ALEX ROESNER Loyola Blakefield (Md.) 2015
Penn
TIMMY KELLY Calvert Hall (Md.) 2015
North Carolina
MAC O’KEEFE Syosset (N.Y.) 2016
Penn State
MICHAEL SOWERS Upper Dublin (Pa.) 2016
Princeton Alex Roesner
things out and people end up at schools they may not have considered.” Penn turned out to be a perfect fit for Roesner. Team USA offensive coordinator Pat Myers also runs the Quakers offense. An offseason playing in Myers’ motion scheme made the transition to college seem like an extension of the U19 training. Roesner finished the regular season fifth on Penn with 21 points.
The early success is no surprise. Roesner is a guy who wants the ball in his hands. But while he wants a chance to avenge the piped shot against Canada, he said won’t hesitate to pass it up if it means putting the game away. In Coquitlam, the open player might just be his old buddy Conrad, who fed him the winning pass in the Blue-White scrimmage.
Timmy Kelly
laxmagazine.com
Penn played Virginia at the end of February. It was the first time Roesner and Conrad had squared off since middle school. They both scored two goals, but Virginia won by five. It ended up being more fuel for the chip. “It didn’t cross my mind until after the game,” Roesner said. “I had time to think about it. It’s obviously not fun to come out losing a game. And not seeing your friends from home for a while, it adds a lot of competitive fire. It makes you want to win that much more
so you have bragging rights come the summer.” In the end that’s all Roesner wants, to win. Because winning is fun. A permanent chip on your shoulder might seem like taking the fun out of the game, but Roesner does not think they’re mutually exclusive. “You can 100 percent have fun with a chip on your shoulder,” he said. “When you look back on winning against people you worked harder than, it’s the best and most alleviating feeling in the world.” He won’t be the only American playing with a chip on his shoulder this summer. The U.S. teams are in a bit of a slump. The U19 men suffered their first-ever losses in international competition in 2012, falling to Canada and the Iroquois in the round robin before avenging both defeats en route to gold. The 2014 senior men and 2015 U19 women both were upset by Canada in championship games. “We haven’t proven anything yet,” he said. “We should play with a chip. We have something to prove not just by beating Canada, but by beating them twice. And it’s not just Canada. The game I focus on is always the next one. Canada is just the first one on the schedule.”
June 2016 » LACROSSE MAGAZINE 25
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