By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/20/08
The U.S. Men’s Under-19 national team will play an exhibition game against a local squad sponsored by the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association (PLA) Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown.
The exhibition game is a fundraiser for the U.S. Under-19 team and will be held in conjunction with the Upper Atlantic Lacrosse Tournament – which features boys’ travel lacrosse clubs from all over the mid-Atlantic Region.
The Under-19 team features four local players, including recent Malvern Prep graduate Matt Mackrides (midfield), Johns Hopkins freshman midfielder Matt Dolente (Malvern Prep), Ohio State sophomore midfielder James Green (Central Bucks East) and Villanova freshman defender John Lade.
Much of the proceeds from that game go to pay for expenses for the Under-19 team. The PLA team is being coached by Malvern Prep mentor John McEvoy along with assistants Chet Laubach (Lower Merion) and Mark Petrone (Haverford School assistant). The team features many of the top Philadelphia-area players from the past few seasons.
“The whole idea is to give them a good game so they can get their practice,” said McEvoy, who will only have one practice session with his squad. “It’s great to have them come here so the Philadelphia area can get excited about lacrosse. We’d like to show that this is a great area for lacrosse.”
The U.S. Under-19 team will represent the United States in the 2008 International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) Under-19 World Championships July 3-12 in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Saturday’s exhibition will be the third of five for the US team.
In each exhibition, the U.S. will play against area or regional all-star teams selected by the U.S. Lacrosse chapter host. The U.S. has won the last five ILF titles and has an unblemished record of 29-0 in international play.
The U.S. team is coached by Chuck Apel, the head coach at Bridgewater (N.J.) High School. One of the four assistants is John Nostrant, head coach at The Haverford School.
In earlier games, the Under-19 team defeated a Long island all-star squad, 11-9, and last week it fell to a New Jersey all-star team, 7-6.
