In somewhat of a departure from the typical recruiting event for this time of year, the 2014 Haudenosaunee U-19 Nations Cup took place at the Nichols School in Buffalo on Saturday, with five teams from Western New York and Ontario showcasing their talents on a cold and rainy day.
As part of the Iroquois’ increased effort to put the best players on the field for international competition, the tournament was used as a preliminary Iroquois Nationals evaluation with an eye toward the 2016 FIL U-19 World Lacrosse Championships. All participating players were of First Nations/Native American origin and many would be eligible for the Iroquois Nationals team that will compete for the U-19 world title in Canada two years from now.
After the opening round of play, the Seneca Squad and the Six Nations Royal Reds squared off in the finals. The game was close for the first half, but the Royal Reds pulled away in the second for an 8-3 victory. The Royal Reds’ Alex Henry (Six Nations Rebels/Genesee CC) was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Henry dominated the face-off X, winning over 80% of his draws against the Seneca Squad. Henry also contributed two goals and two assists (according to my unofficial stats). The Royals Reds’ defense was impressive all day. Jerry Staats (Assumption College/Six Nations Rebels) proved to be a shutdown defender and was great off the carpet.
One of the emerging Iroquois travel teams, the Royal Reds were one of the most unselfish teams I’ve seen in some time. Offensively, they did a great job of finding the open man and getting doorstep looks with fast, crisp ball movement throughout the day. On numerous occasions, the Royal Reds turned broken plays into points. Midfielder Travis Longboat (Six Nations Rebels) and attackman/midfielder Vern Hill (Six Nations/Hamilton Bengals) also had impressive outings for the Royal Reds.
The Seneca Squad was led by Marvin Curry (Silver Creek, N.Y./Potomac State), Dana Ray (Salamanca, N.Y./Genesee CC) and Cyrus Spruce (Salamanca, N.Y./Genesee CC). Curry and Ray are two left-handed attackmen with good size and were able to work the two two-man game effectively. They had excellent chemistry together and gave opposing defenses match up problems. Spruce, a left-handed midfielder who attended Salamanca last season, showed speed in the open field and the ability to bury his chances.
Henry and other young, high-performing players who performed at a high level this past weekend put themselves in the Iroquois Nationals conversation as the Nationals organization looks to repeat the success of 2012, which saw SUNY Cortland coach Steve Beville at the helm for the Iroquois.
Beville, who coached the Iroquois Nationals men’s team to its first bronze medal at the men’s field championships in Denver this past summer, said at the end of the tournament that he hoped the organization would create activities in advance of the next FIL event to help bring the roster-building process earlier and to get players on the radar sooner.
“The U-19 Haudenosaunee Cup serves as a kickoff for youth development program initiative in preparations for the FIL U-19 2016 World Lacrosse Championship,” Iroquois Nationals executive director Denise Waterman said in a statement. “This tournament is part of our two-year plan which will attract and highlight talented Haudenosaunee athletes and coaches for our program while bridging education with sports.”
In 2012, the U-19 Iroquois National Team took home the bronze medal from the FIL World Championship in Finland. That team was led by current college stars, including Lyle Thompson (Lafayette/Albany), Randy Staats (Six Nations/Syracuse) and Zach Miller (The Hill Academy/Denver), who were all members of the first medal-winning Iroquois Nations men’s team in Denver last summer. Before moving up to join the men’s squad, those players helped the Iroquois U-19 group take an enormous leap forward in 2012, earning an unforgettable 15-13 victory over the USA during the tournament. It marked the first time an Iroquois team defeated the Americans in international field competition.
Saturday’s event was an initial effort aimed at finding the some of the potential players and combination of players whom the Iroquois will lean on to help them compete for a U-19 medal in 2016 and then, quite possibly, become young contributors on the adult squad at the next FIL World Lacrosse championships, which will be held in England in 2018.
Below are some of the individuals who stood out with notable performances in Buffalo this past weekend.
