The South team heads on to the field at the Under Armour All-American Game (Photo: Casey Vock, 3dRising.com)
TOWSON, Md. — In a high-scoring showcase of some of the nation’s most talented scholastic lacrosse players, the South squad defeated the North squad 23-16 in the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Senior Game on Saturday night at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Twenty players scored goals in a back-and-forth contest that saw 119 total shots by the two teams, which were selected by a panel assembled by Inside Lacrosse magazine.
The South was able to attack its way to a 14-11 lead at halftime fueled by three first-quarter goals by Cole Williams, a 6-foot-5 attackman from nearby Loyola Blakefield (Md.) and a second-team American Family Insurance ALL-USA choice this season. Williams was named the game’s MVP after putting up four goals and an assist in the win.
MORE: Complete ALL-USA Boys Lacrosse Teams
Williams credited his South teammates for helping the team take down the North, the sixth consecutive win for the South in the 11th annual Under Armour event.
“Playing with Kyle Anderson (Malvern Prep, Pa.) and Forry Smith (Haverford School, Pa.), they’re great at getting the ball to the open man,” said Williams, who will attend Johns Hopkins University.
“This style of run-and-gun type of ball, it’s great to be on the backside for some great feeds and try to make finishes. … It’s nice to have a face-off guy like Nick McEvoy. When you have that, you can play free and when you have the lead you can push it more.”
McEvoy provided an important boost for the South. A second-team ALL-USA selection, the Penn State recruit from Gonzaga College High School (D.C.) won 23 of 29 face-offs, picking up 13 ground balls and adding a goal off one of his draw wins.
Williams said the South took pride in defeating the North, a team loaded with players destined for elite Division I college programs.
“It’s an honor to know you’re playing against some of the best in the country,” Williams said.
Ethan Walker, the ALL-USA Player of the Year, took part in the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Game (Photo: Casey Vock, 3dRising.com)
Leading all scorers in the game was Jeff Teat, the Cornell-bound attackman from the Hill Academy in Ontario. Teat — who helped the Hill Academy to an undefeated season, a Super 25 No. 1 finish and the USA TODAY High School Sports Team of the Year honor — led all scorers with two goals and five assists for seven points. His five assists were a record for the Under Armour event.
MORE: Final Super 25 Boys Lacrosse Rankings
“It was a great experience,” said Teat, who is currently the leading point-producer in the Ontario Lacrosse Association’s Junior A box lacrosse circuit. “Playing with all these guys, it’s a lot of fun. Playing with some guys that I know, like Ethan (Walker) and I’m going to school with Ryan Maloney (Victor, N.Y.), so I’m pretty excited. I’m glad to be here.”
Teat and fellow Canadian Ethan Walker of the Culver Academy (Ind.) — the ALL-USA Boys High School Player of the Year and a Denver recruit — teamed up for three goals in the game. Walker, also a first-team ALL-USA choice at attack, finished with three goals and two assists. Teat and Walker will both compete at the FIL U-19 Men’s Lacrosse World Championships scheduled for July 7-16 in Coquitlam, British Columbia.
A batch of players on the ALL-USA teams was also selected to the Under Armour rosters but did not compete because those individuals are representing the United States at the FIL U-19 Men’s Lacrosse World Championships next week. Those players are: Michael Sowers, Jared Bernhardt, Brian Constabile, Dox Aitken, Phillip Goss, Gerard Arceri and Jack Pezulla.
In total, 23 ALL-USA boys selections from this spring competed in the UA event, including 10 who registered point.