🐐 NEW HALL OF FAME CLASS ANNOUNCED

On Thursday, USA Lacrosse welcomed eight new members of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The Class of 2024 inductees included four legends of the men’s game and four historic figures of the women’s game.

Here’s a little bit more on each member of the 2024 class…

Paul Rabil: One of the greatest midfielders of all time, Rabil was a two-time NCAA Champion at Johns Hopkins (2005, 2007). He was the No. 1 pick in the 2008 MLL Draft and went on to become a two-time MVP of that league. As the co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League, he remains a cultural icon in the sport.

John Grant Jr.: Arguably the greatest scorer of all time, Grant was a Canadian-born attackman who played at the University of Delaware and went on to dominate in both the MLL and the NLL. He was a two-time MVP in both leagues.

Brodie Merrill: Another Canadian who thrived in both the indoor and outdoor games, Merrill is widely regarded as the greatest defenseman of all time. He was a nine-time All-Pro in the NLL and a six-time Defensive Player of the Year in the MLL.

Vin LoBello: An official who served as the chief referee for New England for 30 years (1962-1992), LoBello is being inducted posthumously into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He served a five-year term as president of the USILA.

Kristen Kjellman Marshall: The cornerstone of Northwestern’s dynasty, Kjellman was the first player — man or woman — to win back-to-back Tewaaraton Awards (2006, 2007). She won three straight National Championships at Northwestern (2005-07) and graduated as the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Carol Cantele: A longtime coach at Gettysburg College, Cantele enters the Hall of Fame with a career win-loss record of 451-134. She won three Division III NCAA Championships (2011, 2017-18) and was a four-time Coach of the Year.

Betsy Ramsey: Another great coach at the Division III level, Ramsey led Ursinus to two NCAA Championships (1986, 1989) and one USWLA National Championship (1984) before the NCAA sponsored a DIII women’s championship.

Patti Klecha-Porter: One of the longest-tenured officials, Klecha-Porter started officiating women’s lacrosse in 1984 and is still active today. She has served as head umpire in six different NCAA Championships and also called multiple World Championships.

Reply to this email with your favorite memory from anyone in this Hall of Fame class!

☘️ Notre Dame Finds Star Freshman

As Notre Dame looks to claim a third straight NCAA Championship in 2025, the Fighting Irish have reloaded their roster with fresh talent. So far this fall, the most exciting new piece is five-star freshman attackman Brady Pokorny from Darien, Connecticut.

Pokorny started at attack in a recent fall ball scrimmage against Harvard, according to a report by Drew Brennan for Inside Lacrosse, and dropped five goals in a decisive win.

With Chris Kavanagh expected to fill the quarterback role vacated by his older brother Pat Kavanagh, the 2024 Tewaaraton Award winner, Pokorny slots perfectly into Chris’ old role as the No. 2 dodger. Jake Taylor returns as the crease finisher to round out Notre Dame’s starting attack for 2025.

In addition to Pokorny, Notre Dame will feature another impact freshman in midfielder Matthew Jeffery this spring. Jeffery is currently with the Notre Dame football team as a wide receiver, alongside fellow two-sport athletes Jordan Faison and Tyler Buchner.

The last burning question for Notre Dame this fall is in net, where the Irish must find a replacement for All-American goalie Liam Entenmann. According to Brennan’s report for Inside Lacrosse, senior Alex Zepf got the start against Harvard and appears to be in a battle with junior Thomas Ricciardelli.

⚔️ Virginia’s Goalie Battle Heats Up

After winning “back-to-back” NCAA Championships in 2019 and 2021 (there was no NCAA Tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19), the Virginia Cavaliers have hit a road block in the NCAA Semifinals each of the past two seasons.

Last spring, Virginia experienced goalie issues and had to make a change down the stretch. Matthew Nunes, who had been exceptional in the early part of the season, was ultimately benched for Kyle Morris. This fall, both Nunes and Morris are back and battling it out for the starting job in 2025.

Nunes made the start in a recent fall ball scrimmage against Georgetown, according to a report by Christian Swezey for Inside Lacrosse, while Morris played the second and third quarters.

“Both of our goalies played well,” Virginia head coach Lars Tiffany told Inside Lacrosse. “…[Kyle Morris] is a man who is fighting for a job every day. It’s a good battle. And it’s not because Matt Nunes is still in a rut. Matt Nunes is coming out of that rut. Kyle Morris is just taking his game higher and higher.”

A clear-cut starter must emerge in this race, or else Virginia will end up flip-flopping goalies again in 2025.

🐢 Maryland Remixes Starting Attack

Before going on an unexpected run in the NCAA Tournament, Maryland was 8-5 and impotent on offense. Things changed when the Terps moved leading scorer Braden Erksa from attack to midfield and Eric Spanos from midfield to attack.

In recent fall ball scrimmages against Lehigh and Saint Joseph’s, Terry Foy of Inside Lacrosse reported that Erksa and Spanos were both starting at attack alongside Daniel Kelly.

“I think we’re still kind of working out some of that stuff,” Maryland head coach John Tillman told Inside Lacrosse. “Is that going to be our attack? I’m not sure. It could be.”

Maryland stunned Princeton, Duke and Virginia in the 2024 NCAA Tournament before scoring just five goals in the National Championship loss to Notre Dame. Tillman should be eager to showcase his reconfigured offense with a neutral-site rematch against the Irish scheduled for March 1 at Georgia Tech’s football stadium in Atlanta.

🥸 Pehlke’s Undercover MCLA Tryout

Mitchell Pehlke may have outdone himself with his latest stunt. The former Ohio State attackman recently went undercover and tried out for South Carolina’s MCLA team under the pseudonym Brad Butch.

Watch Pehlke go into disguise and try to make the team in the video below.

Only the head coach and one other player were in on the gag. A couple of players suspected something was up with “Brad Butch” during the tryout, but Pehlke kept the act together until the end for a final reveal in the team huddle.