Philly is listed at No. 5 by Inside Lacrosse among its ‘Best Lacrosse Towns’ feature

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/15/09

Inside Lacrosse has listed Philadelphia as No. 5 in its ‘Best Lacrosse Towns” feature for its October issue.

The magazine gave these ratings under “The Game”:

Pro Rating: 90

College Rating: 88

High School Rating: 95

Youth Rating: 92

Potential/Upside Rating: 88

Cited as highlights for the city by Inside Lacrosse were the fact Philly has had a pro team, either indoor or outdoor, since the 1970s; has hosted three NCAA championships weekends (men in 1992 and 2005-06 and women in 2007) and has an established prep scene.

Also mentioned by Inside Lacrosse:

*Penn has sponsored men’s lacrosse for 93 seasons.

*Drexel and Villanova have made the NCAA Men’s Tournament discussion on a regular basis.

*Division III programs like Haverford College and Cabrini have had much success.

*Philly has top high school programs like La Salle, Haverford School and Malvern Prep and has produced top-level DI recruits.

*The sport is spreading in all directions from the city, through the state and into South Jersey.

*The Duke’s Lacrosse Club was ranked No. 1 in the magazine’s preseason rankings.

*At the pro level, the National Lacrosse League’s Philadelphia Wings have won six indoor championships since 1989 and are a consistent draw. The only negative was that the Barrage – which won Major League Lacrosse titles in 2006 and 2007 – were disbanded.

The magazine gave these ratings under “The Life” — 91 points overall

Lacrosse Scene Rating: 90

Marquee Event Rating: 88

Facilities: 95

Names: 94

The magazine lists these key points:

*The Wings have a strong following and have won many championships.

*The Main Line features many great rivalries at all levels.

*The United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, consisting of nearly a dozen indoor and outdoor fields, has hosted numerous big lacrosse events.

*The sport continues to grow as more high schools field teams.

*The Thursday night league of the Summer Lacrosse League of South Eastern PA remains a strong club league and formerly had open eligibility, allowing the top high school players to get experience against top club players.

Other highlights from Inside Lacrosse:

HEADstrong’s Nick Colleluori Classic (2008-10)

Biggest Names:

From Here: Ken Clausen, Kyle Sweeney, Tony McDevitt

Lives Here: Brian Dougherty*, Bill Miller, Mike French, John Christmas*, Jake Bergey*, Brian Voelker

* – also from Philly