Below are a couple of photos courtesy of Patrick Smith, Denver Broncos Exec. Dir. of Media Relations:

Broncos WR @weswelker speaks to University of Denver lacrosse team in advance of their Final Four appearance. twitter.com/psmyth12/statu…

— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) May 21, 2013

Welker wishing Univ. of Denver lacrosse players good luck following their practice today. twitter.com/psmyth12/statu…

— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) May 21, 2013

For more articles related to the 2013 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse National Championship, visit our College Lacrosse section.

Of course they would, and they’ll probably do it again. Hypothesize all you want about the problems that plagued the Boston Cannons, it’s not like Paul Rabil and Ryan Boyle forgot how to play lacrosse over the winter; they’re talented players, and they’re going to grab some wins this summer.

Did you think Stephen Berger was going to shoot .077% and Ben Rubeor was going to drop 60 goals this season? Both are still possible, but not very likely, especially if you know about the law of averages. Some people/teams start off hot and get cold, others go the other way… it happens.

It’s a little something called “regression towards the mean,” a statistical term I’m only borderline comfortable using because I don’t really know anything about statistics.

In the MLL, the mean/average/what we’ve come to expect can change at several key points throughout the season. You think Ohio expects their scoring average to stay the same after the college season is done? I doubt it. We saw a lot of things this past weekend that didn’t quite gel with what we’d seen earlier this season.

Are they the exception, or the new expectation?

While we wait to find out, here’s what went down in week 4.

Charlotte Hounds 15 Hamilton Nationals 16 (OT)

The main story coming into this game turned out to be the names not in attendance, including Matt Danowski and Ryan Young for Charlotte, and Brett Queener and Cody Jamieson for Hamilton.

Hamilton jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but Timmy Fallon got the Hounds on the board to halt Hamilton’s momentum, and we all know nothing takes the wind out your opponent’s sails like a FOGO scoring a goal, right? Glad you agree, because we’ll come back to that later.

With two-thirds of last week’s attack out of the lineup, Charlotte head coach Mike Cerino got/was forced to do some serious lineup-juggling and he tried players at different positions: Chris Schiller picking up a longstick, Mike Sawyer and Peet Poillon at both attack and midfield, etc. Much like Cerino predicted (and after some early turnovers), Sawyer seemed well suited to the role of a north-south alley dodger, finishing with a goal and two assists in his debut.

Speaking of debuts, the late NLL arrivals seemed to get along with the new teammates just fine, as Joe Walters scored five points (3g, 2a) and Stephen Keogh notched four goals, two of which were assisted by fellow attackman, and new teammate, Kevin Cunningham.

But back to the FOGO thing: after the Hounds scored two goals to tie the game up late in the fourth quarter, Hamilton’s Matt Dolente won the overtime faceoff and ended it with a goal, their second one-goal win in as many weeks. Face offs, when done right, will always matter.

New York Lizards 14 – Ohio Machine 8

Coming into Saturday’s game against the Machine, Lizards coach Joe Spallina mentioned two things the team still needed to address and improve upon:

1. Getting Tommy Palasek involved in the Gibson-Matthews new-look attack

2. Increased offensive production from David Earl.

Check both of those things off the list, because Palasek and Earl combined for six points, Stephen Berger (shooting 2-26 coming into this game, you’ll remember) scored six of his own, and those performances alone were good enough to handle the Ohio Machine and snap New York’s two-game losing streak.

Chazz Woodson, another All-Star who began the season in a shooting slump, moved up to midfield and scored two goals, the first of which halted New York’s five-goal run to start the game. The Machine clawed their way back and made it 7-5 (though I think they were robbed on a Will Harrington crease violation that should’ve been a goal), but the Lizards scored six of the next seven goals to put the game out of reach.

The Machine had no answer for Greg Gurenlian (17-26; 9-12 in the first half), and Brian Karalunas played some of his best defense of the season, rendering Steele Stanwick largely irrelevant (just one point, an extra-man goal in the fourth quarter) throughout the entirety of the game.

The Machine won the groundball battle 27-24, so there’s that, but they’re still lacking the offensive production to compete, especially when their goalie stops one shot in the first half of the game. Three of their goals were scored by a defensive midfielder, a longstick midfielder and a FOGO. Don’t get me wrong, a goal’s a goal either way, but that means only four goals were scored by offensive players, and two of those were scored by the same person. Time to get some of those rookies in Machine uniforms and hope they pan out.

