“YOU’RE WITH TWO OF THE GREATEST FEEDERS. IF YOU’RE PLAYING PLAYING SMART, YOU’RE GOING TO
BE OPEN. ” — Holman on playing alongside Pannell and Stanwick
“‘Everyone expects us to be in the same role, but Steele can be the quarterback of an offense and I can be the quarterback of an offense. Steele can score goals and I can score goals. We can do whatever is asked of us. We’re not just guys who are behind the cage. We’re quarterbacks. We’re dodgers and feeders.” Marcus Holman, who played against Stanwick in the ACC and fi nished behind Pannell in the 2013 Tewaaraton race, played with both at Champion Challenge. “You’re in there with two of the greatest feeders in the NCAA over the past fi ve years,” Holman said. “If you’re playing smart, you’re going to be open.” The roles fall into place. Holman is the wild card, the swingman and invaluable glue guy, keeping morale up. Kevin Leveille, 32, is the team’s oldest player and wily inside fi nisher. Ned Crotty and Brendan Mundorf, members of the 2010 gold medal team, both dodge with purpose.
Garrett Thul, all 6-foot-4, 240 pounds of him, is a matchup nightmare.
And that package comes with Pannell or Stanwick, or both, as the quarterback. Behind it all is Penn State coach and
Team USA offensive coordinator Jeff Tambroni, the man who brought Pannell to
19 KEVIN LEVEILLE
Cornell. Amidst former rivals stands one of Pannell’s oldest allies.
“I was devastated when he left,” Pannell said. “But we talked about it afterward, that there’d be a possibility he’d be coaching me again and wearing the red, white and blue.”
Pannell played in front of his old coach for
the fi rst time at the 2012 Boiardi Classic. He scored off a ride and saw Tambroni coming toward him from the end line. “He goes, ‘Are you gonna dodge today or what?’” Pannell said. “And I kind of smiled. The next play I took the ball, dodged, scored a goal and looked at him. ‘Is that what you want?’ He knows how to get my competitive juices fl owing and hit me in the
right spot. That’s what I love about him.” Pannell makes his living full-time in lacrosse as a member of the New York Lizards, running clinics with Max Seibald and inking sponsorship deals with Brine and Wheaties. But there may never again be an opportunity like this, with the FIL World Championship in Denver. “There’s so much buzz around it,” Pannell said. “I think the only people who aren’t going to be there are my parents.” That’s because Pannell’s sister is getting married on Long Island the next week. If he has his way, America’s quarterback will be at the wedding as a world champion, thanks to a group of guys that can never be confused for rivals again. LM
9 GARRETT THUL
PRO TEAMS: Launch/Wings COLLEGE: Army ‘13 HIGH SCHOOL: Hunterdon (N.J.) HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-4, 240 AGE: 24 TWITTER: @gtlax09 DAY JOB: Offi cer, U.S. Army; Athletic intern, Army Lacrosse
PRO TEAM: Rattlers COLLEGE: UMass ‘03 HIGH SCHOOL: Albany Academy (N.Y.) HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5-10, 190 AGE: 32 TWITTER: @Kevin_Leveille DAY JOB: Sales
representative, Warrior Sports
22 NED CROTTY
PRO TEAM: Lizards COLLEGE: Duke ‘10 HIGH SCHOOL: Delbarton (N.J.) HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-2, 185 AGE: 27 TWITTER: @Crottykid22 DAY JOB: Executive director of lacrosse, House of Sports in Westchester, N.Y.
“My parents always text me on game day,” Thul said. “It’s just not the same if I don’t get a couple good luck texts from them.”
“One thing I wish I knew earlier as a player is how much time and space you really have on the fi eld,” Leveille said. “Things happen quickly but there’s usually a little more time than you think. I suppose it comes with experience, but it makes a huge difference.”
“I was a freshman on the Duke lacrosse team in 2006,” Crotty said when asked the biggest obstacle he’s overcome in his playing career. “Our season was canceled and we were not sure if the lacrosse program would continue at Duke. We were back on the fi eld in 2007 and eventually brought the fi rst national championship to Duke in 2010.”
College rivals Steele Stanwick (left) and Rob Pannell discovered a chemistry on the field at Champion Challenge. Will the U.S. bring both to Denver?
A Publication of US Lacrosse 32 ROB PANNELL
PRO TEAM: Lizards COLLEGE: Cornell ‘13 HIGH SCHOOL: Smithtown West (N.Y.) HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5-9, 195 AGE: 24 TWITTER: @RobPannell3 DAY JOB: Professional lacrosse player
“I was the only one of eight friends who was cut from the varsity lacrosse team as a freshman,” Pannell said. “One of the best things that ever happened to me.”
June 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 43
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