By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/19/09
Central Bucks East junior face-off specialist Sean Reilly has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at the United States Naval Academy.
Reilly helped the Patriots win the Suburban One Continental Conference championship and advance to the District 1 semifinals last year. He also excelled for the Twist Lacrosse club team during the summer and fall seasons.
Reilly becomes the second Philly junior to commit to Navy; Wissahickon defenseman Beau Gomez committed last month.
Reilly also considered Georgetown, Princeton, Fairfield, Villanova, Loyola, Dartmouth and Notre Dame. He said he plans to major in Economics and chose the Naval Academy for its academics and close-knit lacrosse team.
“I chose the Naval Academy pretty much for my future,” Reilly said. “I will be playing big-time lacrosse and when I get out I have a guaranteed job.”
Reilly said he spent a lot of time with Navy senior Gordon Lawson, a CB East grad, during his visit to Annapolis.
“I went down there and just fell in love with it,” Reilly said. “I visited with Gordon Lawson and he told me how much he liked it. One (great) thing is playing every single game in Navy Stadium. Also, the camaraderie on the team was amazing. It is such a tight-knit team.”
“I also liked that this was the first school that contacted me and recruited me. I really liked the coaches.”
Reilly, who competed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association Showcase, said his biggest attributes at the face-off X are his ability to set up transition attack and his tenacity off the draw.
“Facing off is something I love,” he said. “We have a little bit of a reputation of being a little crazy.
“One aspect that got me into it is the 1-on-1 aspect. One of my strengths is my ability to create fast breaks for my team. Another of my strengths is my tenacity.”
Also from CB East, senior attackman Brian Urban has signed with St. Joseph’s.
Reilly, who also plays defensive midfield, is confident the Patriots can defend their league crown and again be a district contender despite the loss of many key players to graduation.
“We lost a lot of good players, but we have a really hard working team,” he said. “I think we’ll have a great year.”