Rochester Rattlers 7 – Denver Outlaws 20

Between the Rochester defense picking up four penalties (two of which led to goals) and constantly switching their assignments instead of fighting through picks (I feel like a short stick covering Brendan Mundorf is a bad idea), this game was effectively over by halftime, as the Outlaws tossed in 20 goals for the second time this season, and won their tenth consecutive regular season game.

Aided by major contributions from his wings, Anthony Kelly controlled faceoffs all day, only allowing the Rattlers to score back-to-back goals on one occasion. Kelly went 9-14 in the first half and finished the game 21-31, including winning eight of nine draws in the third quarter, when the score ballooned from 9-3 to 14-5.

With Mike Leveille out of the Rattlers’ lineup, the Outlaws used two poles to cover midfielders while putting a short-stick on Mark Millon, which, if you grew up in the “Offensive Wizardry” days, is quite possibly blowing your mind and/or making you feel pretty old right now. Millon finished with one assist.

Since we’re talking about Rochester attackmen, remember how I mentioned that keeping New Crotty at x was such a great idea? Well, maybe they should have moved him to midfield for this game, because he wouldn’t have had to spend so much time with Lee Zink. Crotty’s offensive contribution in this game? One shot. One. Shot. And it’s not like he was being face guarded and completely taken out of the play, either.

When Crotty got the ball and made a move, Zink routinely slapped it out of his hands like he was trying to a grab a cookie before dinner. When a well-timed pick did force a defensive switch, Dillon Roy put it on the ground just the same. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team neutralize Crotty that well before.

Bayhawks 14, Cannons 15 (OT)

Think about everything the Boston Cannons had been doing wrong this season. That’s what they did against Chesapeake on Saturday, except it was the exact opposite: they dominated faceoffs, cashed in on power plays, and their big names all delivered like they’ve done in years past, all on their way to the Cannons’ first win of the season.  

Since it was Everybody Plays out of Position Week, the Cannons decided to drop Paul Rabil down to attack and have him go straight at (mostly) Nicky Polanco, resulting in a season-high seven points when he wasn’t busy peeling himself off the turf. I wouldn’t have guessed they’d move him to attack for such a large chunk of a Michael Simon-less Bayhawks game, but apparently the Cannons felt they needed him on the field more than his traditional midfield runs would allow.

I understand the strategy, but the rent’s pretty high on that part of the field; he had to know he was going to pay for it. Catch the ball? You’re getting checked. Pass the ball? You’re getting checked. Stand around minding your business? Oh, you’re definitely getting checked for that. Maybe some bigger arm pads, and Rabil could start wearing shoulders? It’s a thought.

Boston’s Chris Eck, who came into the game winning only 42% of his draws, won 20 of 30, including the first seven of the game. Meanwhile, it’s fair to say the Cannons still don’t have an answer for John Grant Jr., who finished with five goals and an assist. If you saw Junior play against the Cannons last year, chances are you already know how those goals generally went: drive from x, smash into Mitch Belisle, face dodge to dive, or go behind the back, do it again a few times. Grant had a chance to win the game with five seconds left (he chose “drive-smash-face dodge”), but the shot wouldn’t fall, and Boyle put it away early in OT.

The league takes off for Memorial Day weekend, but there’s one game before the break, on Thursday, so check back soon for the preview of that one!

Photo Credit: Mitch Lieberman

NCAA Division II All Americans

Notes: Seven different schools were represented on the First Team. Limestone and Merrimack each had three first team players. NY Tech had two, as did Limestone. When you add in the second team, there are four more schools represented. It’s great to see more schools’ top players being recognized on the higher teams.

Going further down, one of the newer teams got their first ever lacrosse AA. Greg Griffo for Tampa, well done!

NCAA Division III All Americans

Notes: Wesleyan had five AAs, mostly on defense, and even the SSDM PoY (Sam Stanton, see main image), and didn’t make the tournament. The depth of talent in D3 right now is clearly ridiculous. Dickinson had FOUR first teamers. Salisbury, the team that beat Dickinson in the tourney, had FOUR players on the second team. That’s kind of weird. Stevenson made it to the finals, have 7 AAs, but only 3 of them aren’t on the HM team. RIT has five AAs total, and four of them are on the first or second team.

None of that is a knock on the AAs, or even the process. It’s simply interesting is all.

Awards

Notes: This is not up to date yet, but should be soon.