Alex Henry (Royal Reds/Six Nations Rebels/Genesee CC), Midfield – A do-it-all midfielder, Henry has the typical college midfielder body. When any game got close, Henry put the team on his shoulders and made plays. Henry i’s coming off another big summer with the Founder’s Cup champion Six Nations Rebels Junior B team.
Larson Sundown (Tonawanda/Akron, N.Y.), Midfield/Attack – This lefty out of Akron has a great stickis a very smooth player. Sundown, whose older brother Sturgis was an outstanding high school player in Section VI, is a very smooth player and can make the game look effortless at times. He’s a prolific goal scorer and put those skills on display quickly this past weekend. Sundown was named one of Section VI’s high school All-Americans as a junior last season.
Evan Printup (Tuscarora/Niagara Wheatfield, N.Y.), Midfield/Attack – Evan is a right-handed attackman who could be moved to midfield if his team needs it. Another member of the Printup family that has sent plenty of players on to college, Evan’s not the biggest kid on the field, but he possesses good overall offensive skills.
Kyler Kilgour (Tuscarora/Niagara Wheatfield, N.Y.), Defense – The son of legendary NLL coach Darris Kilgour, Kyler recently moved from a midfield position to defense. He looked very comfortable with the long stick in his hands, so I can see him playing LSM in the future with Niagara Wheatfield. Kyler’s got good feet and runs well.
Jerry Staats (Royal Reds/Assumption College, Ont.), Defense – The most college-ready defensemen at the tournament, Staats displayed solid overall fundamentals, as well as fantastic stick skills. He was starting transition with behind-the-back passes to cutting midfielders.
Travis Longboat (Royal Reds/Six Nations Rebels), Midfield – Longboat is a silky smooth midfielder who helped his team control the pace of play. He was great between the boxes all day.
Greg White (Tuscarora/Nichols, N.Y./Le Moyne), Midfield – This all-round midfielder showed his steadiness on the field. Greg, who comes from a family of brothers who played at Hobart and Le Moyne, possesses a high lacrosse IQ. He’s excellent in between the lines and also solid at the face-off X.
Vern Hill (Royal Reds/Six Nations/Hamilton Bengals), Attack/Midfield – Little and quick with a deadly stick, Vern finished everything in tight. He also consistently made the right looks in transition. He’s not the biggest guy, but showed he can fill the net up.
Marvin Curry (Seneca Squad/Silver Creek, N.Y./Potomac State), Attack – This big lefty attackman showed the ability to dodge with power and get top side on his defender time and time again. Marvin played alongside Zed Williams at Silver Creek possessions big-time skill and uses his big body to his advantage.
Cyrus Spruce (Seneca Squad/Salamanca, N.Y./Genesee CC), Midfield – Spruce is a fast left-handed midfielder with plenty of skills to go along with it. Spruce is at his best in transition pushing from defense to offense.
Dana Ray (Seneca Squad/Salamanca, N.Y./Genesee CC), Attack – Much like Curry, Ray used his thick frame to overpower his defenders. He teamed with Curry to make life difficult for opposing defenses as they ran pick-and-roll plays aplenty and generated a lot of scoring opportunities.
Wynn Blueye (Tonawanda/Akron, N.Y./Potomac State), Attack – The lefty attackman was the recipient of the Sportsmanship award handed out at the end of the event. In the first game I watched, Blueye had seven points. He’s got a quick first step and works well around GLE. If he was doubled too early, he used his excellent vision to find the open teammate. He was a standout for Akron in 2014.
Brendon Burke is a former Division I assistant coach at Canisius College, where he spent five years as the team’s defensive coach and recruiting coordinator. Prior to his time at Canisius, Burke held assistant coaching positions at SUNY Cortland and Mercyhurst College. Burke, who currently works at New Era Cap Co. in Buffalo, is a graduate of St. Andrews Presbyterian College, where he was a four-year starter and captain as a senior in 2002.
