By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/3/10
Germantown Academy rising senior defenseman Ryan Crane has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at the Air Force Academy.
Crane was an Honorable Mention All-Inter-Ac League pick for the Patriots this year,
helping them finish 9-8 overall. He plays club lacrosse for Twist.
Crane, who earlier in the year considered Penn State and Lafayette, said he quickly became interested in Air Force after speaking to the academy coaches and after making a visit to Colorado Springs.
Crane said he wants to study engineering; he also is thinking about becoming a pilot.
“I actually was never interested in a military academy until their coaches started talking to me,” said Crane, who played in the EPSLA Showcase last year and made the Fab 40 team at the Philly Lacrosse Showcase last fall. “I started to look into it and saw all the good stuff.
“It’s really the only place I can go to get a great education and play Division I lacrosse while knowing I can get a job right out of college. Plus, the campus is amazing and the area is amazing.”
Crane, who said he was proud to commit to Air Force to help pay back his parents for their support and decision to send him to GA, is the second Philly defenseman to commit to Colorado Springs in the past week. Recently, Garnet Valley’s Alex Warden committed to Air Force. Another Philly defenseman, Strath Haven’s Erik Lenke, from the class of 2010, committed to Air Force in the spring.
Crane is the third member of the rising senior class at GA to commit to a Division I school. Other others are attackman Beau Jones (Delaware) and defenseman Bobby Tait (Syracuse).
Crane noted that the young Patriots posted non-league wins this year over District 1 playoff teams Radnor, Abington, Wissahickon, Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh. But the Pats went 1-7 in the powerful Inter-Ac, losing a number of tight games.
“We lost (a number) of games in the league by two goals or less,” he said. ‘We have got to learn how to finish those games. It’s an awesome league – one of the best in the country and we were always competitive.
“We have strong incoming seniors and junior classes and next year should be a big season for us.”