2013 Under Armour AA Rosters

Notes: this is high school. FUTURE college AAs? Perhaps.

US Lacrosse Hall Of Fame

Notes: Sure, I could copy this press release and make it into a post, but that wouldn’t be journalism. Instead I’ll link you to the real source.

I break down the old masks vs. the new masks, talk about the basics of the issue, and then offer up an ingenious solution to this problem. It’s cost effective AND interesting.

What do you think about this issue? And would my idea work in the real world?

You can read the full online petition here. Whether or not you sign it? Well, that’s up to you.

Connor Wilson takes a look at the Clutch Elite by Brine Lacrosse, and grades it on our ten point scale. It’s Gear Review time!

When the Brine Clutch first popped onto the scene, it was an instant favorite. The thin plastic rails and sidewalls, light weight, and excellent stringing options made it an easy head for anyone to use, and even though it was light, it was still pretty stiff, so players on both ends of the field began to use it more and more.

Since then, the Clutch has seen a couple of different iterations, some involving new colors and not much else, but the basic concept has stayed the same: stiff, lightweight, and easy to string.

So when Brine released the Clutch Elite, we knew exactly how to grade it, and what was important. Of course this version of the Clutch has a new defining feature, and that is: this Clutch is more cut away than ever, and is lighter than ever.

So will it still pass the other tests that have made it so popular?

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Marburg Saints: Season Finale

There was a lot of speculation about this game in advance. The undefeated Mainz Musketeers were our guests on March 11th. Our Team has shown a season with wins against the Cologne Indians, the Ruhrpott Pirates and the loss to the gaming community Münster / Kassel, contrasted to a dominant victory against the Lumberjacks from Kaiserslautern. All in all, we stand 3-1 in the season statistics before the final game. There was also the very exciting question of which series would tear this weekend. The Mainz could never beat us on our own field, but on the other side were undefeated for more than half a season. Everything pointed to a thrilling game.

The game started in pouring rain and we also struggled in our brand new uniforms. From the beginning the Musketeers transformed the first face-off into a goal and also made further pressure. When we were able to bring it equal two minutes later, the Musketeers answered directly with a goal to regain the lead. The game swayed back and forth, but our streaks of pressure became longer and longer. The first quarter eventually ended with a 3-3. During the break, we had time to discuss the coordination problems in defense again. The break helped to got focused again with the effect of becoming the dominant team. As in the game against Kaiserslautern our offensive really got the ball rolling. It were cleverly combined plays and teamwork that took away the pleasure of the game of the Musketeers. However the Musketeers didn’t give up and in many situations and our defense got the slide at the very last moment and our goalie and MVP of the game Matze Schmitz cane up with some huge saves.

With a comfortable 11-3 lead, we went into the last quarter in which our Saints rookies, who will be mostly the team of the next season, got the control from the advanced players to draw as much experience as possible from the last game of the season. However this gave also the Musketeers the opportunity to get back into the game but their streak of four goals were not enough to prevent the victory of the Saints. Our new jersey’s were officially shown for the first time with a 11-7 victory and the Marburg Saints series of home victories against Mainz still remains.

Even if our organized summer festival turned into a kind of “pool party” due to weather conditions, we want to thank all the parents, fans and supporters, as well as our sponsors Lavin Lacrosse for the awesome new jersey’s, RedBull and the Volksbank of Central Hessen and of course our opponents Mainz for an excellent, exciting and fair season finale .

But where does this tricky attitude come from?

We’re not sure, but we’re thinking it might come from their architecture, and in particular, this crazy staircase on campus.

Anyone have any ideas on how that is possible? We’re thoroughly confused ourselves!

Big shout out to Steve Layne for finding this video. We don’t get it either. Thankfully, Break.com seems to get it.

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One Weekend, Two Games

Our Season kicked off mediate. On the bright side we were 2-0 after two games, but on the other side we had to learn, that we needed to work hard for our wins and especially play more consistently. In both games we were able to get an early lead, but unable to keep our opponents from coming back into the game. And the next road bump of our season was already on its way. After some rescheduling we ended up with two away games on one weekend.

Our first game was against the “Müssel Rahawks” (The team partnership of the Kassel Raccoons and the Münster Mohawks). We knew that it would be a hard game, because both teams had a history of losing against us, before their teams merged. Now we had to face the best of both teams, with us still struggling with rebuilding and missing two of our starting defenders. The first half started slow with the game going back and forth. By the end of the half we were only 3-2 in front. The third quarter ended scoreless, but we lost our cool in the fourth. Decimated by several unnecessary penalties, we fell back four goals and could not recover. The game ended 6-4 and we had to admit, that the other team played smarter today.

