By By Chris Vaccaro
While it’s not uncommon to see former Pride athletes become successful, it is rare to see a graduate take the route towards being a professional lacrosse player.
Only a select group of players are drafted each year by one of five teams from Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The Pride has had 15 players extend their lacrosse careers into this professional league.
It’s a dream for many to be professional athletes and the creation of the MLL gives lacrosse players something higher to shoot for after their collegiate and scholastic careers are complete.
“It’s a great experience for them,” Pride head coach John Danowski said.” “Its fun; the guys get to travel, play in games on ESPN and they get to play against the best in the world.”
Ryan Vilar, the Pride’s most recent player to enter the MLL, was drafted by the Philadelphia Barrage in the fifth round of this year’s MLL Collegiate Draft, but released shortly after. Vilar, who tallied 40 career goals for the Pride, played in the 64th annual USILA STX-Geico North-South All-Star Classic and could have provided a solid midfield game for the Barrage.
Long Island’s own MLL team the Lizards, has had three Pride graduates including Blake Miller, Nick Polanco and Paul Rao.
Miller broke the single season goal scoring mark for midfielders with his league leading 46 tallies last year. He was named Warrior MLL Offensive Player of the Year while playing for the Barrage last season. During his senior year on the Pride he was named North Atlantic Player of the Year.
While the MLL didn’t exist when Miller played for the Pride, he still had sights of playing past college.
“I had a goal to play the next level,” Miller said. “But we really didn’t know what that level was because an outdoor lacrosse league didn’t exist when I was in college.”
Polanco, a first round draft pick in 2002, immediately carried his collegiate success into the big leagues. He was named NCAA Player of the Year and conference Defender of the Year during his senior year. Last season with the Barrage he was named Warrior Defensive Player of the Year and was one of three defenders named to the first All-MLL Team.
Rao joined Miller and Polanco last season on the Lizards, but isn’t playing in the MLL this season.Tom Kessler, Joe Ghedina and Scott Dooley have all played for two teams with the Pride moniker.
The New Jersey Pride, which sits in last place in the National Division of the MLL, acquired Ghedina via trade from the Lizards. He led the nation in face-off percentage during his senior season in 1999 and in 2001 was awarded the MLL Iron Lizard Award presented to the player that performs with toughness, persistence and fortitude in the sport of pro lacrosse.
Kessler holds the Pride all-time record for career goals (140) and goals in a single season (51) in 2001. He was selected by the Pride in the 2005 preseason player pool and currently is on the team’s inactive list.
Dooley was a second round pick in the 2002 MLL Draft after serving as team captain his senior season. He switched from midfield to attack last season and had 28 points (13 goals).
Brian Langtry has spent most of his professional lacrosse career in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) with the Colorado Mammoth, but also played some time in the MLL with both the Barrage and Baltimore Bayhawks. He graduated in 1998 as the third leading scorer in the nation, America East Player of the Year and an All-American. Langtry was involved in the first trade in MLL history. Goalie Sal LoCascio was traded to the Lizards for a first round draft pick and Langtry was eventually that pick.
The Barrage were lucky enough to obtain Doug Shanahan three seasons ago and have been overly satisfied with his presence in the lineup. The midfielder started all 24 games in his MLL career and was one of the best NCAA lacrosse players in the history of the sport. In 2001 he won the Tewarraton Trophy as the best collegiate player in the nation and was also named the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Player of the Year.
The MLL started during Shanahan’s last season with the Pride, but he chose to play for the world team before entering the regular professional lacrosse leagues.
“It [MLL] gives younger players something to look forward to,” Shanahan said. “I always wanted to keep playing and went right to the MLL after playing for the world team.”
Chris Rogler was a co-captain during his senior season with the Pride, and has appeared in 15 games in his MLL career with the Barrage. Brian Spallina, a First team All-American with the Pride in 2000, is also currently on the Barrage. Last season he recorded a career high 19 groundballs.
There are a handful of players which didn’t have a long stay in the MLL or have a steady spot on a team’s roster. These players include Jarred Testa (Bridgeport* Barrage /Lizards) who scored 30 career goals in three seasons, Adam Hananel (Barrage), Joe Kostlowski (Rochester Rattlers) and Mark Spruyt (Bridgeport Barrage).
While none of these athletes won an NCAA Championship with the Pride, some were able to capture the MLL crown. Ghedina was a member of the Lizards when they won the first MLL Championship in 2001, and Testa was on the Bayhawks in 2002 to win the title. Shanahan, Miller, Polanco, Spallina and Rogler were all members of the Barrage during its championship run in 2004.
As the talent on the Pride increases each season, so does the chance for a player to be taken in the MLL draft. The Pride coaching staff has done an excellent job of molding its players into bigger and better athletes.
“We’re very proud of what they’ve done for us and their other accomplishments,” Danowski said. “We are fortunate to have had that many players performing at the next level.”
—–*The Barrage originally played in Bridgeport, and were relocated to Philadelphia