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traded All-Star midfi elder Peet Poillon with the idea that Snider could fi ll the role as an initiator on offense. General manager Tony Seaman and coach Jim Stagnitta were right. The Outlaws, who were questioned for some of their roster moves, like trading former University of Denver star Mark Matthews to the New York Lizards for midfi elder Will Mangan and a draft pick, started 9-0 and averaged a league- best 17.4 goals per game. By the end of June, they had already clinched their eighth straight playoff appearance. They even triumphed by four goals over Chesapeake, the franchise that beat Denver for last year’s MLL title and a team that Stagnitta said the Outlaws have modeled themselves after. “I was surprised with some of the
offseason moves,” Snider said. “They came to me saying you’re going to have a good opportunity this year, so make sure you’re training hard. I took it seriously and it played out. I owe a lot to the organization for the opportunity.” Snider said he and the Outlaws’
offensive midfi eld group — veteran Terry Kimener, 2012 MLL Most Improved Player Jeremy Sieverts, second-year pros Mangan and Justin Turri, and Zack Greer, back from a two-year hiatus on the LXM Pro Tour with designs on making Team Canada as a middie — were still getting used to each other’s tendencies and strengths at the season’s midpoint. Meanwhile, that draft pick in the Matthews trade became rookie attackman Eric Law, who set the MLL on fi re with nine goals on the fi rst nine shots of his pro career. And there are the stalwarts: reigning league MVP Brendan Mundorf, an elite goalie in Jesse Schwartzman and 2012 MLL Defensive Player of the Year Lee Zink. Scary.
Snider is not the biggest player — 6-foot and 175 pounds — but he’s athletic with the built-in lacrosse IQ to play offense, defense and the wings on faceoffs. His dynamic dodging presence from the midfi eld compliments Mundorf, who runs the show on attack. “He breaks you down,” Stagnitta said of Snider. “It’s like the crossover dribble in basketball, he freezes you. He comes at you and he’s got a great side-to-side quick step, and he’s gone. If he gets his hands free a little bit, he’s going to score. And in the open fi eld, he’s tough to cover. He’s shifty, and he can go from zero to 60 pretty quickly.”
“It’s like the crossover dribble in basketball, he freezes you. He comes at you and he’s got a great side-to-side quick step, and he’s gone. If he gets his hands free a little bit, he’s going to score.” — Outlaws coach Jim Stagnitta on Snider
Snider’s shooting ability is special. The righty has drawn awe from teammates and opponents alike during games, O’Dougherty said, mentioning Bayhawks attackman Drew Westervelt and Hamilton goalie Brett Queener among his admirers.
In a 13-9 win at Chesapeake on June 15, Snider scored twice. “He had a crossover step left and back to the right and slinged it top left. It couldn’t be more in the corner,” O’Dougherty said of
one goal. “Westervelt said to me, ‘Now that’s a shot.’”
It doesn’t happen on accident. A typical in-season week for Snider includes a day of rest after a weekend game, then back to preparation for the upcoming matchup with various weight, cardio and stretching workouts. He tries to have a stick in his hand every day of the week, either practicing his shot release or going through stick-work drills. MLL players typically gather for practice Friday at the game site and play on Saturday. Snider’s done pretty well those days.
“He is hitting 40 percent of his shots and that is ridiculous at this level,” said CBS Sports Network analyst and
LaxMagazine.com columnist Evan Washburn. “The plays that come to mind are when he takes a possession on the defensive end and then initiates the transition offense. He recognizes matchups and numbers well and will attack when appropriate.” Snider’s father, Kris, followed friends, including former Seattle SuperSonics forward Wally Walker, to the Northwest and fell in love with the area. An architect in Seattle and executive board member of the US Lacrosse Washington Chapter, Kris said none of his son’s professional success comes as a surprise. He said Drew was always the type of player who thrived in free-form creative lacrosse environments. (Kris started his son’s fi rst lacrosse team in sixth grade.) The Outlaws have allowed him to make plays within their unselfi sh offense and instilled confi dence by bumping Snider to the fi rst-line midfi eld in the offseason. “I don’t see Drew so much as an anomaly, but as an early indicator of how it’s going to be for quite some time with all of the kids from developing areas,” Kris Snider said, “and what they’re going to bring to the sport.” LM
top individual honor
Matt Danowski, Charlotte Hounds Charlotte has found a measure of success in year two. Danowski, a six-year MLL veteran attackman, was playing some of the best lacrosse of his pro career with a team- high 29 points in just seven games at press time. Behind Danowski, there is a youthful offensive group of Ryan Young, Eric Lusby and Mike Sawyer that has developed chemistry and turned the Hounds into potential playoff contenders.
Brendan Mundorf, Denver Outlaws Denver runs a share-fi rst offense that featured eight players with double-digit point totals at the season’s midpoint — attackman Chris Bocklet had the most with 37 — a fact that puts Mundorf under the radar. But make no mistake, everything still runs through Mundorf, the reigning MLL MVP who has eliminated any question marks about last year’s gnarly ankle injury. He averaged 4.13 points, as Denver tied a league record with a 9-0 start to the season.
Paul Rabil, Boston Cannons
The veteran face of the league and sport keeps chugging along, again among scoring leaders and the MLL’s elite midfi elders. He averaged nearly four points per game heading into the All-Star break. All that despite the Cannons’ poor start to the season — a 1-5 record that cost coach Steve Duffy his job. MLL coaching veteran John Tucker is Boston’s new sideline leader.
A Publication of US Lacrosse August 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 51
©LEE WEISSMAN (MD)
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