With this upset on our back we had to go to Kaiserslautern for our next game. By then it already felt like we had spent the whole weekend in cars and locker rooms and the loss of the previous day did not help to raise our moods. On the other side we knew that we had to get ready for another game, and that the only right answer to being 2-1 now could be a win. Our opponent were the K-Town Lumberjacks, a team with a lot of American players that we remembered as really tough.

We started good in the first quarter, although we were still missing two of our staring defenders, we played a solid team defense, but did not manage to execute well on offense. The Lumberjacks grew stronger and managed to sneak one ball past our Goalie. Apparently this was the wakeup call our Offense needed. With three quick goals we recaptured the lead in the first quarter on regained our field dominance. From the second quarter on the game belonged only to the Saints. Our Offense really started to click and our Defense played an excellent game. The few shots that we had to give up were saved by our Goalie Matze Schmitz, who held the Lumberjacks scoreless for the rest of the game.

When the final whistle blew, we had won 16-1 and made a clear statement, that the previous loss was just a hiccup on the way. With our 3-1 record we are now preparing for our season highlight, the home game against our closest rival the Mainz Musketeers.

If your photo gets chosen for our Photo of the Week, we’ll hook you up with your very own LaxAllStars.com Prize Pack courtesy of the The Lacrosse Shop. To submit your photo, simply click the link and send it in to us!

In 1989 the USILA Scholar All-America Program was established to recognize student-athletes from USILA member institutions who have distinguished themselves academically, athletically and as citizens of their communities. The USILA Selection Committee selects an overall team representing Division I, II and III. The Scholar All-Americas are recognized at the annual Lacrosse All-America Banquet.

Wait, you want MORE than just that brief description? Ok, here is an excerpt from the Nomination Form:

NCAA D3 Championship

RIT vs. Stevenson

This Sunday, May 26th at 4 PM EST, RIT and Stevenson will go toe-to-toe to decide who will be crowned the champion of NCAA D3 lacrosse for the 2013 season. While we can’t be sure who will win the game, we can be sure that D3 will see a new champion crowned this season, as neither RIT nor Stevenson has ever won a national title at this level.

RIT comes into this game at 19-2, with both losses coming in overtime games. Stevenson comes into this game at 21-2 with losses to Tufts and Roanoke, both by one goal. RIT and Stevenson have already seen each other once this year, but that way back in February. Stevenson took the first match-up 12-11 in an overtime thriller. RIT’s other OT loss was to Cortland, whom they beat in the Final Four last weekend, also in OT.

I think you can see how predicting this game is going to be tough!

To get to the Championship game, RIT took down Cabrini 22-13, Tufts 14-5, and then survived a late comeback by top-seeded Cortland to take the game 10-9 in OT. Stevenson beat Christopher Newport 18-6, WAC 17-13, Lynchburg 13-7, and then Salisbury 12-6. Both of these teams had very tough roads to take in order to play in the game on Sunday and should be well prepared for each other.

Both teams will push the ball at times, and make tricky or risky plays.

Stevenson is known for their flash, and fancy Maryland stick work, and has a couple of guys who can shoot the lights out, like Mark Pannenton. They have a large, athletic defense, and can dominate on special teams (EMO, man down, face offs, etc). Stevenson’s trip to the Finals has been a long time coming, and there was no more fitting way for them to make it in than by defeating Salisbury.

RIT is also a risk-taking team, but they are far from a carbon copy of Stevenson. They too have great face off work, and can tear a team apart on EMO. The RIT D will thrown checks, and their poles have some of the slicker handles in the country. How risky is RIT? They won their FF game with a hidden ball trick goal, and also got an assist from their own goalie, from behind RIT’s cage. Yes, you read that right.

The game will be broadcast live on NCAA.com, so make sure to tune in to catch all the great action. If you want to see up and down, throw caution to the wind lacrosse, D3 definitely has you more than covered.

This is HIGH quality box lacrosse! Also, check out Simon Krause’s Lax in the Box Recap!

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After an incredible performance in the Aleš Hřebeský Memorial, LC Custodes certainly continued to prove their quality in the Czech National Box Lacrosse League, as Radotin won their eighth consecutive title in 2013. That being said, their victory was not as easy as some may have expected.

