There were plenty of impressive plays — and plenty of college coaches on hand to see them tonight at the second annual Maverik Showtime Lacrosse National Recruiting Spotlight all-star game at Western Connecticut State in Danbury.

The White team defeated the Red team 13-7 led by a strong defensive effort and the three-goal performance of rising junior midfielder Will Stocker of Turpin High School in Cincinnati, who had three goals, and the two-goal efforts of rising junior attackman Mike Daniello of John Jay and rising sophomore attackman Ian Ardrey of Greenwich (who attends the Deerfield Academy).

• All-star game video highlights

Syracuse. Johns Hopkins. Cornell. Princeton. Virginia. Fairfield. Hofstra. Delaware.

There were coaches from those prominent college programs and plenty of others at tonight’s game.

One of the more noteworthy performances was the one turned in by Stocker. After all, Cincinnati is hardly a hotbed for lax. But his strong showing demonstrates not only the spread of growth outside the traditional hotbeds but also was fitting since many of the 160 players participating in this week’s event are from such states as Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Oregon.

While players from those neophyte lacrosse outposts were prominent, so were a couple from perhaps the most tradition-rich lacrosse community in the nation — Manhasset.

And in an intriguing one-on-one matchup, Manhasset rising sophomore defenseman Bobby Duvnjak of the White team was paired off against rising junior Jimmy Bitter of the Deerfield Academy, who grew up in Manhasset before his family moved to Stratton, Vt., two years ago. Oh by the way, did we happen to mention, they happen to be cousins?

We spoke with Duvnjak after the game. You can catch that video interview — and one we did with his cousin on Tuesday — coming up here.

Before we run down the roster of players selected to compete, a few quick thoughts on a few guys who caught my eye:

• Case Matheis, Darien. He nearly brought the house down late in the first half after firing a precision placed behind-the-back shot of a brilliant feed by Bitter that wound up hitting the post. It seems almost unfair he still has three years of varsity competition in front of him. He’s already among the top attackmen in the nation.

• Jimmy Bitter, Deerfield: Few attackmen dodge as effectively. He also has a hard and accurate shot, is strong with both hands and has tremendous field vision — and the bloodlines. (His father, Ward, played lax at Boston College; his brother, Matt, just ended his  career at Navy; and another brother, Billy, is one of the premier stars in D-I for North Carolina. Bitter had two goals for the Red team tonight and has enjoyed an outstanding week.

• Mike Daniello, John Jay: The early line seems to favor Daniello following in his brother Chris’ footsteps and attending two-national champion Syracuse. One thing is sure. After his performance this summer — and this week — he will be able to go pretty much wherever he wants. His left-to-right hand, behind-the-back dodge move at midfield midway through the second quarter was reminiscent of soon-to-be Syracuse Orange freshman JoJo Marasco. (To check the video of that play, click here.)

• Bobby Duvnjak, Manhasset: The younger brother of Johnny Duvnjak, a Middlebury-bound defenseman who helped the Indians win the Class C state title this past season, Duvnjak has the size and savvy to emerge as one of the premier defenders in the nation.

• Julius Mouser, Shipley (Pa.): I’m partial to attackman/midfielders. I think they’re the best players on the field because they have the stick skills and shooting ability to go with the speed, endurance and athleticism. Mouser, a rising junior who had two goals for the Red team tonight, fits that description perfectly.

• Matt Kavanagh, Chaminade: The rising junior attackman has a good shot and good speed and athleticism.

• Jack Near, Bronxville: An attackman/midfielder with good size and skills, the rising junior has Division I potential.

• Anthony Lombardo, Somers: The rising junior has good size, speed and strength. He is strong on faceoffs and showed he is a capable offensive player as well. Most importantly, he let the action come to him and didn’t try to force hings. The brother of Navy-bound football star Rob Lombardo, he is part of a growing group of football standouts who rightly realize their best  ticket to a college scholarship is through lacrosse.

• Will Stocker, Cincinnati: The midfielder from Turpin High School who had three goals in the all-star game, has a  hard and accurate left-hand shot.

• Ian Ardrey, Deerfield Academy: The Greenwich resident, a rising sophomore, is a complete attackman with a huge upside.

• Sean Shakespeare, Walpole (Mass.): The rising junior attackman has game to go with his name.

Maverik Showtime Lacrosse National Recruiting Spotlight
all-star game roster by position

Goaltenders

11 Michael Nugent, Alpharetta, Ga., rising junior
12 Dominic Moriarty, Fort Myers, Fla., rising junior
13 Conor Fraylick, Pleasantville, N.Y., rising junior
14 Anthony Peruso, Warwick, N.Y., rising junior

Attackmen

23 Jack Near. Bronxville, N.Y., rising junior
83 Case Matheis, Darien, Conn. rising sophomore
84 Brandon Bonistall, Harrison, N.Y., rising junior
85 Billy Pray, Goldens Bridge, N.Y., rising junior
86 Mike Daniello. Cross River, N.Y., rising junior
87 Sean Shakespeare, Walpole, N.Y., rising junior
90 Kane Haffey, Duxbury, Mass., rising junior
106 Jimmy Bitter, Stowe, Vt., rising junior
108 Paul Hellar, Duxbury, Mass., rising sophomore
121 Ian Ardrey, Greenwich, Conn., rising sophomore

