May 6, 2005
May 6, 2005
Two current Notre Dame juniors, attackman Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.) and defenseman D.J. Driscoll (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Prep School), and a pair of former Irish players – defenseman Todd Rassas (’98) and attackman Tom Glatzel (’01) – were among the 120 players invited to try out for the 2006 U.S. Men’s Lacrosse Team, it was announced earlier this week. The tryouts will be held from June 13-16 at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and 23 players will be selected from those tryouts to represent the United States at the International Lacrosse Federation World Championships in July 2006 in London, Ontario.
A total of 30 attackmen, 42 midfielders, 36 defensemen, and 12 goalies were invited to participate by the 2006 U.S. Team Men’s Player Selection Committee, chaired by three-time U.S. team player Larry Quinn. The players were selected from a field of approximately 200 applicants.
Rassas was a member of the 2002 U.S. Men’s Team, which defeated Canada to win its sixth consecutive ILF Championship, and all members of that squad were automatically granted a tryout if they desired. Twelve players will be attempting to make the U.S. team for the second straight time. Additionally, five members of the 1998 U.S. Team received invitations.
Syracuse head coach John Desko is the head coach for the 2006 U.S. Men’s Team, and he will be assisted by Denison’s Mike Caravana, Hobart’s Matt Kerwick, and Scott Marr of Albany.
Walsh, a third-team All-American in 2004 and a preseason second-team selection this season, is one of 16 nominees – for the second straight year – for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the top player in college lacrosse. He is tops in the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) in scoring for the second straight year (3.91 points per game), and he ranks ninth in Division I, having posted 43 points (21 G, 22 A) in 11 games. Walsh is first in the conference in assists for the third consecutive year (2.00 per game) and ranks eighth nationally. He was the second-fastest player in Irish history to register 100 career points, and he is on pace to break the ND record for assists per game (currently 2.16; record is 1.96). Walsh already has national-team experience, as he helped the U.S. to the gold medal in the ILF Under-19 Men’s Lacrosse World Championship in 2003, scoring at least one point in every game and striking for seven (4 G, 3 A) in the title contest against Canada.
Driscoll has been the anchor of Notre Dame’s defense over the past two seasons, and he was a preseason third-team All-America selection by Inside Lacrosse heading into 2005. He is second on the team this year in ground balls (37) and has helped the Irish rank second in the GWLL in goals-against average (8.46). Regularly counted on to defend the opposing team’s top offensive player, his top performance this season came on March 12, when he held North Carolina’s Jed Prossner – a first-team All-American and one of five Tewaaraton finalists in ’04 – to just one goal, one assist, and four turnovers in Notre Dame’s 9-7 victory at The First 4 invitational in front of a crowd of 7,182 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Driscoll was an all-conference selection in both of his first two collegiate campaigns, including after being the first ND defenseman and second freshman to lead the team in ground balls in 2003 (61).
Rassas was a three-time All-American for the Irish, earning third-team accolades in both 1996 and ’98, as well as second-team honors in ’97. He was part of the first Notre Dame team to win a game in the NCAA tournament, and he was on squads that set school records in goals allowed per game and man-down defense. Rassas finished his career with 194 ground balls, which still stands as the second-most ever by an Irish defenseman. He played professionally for the New Jersey Pride of Major League Lacrosse in 2003 and is currently a member of the Capital Lacrosse Club of the United States Club Lacrosse Association (USCLA). He is one of six defensemen from the 2002 U.S. team that returns to the national team fold.
Glatzel remains the only USILA first-team All-American in Notre Dame history, as well as the lone ND player to be one of the five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy. He finished his career with 167 points (106 G, 61 A), which ranks fourth all-time, and he helped the Irish reach the quarterfinals of the 2000 NCAA tournament and the semis of the ’01 event. Glatzel was the leading goal scorer (40) on the ’01 squad, which went 14-2 and peaked at a program-high #2 in the national rankings. Upon graduation, he played three years for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse before joining Rassas at Capital. For more information on the Capital Lacrosse Club, see uscla.com/teams/capital.cfm.
A complete list of the players invited to tryouts can be found on lacrosse.org, the official website of U.S. Lacrosse.
Walsh, Driscoll, and the Irish, who finished the regular season with a 7-4 record and currently are 15th in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and the Inside Lacrosse media poll, are awaiting the announcement of the 16-team field for the 2005 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship. That will come on Sunday evening at approximately 9:30 p.m. EDT (8:30 p.m. in South Bend) on ESPNews. The NCAAs begin on May 14 and 15 with first-round action on campus sites. Once the full field is announced, it can be found at ncaasports.com.