Custodes‘ biggest rival in the NBLL, SK Lacrosse Jižní Město, was the other team to make the  finals, and they played very tough, and forced a third and decisive match in the best-of-three final series.

Game One Photo Credits: Martin Bouda

LCC was extremely impressive at the Aleš Hřebeský Memorial and gained valuable wins over three overseas teams on their way to winning the tournament trophy (check www.AHMemorial.cz fo more), so they were clear favorites for the NBLL play-offs. This was proven in the semi-final series, where Custodes easily controlled their matches against LC Pardubice winning 18 : 7 and 8 : 5, to advance to the finals.

For Jižní Město, their final standing in the Memorial did not measure up to expectations. It was a rough tournament for LCJM, and they struggled hard in their NBLL semifinal games against TJ Malešice, especially in their first game, where the scores was 14 : 13 in favor of LCJM. The second game was won by LCJM 13 : 4, and Jižní Město seemed to be truly ready for the finals and their match up against LCC Radotin.

The first of the final games was played in Radotín on Wednesday, May 15, and the first Custodes strike came only 19 seconds into the game. But Jižní Město played relentless and physical defense, and were effective with their shots, and the score was soon 4 to 1 in favor of the visitors. Custodes scored on the power-play at the end of the first quarter to bring the game back to two goals. After the quarter break, a storm of goals arrived, and suddenly it was Custodes who lead 5 to 4. Both teams then traded goals back and forth, so the score was tight, 6 : 6, at half time.

LCC broke their opponent in the third period. They performed wonderful offensive combinations, moved the ball fluidly, and played solid defense. At the end of the run, they had outscored Jižní Město 5 : 0, to take an 11-6 lead.

The last period was controlled by Custodes, and the game and the final score stopped at 12 : 7, with LCC Radotin taking care of business at home, and going up 1-0 in the three game series.

Jižní Město was able to use all advantages of their home arena in the second game on Friday May 17. Supported by a loud crowd of supporters, they began the game well once again and lead 4 to 1, just as they had in Game 1. Again, they played tough physical defence, and Custodes were suffering from ineffective shooting. Young Jižní Město goalie, Tomáš Čekal, was great between the posts. Remember the name Čekal. This up and comer is going to be very good!

In the 26th minute Lukáš Sailer added a goal to LCJM’s total, and it was 6 : 1. After that, Custodes finally settled down in their play and started to score. The half time score was a much tighter 7 : 4 scoreline, and the battle was set to continue in the third period.

Photo Credit: Martin Bouda

Radotín was more successful on offence than at the beginning of the match, and LCC Radotin was only one goal down after 45 minutes s of play. At the begining of the last quarter Emil Moravec equalized and then Tomáš Procházka turned the game to the Custodes‘ side. But this time Jižní Město did not allow to be broken.

Milan Černík anwered the goal and then Adam Ondráček scored the winning goal five minutes before the final whistle blew. Radotín was knocking hard on the Jižní Město goal but without success. Jáchym Plecháček tacked on a goal to the somewhat surprising home team’s success in the last second, and LCJM won the game, 11 : 9.

Photo Credit: Ondřej Mika

So the NBLL final serie returned to Radotín on Sunday May 19 and once again, both teams were supported with big crowd of fans. And yet again, it was Jižní Město who started the game off better. They started eagerly again and their first shots were very accurate and they lead 4 : 0 in only seven minutes. Only Miroslav Polách was able to score for the LCC side in the first period.

During the break between periods, Custodes concentrated and calmed down. When the second quarter started, home captain Petr Poupě, and then Tomáš Procházka, scored to start a run.

Michal Rozkot’s goal was the only answer  for LCJM, and the game was effectively over for Jižní Město as Radotín players found all their skills, and used frightening efficacy on offense, and concentration while on defence.

The visitor’s score on the scoreboard was frozen at five while the home side’s score steadily blew up to 17 by the end of the third period. Radotín controlled the game in the last period and after a persuasive 22 : 8 victory, started to celebrate. The team then received the champion’s trophy from the new Czech Men’s Lacrosse Association president, Pavel Semerák.

LC Custodes confirmed that they have no true equal in the Czech league when they concentrate and play their best box lacrosse. On the other hand, Jižní Město have proven that there is a chance to stop Radotín’s enormous offensive force when a team plays together. Several young and talented players appeared in the Jižní Město uniform and if they continue to work hard the Radotín dominance may not last forever.