Midfielders

17 Anthony Lombardo, Somers, N.Y., rising junior
18 Will Stocker, Cincinnati, rising junior
22 Taylor Pirie, Hamilton, Mass., rising junior
29 Shane Thornton, Garden City, N.Y., rising junior
30 Corbin Booker, Philadelphia, rising junior
36 Wally Rooney, Rockville Center, rising junior
37 Cameron Dabir, Grosse Poiubte Farms, Mich., rising junior
39 Ian Seale, The Woodlands, Texas, rising junior
41 Charlie McCormick, Bronxville, rising junior
44 Adam Goins, Berwyn, Pa., rising junior
47 Ryan Cholnoky, Greenwich, Conn., rising junior
58 Jordan Schochet, Plano, Texas, rising junior
61 Jamie Ward, Glen Rock, N.J., rising junior
79 Forrest Walter, Katonah, N.Y.. rising junior
81 Jake Weil, Waccabuc, N.Y., rising junior
99 Matt Kavanagh, Rockville Center, rising junior
104 Jake Mouser, Havertown, Pa., rising junior

Defensemen

123 Tony Britton, Darien, rising sophomore
127 Trevor Caviola, South Salem, N.Y., rising junior
131 Kip McMahon, Weston, Conn., rising sophomore
142 Anthony Grasso, Bedford, N.Y., rising sophomore
143 Tyler Zaffulo, Las Vegas, Nev., rising sophomore
145 Bobby Duvnjak, Manhasset, N.Y., rising sophomore
148 Michael Morse, Las Vegas, Nev., rising junior
149 Max Buchanan, Wyckoff, N.J., rising junior
151 Eddie Schurr, Lincolndale, N.Y., rising junior
153 Trevor Garfield, Dallas, Tex., rising junior

Reach Joe Lombardi at joe@laxlessons.com.

• Joe’s MaxPreps.com column: Summer competition surging

Posted In: Recruiting Rundown

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16 Responses to “Maverik Showtime National Recruiting Spotlight all-star game report”

  1. Laxmami says:

    Adam Goins (Berwyn, Pa) is a rising sophomore. Thanks for the coverage and updates.

  2. PurpleReigns says:

    Great coverage J-Lo. Quick question … What were your impressions of how Forrest Walter and Billy Pray did??
    Thank you sir.
    P-Reigns

  3. Joe Lombardi says:

    P-Reigns –

    Both played well last night. Forrest scored a goal right before the end of the first half. As we know, he has good size, a good feel for the game and a good shot.

    Billy Pray showed he is equally adept at finishing and feeding. Like Forrest Walter, he has good size and I really believe could have a breakout season for John Jay next year.

  4. Fox Trot says:

    Hi Joe, what did you think of defenseman Anthony Grasso of Fox Lane?

  5. Joe Lombardi says:

    Anthony Grasso attended Showtime with his twin brother Nick, a midfielder. The good news is both have three high school seasons ahead of them.

    Anthony is a solid position defender with good size.

  6. Jason says:

    Joe How was Tony Britton playing at this camp

  7. Joe Lombardi says:

    Jason –

    Tony, a rising sophomore defenseman from Darien, looked pretty comfortable out there. He has good size and is a good position defender.

    Also, folks, a quick FYI. Tonight is the MLL All-Star game in Denver. It will be broadcast at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

    They have an interesting theme this year: Old School vs. Young Guns.
    You can read more about it here:

    http://majorleaguelacrosse.com/news/pressreleases/?article_id=1471

    There are quite a few players from the New York/Connecticut LaxLessons region. For rosters, check this link:

    http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/07/14/mll-all-star-game-rosters-information/

  8. LAX says:

    Here’s the inside lacrosse article about day 3 including the all star game.

    http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/07/16/maverik-showtime-lacrosse-day-3-recap/

    Sounds like Daniello lit it up nice going

  9. dan says:

    hey you didnt mention anything about the keepers. what did you think, anything impressive??

  10. Joe Lombardi says:

    There were 16 goalies at Showtime. What’s interesting is that they represented nine states, including Michigan, Florida and Georgia.

    The four goalies that made the all-star game are all rising juniors:

    Michael Nugent, Alpharetta, Ga.; Dominic Moriarty, Fort Myers, Fla.; Conor Fraylick, Pleasantville, N.Y.; and Anthony Peruso, Warwick, N.Y.

    All these guys looked pretty solid. I first saw Conor Fraylick play two years ago and he continues to improve his skills each year. Nugent showed a lot of poise. Moriarty came up with some real nice saves and Peruso did some good things.

    Another couple of guys whose play in goal I noted during the week were Will Driscoll, rising soph from the Brunswick School; Jake Gambitsky, rising junior from Wantagh; Anthony Lomangino, rising junior from Hicksville; and Henry Buonagurio, rising sophomore from Duxbury, Mass.

  11. dan says:

    Florida and Georgia??? not traditional places to produce top tier goalies, did you think they could hack it with the big boys??

  12. Joe Lombardi says:

    Absolutely. In the last 5-10 years the game has spread rapidly beyond the traditional hotbeds. There were even a few players at Showtime from Oregon, and don’t forget, midfielder Will Stocker of Turpin High School in Cincinnati had three goals in the all-star game.

  13. LAX says:

    Moriarty from Florida apparently played excellent in the all-star game. Zach Frank of IL thought he and Daniello were the stars of the game.

  14. dan says:

    wow, must have been a solid performance by those two with kids like bitter, matheis, stocker, and booker there….

  15. LAX says:

    I’m surprised that the team with Bitter and Matheis got beaten so easily but I hear the White team played tremendous defense on them.

  16. Joe Lombardi says:

    The video interviews and highlights we did at Maverik Showtime last week are now up at InsideLacrosse.com.

    Here’s the direct link:

    http://video.insidelacrosse.com/video/index.php?x=10&y=11&searchTxt=Showtime

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