Having qualified four out of the last five years to represent the USA in the quest for the Brogden Cup, the Rochester Team won its second consecutive tournament with two wins over Canada last weekend in Florida.

The Brogden Cup, which features competition between teams from the United States and Canada started as a tournament between post-collegiate club teams but more recently has been played by U19 players. The USA team is the winner of the National Lacrosse Classic, sponsored by Level 2 Sports, Brine, Gatorade and Lacrosse.com. The Rochester Team has won the National Classic four times and has won the Brogden Cup tree times. The Ontario team (Canada) was comprised of top players from the Ontario Junior Men’s Field Lacrosse League.

The tournament was held last weekend in Orlando as part of the Florida Lacrosse Festival. Rochester won the first two games (best of three), winning the opening game on Friday 23-5. Rochester took a 6-2 first quarter lead to a 12-3 halftime score.

Leading the scoring were Fairport senior John Vakiener (Binghamton) and Churchville-Chili junior attackman Trevor Hodgins (committed to Ohio State) who each produced four goals and an assist. Senior Austin Nadeau (Proctor Academy, NH) scored three goals and Hamburg senior Max Maxwell (UMBC) added one goal and three assists. Corning senior Jon-Michael Tokar (Binghamton) had two goals and two assists and Penfield attackman Andrew Schoeneck (Bellarmine) and Irondequoit senior Ben Brooks (Roberts Wesleyan) each scored two goals and an assist. Pittsford senior midfielder Steven Ricci (Nazareth) scored two goals for Rochester. Andrew Johnson led the scoring for Ontario with two goals.

The game was closer on Saturday. Although Ontario led 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, Rochester took a 4-3 lead at halftime and never looked back. Their 8-4 win gave Rochester the Cup without the need for the third game previously scheduled for Sunday. Max Maxwell led the scoring for Rochester (3g-1a) while John Vakiener added 1g-1a. Also scoring were Nadeau, Schoeneck and Ricci. St. Joe's (Buffalo) senior Michael Hubert (Clarkson) also scored for the Rochester. In the goal for the winners were Penn Yan junior Brandon Maciejewski and Irondequoit senior Alex Shoemaker (Brockport).

The Rochester Team was coached by Irondequoit Head Coach Craig Whipple and Pittsford Head Coach Andrew Whipple. Irondequoit Assistant Coach Matthew Knope and volunteer Duffy McKenna assisted.

Rochester team roster:

Joe Arcarese (D, Fairport, Siena), Ben Brooks (A, Irondequoit, Mercyhurst), James Burdette (D, Penn Yan, Albany),
James Deakin (D, St Joseph's), Trevor Hodgins (M, Churchville-Chili, Ohio State), Christian Hollfelder (D, Hamburg),
Michael Hubert (A, St. Joseph's, Clarkson), Matt Kaser (A, Spencerport), Eli Kenney (M, Irondequoit, Cortland),
Nick Kimmins (D, Fairport, Hartford), Sam Lopez (D, Irondequoit), Brandon Maciejewski (G, Penn Yan),
Max Maxwell (M, Hamburg, UMBC), Austin Nadeau (M Walpole, MA-Proctor Academy), Cameron Pincus (D, Pittsford, Boston University), Stephen Quinzi (A, Pittsford), Ben Reeves (A, Pal-Mac, Hobart), Steven Ricci (M, Pittsford, Nazareth),
Derek Richards (A, Hilton, Mercyhurst), Andrew Schoeneck (A, Penfield, Bellarmine), Jack Seminara (M, Clarence, Canisius), Alex Shoemaker (G, Irondequoit, Brockport), Jon-Michael Tokar (M, Corning), Jay Vakiener (M, Fairport, Binghamton) and Bradley Voigt (A, Penn Yan, Syracuse).