors) were all players at ASA College. LeRoy Halftown (Georgia Swarm practice squad) played for NYIT. Dowling College, now defunct, had Callum Crawford (New England Black Wolves),
Photo Credit: Justin Ivey (Callum Crawford)
Kyle Rubisch (Saskatchewan Rush), Sheldon Burns (Toronto Rock), and Tyler Ferreira (Georgia Swarm practice squad).
Lacrosse is not new to Long Island, and hopefully with an NLL franchise the indoor talent continues to flow off the island. When box lacrosse returns for the 2019/2020 season, we hope it should stick around for a long time to come. Be sure to tune in on February 17th as the new franchise announces its team name!
Chris Vale, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©