The Scoop - The Carolina's E-Lacrosse Newsletter

Presented by Team 91 Lacrosse

February 1st, 2023 | Season 7 Edition 3

2023 NCAA Players to Watch

Every Spring, we begin our youth travel team practices at the end of February. We have the guys practice each Sunday throughout the Spring before picking up weeknight practices in mid-May ahead of the summer tournament season. During one of our first practices each Spring, we ask our young Team 91 players to pick a favorite player in college lacrosse. We want the guys to follow them throughout the Spring so that they start to develop role models within the sport. We encourage our guys to follow their favorite players on social media, watch them on TV, find highlights of them on YouTube, etc. We want our youngsters to consume as much lacrosse as they can throughout the Spring! It helps develop their lacrosse IQ and their love for the game.

In our last edition of The Scoop, I talked about five early season match ups of the college lacrosse season that I am looking forward to watching. This week, I wanted to hit on 10 of my favorite players in college lacrosse this Spring. If you have a chance, check them out!

Mike Sisselberger – Lehigh – Faceoff Specialist

One of the top returning faceoff specialists in the country, Sisselberger won 62.8% of the faceoffs he took in 2022. Lehigh is playing “make it, take it” when he is playing well. He is built like a refrigerator and is a FREAK in the weight room. He picked up wrestling this Winter at Lehigh just to show off how tough of an athlete he is. There have not been many guys in our sport with his combination of power, explosion, and hand speed. Our favorite part of watching Siss? Our guy Sean Dow (Christ School) competes with him every day in practice and makes his life miserable. If you’re watching Sisselberger play, you’ll also see Sean. He’ll be one of the top faceoff specialists in the country once Sisselberger graduates. You can find see some of his highlights from his Team USA tryouts here: https://lehighsports.com/news/2022/7/28/mens-lacrosse-sisselberger-invited-to-us-mens-national-team-training-camp.aspx

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Pat Kavanagh – Notre Dame – Attack

A 2022 USA Lacrosse Magazine Second Team All-American, Pat Kav is expected to contend with Connor Shellenberger and Brennan O’Neil for Player of the Year honors. He is quicker than Shellenberger and O’Neill and will use a hard change of direction or change of speed dodge to beat his defenseman. Kav is also a walking highlight reel. He’s going to shoot it between the legs, behind the back, around the world. He’ll throw no-look skip passes or a behind the back pass. He’s got a flair to his game and he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’ll beat a defenseman, score a goal, celebrate in their face and let them know about it. He’s key to everything ND does and is a very fun player for young attackman to watch. Check him out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-0jykTkPQ

Sam Handley – University of Pennsylvania – Midfield

A freight train in the midfield, Sam Handley is 6’5” and 230lbs. The last player we saw in college lacrosse built like Sam Handley was Myles Jones who led Duke to a pair of national championships. Handley is a powerful downhill dodging midfielder that is also a capable feeder. He finished the 2022 season with a balanced 36 goals and 37 assists. Everyone you spoke to coming out of Team USA tryouts this fall and winter spoke about how physically dominant Handley was playing against pros…he may be unstoppable at the college level this Spring. Another positive to watching Handley for North Carolina fans? He runs on a midfield with Weddington standout James Shipley. Handley draws the pole most possessions meaning that Shipley is going to get a ton of opportunities to dodge and create for UPenn this Spring. Check out Sam Handley here: https://youtu.be/odQQe5TgnKo

Connor Shellenberger – Virginia – Attack

Connor Shellenberger is an offensive coach’s dream. He is a quarterback behind that cage with an exceptional lacrosse IQ. He makes great decisions with the ball in his stick, he can finish inside or outside, he can use both hands, he can beat you with speed or he can overpower you with his 6’1”, 195 lbs. frame. You’ll primarily see Shellenberger at attack, but he has shown his versatility over the last few years coming out of the box to create matchups issues for Virginia. You’ll often here people refer to Shellenberger, Brennan O’Neill and Pat Kavanagh as the top attackmen in the country. I love that they all have such different styles. Shellenberger is more of a QB, O’Neill is a brute force that is going to play on the left side and Pat Kav is more of a “kamikaze” style dodger with more of a throwback style. You can check out Shellenberger here: https://youtu.be/QJu0KZFl1cA

Bobby Van Buren – Ohio State – Defense

Even if I didn’t coach Bobby, I would be pounding the table to everyone about his story. He is everything that lacrosse needs more of today. Bobby is an African American player from a non-hot bed area (Charlotte) that was homeschooled. He breaks every stereotype our sport has, and he is walking proof that if you work hard enough, you can accomplish anything you set your mind and heart to. You also will not meet a better person off the field. On the field, the best part of Bobby’s game is his footwork. It’s exceptional and he can match feet with the best players in the country. He proved just how good he is earning All-America honors as a freshman at Ohio State. He’s got a powerful lower body and is built to be high level cover man at the division 1 level. If you’re a fan of shutdown corners in the NFL, you’re going to like Bobby’s game. He’ll be asked to cover some of the top attackman in the country again this Spring. He is another local guy that all our young players can relate to, and they will get plenty of opportunities to see him play on TV over the next few years. You can check out some of his highlights here: https://youtu.be/4iwvCa1VSVE