The NBLL was played in an Autumn–Spring format with ten teams participating. The new CMLA board plans to change the format, and organize a shorter and more compact competition in the Spring, which will be more interesting for spectators, and motivating for players.

You can find all stats HERE and you can find FULL photo galleries HERE.

Story By Ondřej Mika

Editor’s note: Welcome to another great installment of “Spotted”. With your help, we hope to shine a light on lacrosse spotted in unexpected places, whether it be on TV or in real life. If you find any aspect of lacrosse in a place you didn’t expect it, we would love to hear from you. Take a quick photo or video and email it to info@lacrosseallstars.com.

This week’s spotting comes to us from Kevin McDermott, who caught a glimpse of a Traditional Laser HiWall in the novel, Rich Boy Cries for Momma.

Rich Boy Cries for Momma

“…Rich Boy Cries for Momma is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel by Ethan H. Minsker, an American writer and filmmaker. It is set in Washington, DC during the turbulent 1970s and ’80s, when the city and the nation, led by ruthless and amoral men, were riddled with strife, class struggles and scandal. The story is told by an unnamed teenage narrator, the dyslexic son of two successful lawyers. Taunted, bullied and rejected by the “nice” children of the Washington elite, he is looking for a world that accepts him as he is. Outcasts, the teenager and his friends create their own world, without adults, that centers around punk rock music. In this underground subculture, with its own codes and hierarchy, it is survival of the fittest.”

Check out more on Rich Boy Cries for Momma on their Facebook page.

For more lacrosse spottings, check out our full archive of ‘Spotted’ posts.

Did you spot lacrosse somewhere unexpected? Email your spottings to info@lacrosseallstars.com!

As field Lacrosse has kept growing and improving over the last few years in Europe, more and more players are also getting interested in the indoor version of lacrosse; box lacrosse. Due to venue limitations, and a lack in knowledge of the game, only a few box teams are reported in Europe, but the recent development work points to an increase over the coming years.

The Aleš Hřebeský Memorial, with its 20th anniversary event, was a pure demonstration of how good European box can become when hard and relentless work of the athletes are combined with a long tradition and great organization. Not only was the 20th AHM one of the most outstanding tournaments box lacrosse Europe has ever seen, it also marks the beginning of a new European box era.

The AHM 2013

One week after the AHM, Europe’s second biggest box tournament, the Lax in the Box tourney, took place in Dresden, Germany. As this year’s focus was on the AHM, the Dresden Braves, who organize the Lax in the Box decided to use the second edition of the LitB as a development tournament for teams who are new to box lacrosse.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with new programs, three teams dropped out last minute to leave a total of 9 teams competing for the most outstanding trophy the world of lacrosse will ever see, EVER.

The teams were:

1. Dresden Braves (Germany)
2. Victoria Berlin (Germany)
3. LCC Wolves (Czech Republic)
4. TJ Malesice (Czech Republic)
5. Bundeswehr Lacrosse (Germany)
6. MarBroRo Marburg/Rostock (Germany)
7. Deutschland Adler (Germany)
8. Vienna Monarchs (Austria)
9. Karlsruhe Storm (Germany)

Besides the 9 men‘s box lacrosse teams the Braves also invited 6 women’s teams to compete in the indoor women‘s tournament. Having a women’s and men’s tournament at the same time in the same arena complex did not only support the idea of a development tournament but also created a unique and attractive atmosphere for players and spectators.

Both tournaments started Saturday morning, May 4th, with games being played in a two-15 minute halves style. The level of refereeing was very good and consistent over the whole weekend to provide ideal conditions for a great tournament. Up front the favorites for the men’s tournament were the two teams from the Czech Republic, LCC Wolves and TJ Malesice and the German team, Deutschland Adler. The round robin was played in two groups with five and four teams.

After the first games were played the favored teams Wolves, Malesice and Adler did not disappoint and came out with big wins. Group A consisted of three teams, Deutschland Adler, Vienna Monarchs and LCC Wolves known to be able to handle the floor on both ends. As expected Adler came out strong on day one finishing first in their group beating second seated Wolves in an exciting game 6-3. Monarchs showed highlights in defense but were not able to get enough scoring power to beat Wolves in a tough game finishing 3-1 in favor of the Wolves.

Is that traditional? Way to roll Artjom!

