Even though the high school lacrosse season is over, a summer that’s full of tournaments, club teams and other activities is in full swing.
And two stars from Cazenovia –Sarah Willard on the girls side, T.J. Connellan on the boys side, – are drawing some national attention.
In late May, Willard went to Maryland with the Upstate girls lacrosse club team for the U.S. National Tournament, and Upstate won its division.
As a result, Willard was invited to try out for the U.S. Women’s National Under-19 team that, in 2015, will travel to Scotland to play in the lacrosse World Cup.
Those tryouts went well, so Willard went back for a second round, joined by 11 other Upstate players. though she was unable to advance to the third round of tryouts.
The other players included stars Willard played against with Cazenovia, including Kyla Sears, sophomore star of state Class C champion Skaneateles, plus LaFayette’s Cassidy Doster and Marcellus’ Audrey Cerrone.
Others include CBA teammates Emily Ehle, Maddie Cook and Alexa Radziewicz, plus the Cicero-North Syracuse trio of Hanna Haven, Meghan Duffy and Bri Stahr, plus Vestal’s Tomasina Leska.
Connellan, a long-stick midfielder on the boys lacrosse Lakers side that reached its third state final in four years this spring, is part of the Upstate squad that’s playing in the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic July 11-13 at Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University, near Baltimore.
He joins six other Central New York players on the Upstate squad, including John Cote (Fayetteville-Manlius), Kendall Keahey (Liverpool), Colyn Lyons (LaFayette), Nick Mellen (West Genesee), Dean Riley (Homer) and Noah Taylor (Watertown).
Ironically, Towson is where Willard, a two-time All-Central New York selection in field hockey, has given a verbal commitment to continue her lacrosse career after graduating high school in 2015. She will play for the Upstate team in the same Under Armour All-American event as Connellan.