Brennan O’Neill – Duke – Attack

There was no sophomore slump for Brennan O’Neill as he looked better and better in every game he played. He was also just named to Team USA; the only college player in the country to make the roster. O’Neill was the No. 1 recruit in the 2020 class and one of the most hyped recruits our sport has seen in a long time. He is bigger, faster, and stronger than everyone he played against and can impose his will on people. He has struggled with consistency at times in his young career and would disappear in games at times, however I expect he’ll be consistently dominant this Spring. You can see some of his highlights here: https://youtu.be/H4CEfAorEXs

Will Bowen – Georgetown – Defense

Calling Bowen’s college lacrosse career “circuitous” may be an understatement. He arrived at UNC in 2019 as a highly regarded recruit on the field with enough academic credits to make him a sophomore in the classroom. He was expected to start at UNC as a freshman but tore his ACL the first week of the Spring season and redshirted his freshman year. In 2020, the season was cancelled due to COVID. By the time he took the field for the first time in 2021, he was a senior academically but a freshman athletically. He graduated from UNC and transferred to Georgetown to receive his MBA with 3 years of eligibility left (though he’ll likely only use 2). He was a first-team AA in 2021 and 2022. He is the favorite to become the defenseman of the year in 2023. If Bobby Van Buren is going to match feet with quarterbacks, Bowen is going to just beat them up. He’s very physical, he’s got a good stick and he’ll be the quarterback of a Georgetown defense that is expected to be one of the top units in the country. He matches up very well with the Brennan O’Neill and Sam Handley type offensive players.

Tucker Dordevic – Georgetown – Midfield/Attack

The last few years have been a rollercoaster for Dordevic. He was expected to be one of the top midfielders in the country for Syracuse last Spring. Owen Hiltz was hurt in a preseason scrimmage and missed the season, so Dordevic was asked to play attack. Following the 2022 season, he elected to transfer to Georgetown to pursue his MBA while finishing his college eligibility. When healthy, Dordevic is one of the most exciting players in the country. In the past I have said that while he may not be the best midfielder in the country, or even the best midfielder on his own team with Graham Bundy there, but he may be the most fun to watch. He is as quick as any midfielder in the country and does an outstanding job freeing his hands and getting off a shot. He’s got a great change of direction that makes him a difficult cover for longstick midfielders and almost impossible for short stick defensive midfielders. He’s known for his exceptional work ethic off the field and is an exceptional leader. The biggest question for Dordevic is his shooting. If he can put the ball on net this year, he should be a first team AA this Spring and will be a key piece to Georgetown making the final four. Check him out here: https://youtu.be/d0axGoaQZrg

Meg Tyrrell – Syracuse – Attack

Each season I like to highlight one of the top players in women’s college lacrosse. I find the level of speed, athleticism, and skill in the women’s college game to be incredibly impressive. With Charlotte North graduating, Meg Tyrrell will take the crown as the most exciting player in the country on the women’s side. If you grew up watching the Powell’s play at Syracuse, Meg Tyrrell has a very similar style. She’s a great athlete that will make highlight reel plays every game. She also plays her tail off the entire game picking up a ton of tough groundballs and making plays in the riding game to get the ball back for Syracuse. She’s the only returning Tewaaraton Award finalist in the country this Spring and a favorite to win it in 2023. You can check here out here: https://youtu.be/RWq_YcnoONk

Liam Entenmann – Goalie – Notre Dame

Notre Dame has had a tradition of great defense and great goalies for the last 15 years. It has been the backbone of their program on their rise to becoming one of the top programs in college lacrosse. Entenmann is the next in line and proved to be one of the best goalies in the country in 2022 saving 57% of the shots he faced. He’s 6’3” and takes up a ton of the cage which makes life extremely challenging for shooters. He will contend with Maryland’s Logan McNaney for First Team AA honors in 2023. Entenmann is an outstanding communicator with quick hands, and he explodes to the ball. Despite his size, you’ll see him play in a very low crouch that makes shooters feel like they can score high on him despite his tall stature. He’ll explode to the ball, and it feels like he gets a piece of everything. You’ll be able to see Entenmann and the Irish on ESPNU throughout the Spring.

If you’re looking for a favorite player to watch this Spring, try checking out one of these guys. If you’re looking for some local North Carolina kids to root for, you can find the full breakdown on where all of our Team 91 guys are playing at the next level here: https://charlotte.team91lacrosse.com/commitments/

Enjoy what should be a great slate of college games this weekend!

Ryan Flanagan

Ducks Recreational Spring Lacrosse

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Ducks Lacrosse is a Spring Recreational Lacrosse League open to all male athletes grades 1st through 6th grade. No prior playing experience is required to participate.

The Ducks season will run from late-February to early-May with a built-in "off" period around school spring breaks from April 10th-April 14th.

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