In Group B Malesice cleared their way through round robin beating home team Dresden, Karlsruhe, Bundeswehr and Marbroro in exciting but dominant games. In the fight for the second place the home team Dresden Braves could work up their way with beating third seated Karlsruhe in an exciting game 4-1 finishing second place behind Wolves to qualify for the semifinal on Sunday.

White on white.

With round robin games finished on day 1 Adler were facing Dresden and Wolves their fellow Czech team Malesice in the semifinals on Sunday. In the first game Adler showed high offensive potential scoring 7 goals without letting one in to proceed to the final with a strong 7-0 victory over the home team Dresden. In the second semifinal Malesice showed strong nerves beating Wolves in one of the most exciting games of the tournament 3-2 to proceeding to the final with Deutschland Adler already waiting for them.

The first half of the final game showed a lot of highlights in defense and offense with the Malesice goalie keeping Adler of the score board for most of the time. After the first half the 400 spectators were caught up in a close game with Adler having a slight 2-1 advantage going in the second half.

This looks like it hurt… someone.

To the surprise of everyone Malesice could not show enough defensive power in the second half to keep Adler from scoring and were not able to create goals on the other end of the floor which lead to a clear 6-2 victory of the Deutschland Adler team to be named the 2nd Lax in the Box champion.

All statistics about the games are available here.

Besides the men’s tournament, the six invited German women teams competed on a high level as well, showing great games and development over the whole weekend.

Teams taking part in the women’s Lax in the Box tournament:

1. Latschis Marburg
2. Neckarnixen
3. Leipzig Miwoks
4. Dresden Braves Gold
5. Dresden Braves Black
6. Victoria Berlin

In the final Marburg was facing the Neckarnixen and over 300 spectators could see a high level women’s indoor game with Marburg taking home the title, becoming winner of the trophy Adam and being named the first Lax in the Box women’s tournament champion.

Congrats, ladies!

Trophy first, handshake second!

Fans, players, refs and coaches were able to watch great games in an outstanding atmosphere and a great venue over two days. The combination of the women’s and men’s tournament created a unique experience and truly contributed to Growing the Game of indoor lacrosse in Germany.

The organizers Dresden Braves did a great job having all games on time, providing a great venue, separate locker rooms for each team over the whole weekend, and a high level of refereeing.

GREAT work by the Dresden Braves for LitB!

The players’ party on Saturday night helped everyone “relaxing” after a great first day. Off the field players and spectators had the chance to take part in the fastest shot competition and win prizes provided by our sponsors Captain Lax and East Coast Dyes. The Cheerleaders got everyone cheering before the two final games and during the halftime and maybe distracted some of the male player a little too much.

At this point we want to thank everyone that contributed to this great event and hope everyone involved in this event enjoyed it as much as the home team Dresden Braves. This tournament was a huge step towards Growing and improving the game of lacrosse over in Europe and Germany.

Because of the great success of the tournament this year we can already promise the third Lax in the Box 2014 and information about this event will be updated soon on our webpage.

Stay tuned for more media material uploaded in the next week, and thank you for reading!

- Simon

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Given the dramatic progress of the NCAA Tournament that everyone is buzzing about, I saw it fit to bring you some tracks from a bunch of college (or at least college-aged) kids that are making big sounds in the music world. We’ve got one new artist and one Music Monday double-dipper, both of which should be able to get you pumped for the next lax game or simply pick up your Monday.

Coyote Kisses – “This Is How You Know”

Let me introduce another newcomer to both my music library and Music Mondays…Coyote Kisses! Yes, it’s an incredible band name but beyond that, these kids can jam. The group is just two college kids who have been pumping out tunes in the genre that, according to their Facebook, they call “Space Punk.” Whatever you want to call it, this song is a hit that is just right to get the summer moving, as is the rest of their new Thunder Color EP (link below!).

Download the full album here.

Logic – “Nasty” [Explicit language]

We featured Logic with the first single off of Welcome to Forever back on March 4th in Music Monday: Walking West and it is now my pleasure to bring you the full mixtape. This is the first rap mixtape that I have enjoyed thoroughly, from beginning to end, in a long while. Choosing just one track for our post was nearly impossible, so I urge you to go out and listen to the rest (link below). Especially check out “Roll Call,” Logic’s ridiculous freestyle over the beat of Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson.” At just 23, Logic is proving himself as a flat out amazing lyricist (when you have rappers like Nas praising your work, you know you’re into something good).

Download the full album here.