Israel announces 23-man roster for European Box Championships

NETANYA, ISRAEL — Israel Lacrosse has announced their 23-man roster for the Men’s National Team which will compete at the 2017 ELF European Box Lacrosse Championships, hosted by Finland at Gatorade Center and Marli Arena in Turku from July 8-15.

The event marks the first-ever edition of the European Box Championships, which will now be held quadrennially. The blue-and-white join 13 other countries and have not been shy in stating their aim of securing the Israeli program’s first Gold Medal. The blue-and-white fell one goal shy of the objective at the 2016 European Field Championships, as England defeated Israel 7-6 in Budapest last summer. In the box, the Israelis are the team to beat in Europe, finishing fourth at the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in Syracuse.

Israel’s roster was selected following a set of tryout camps in Syracuse in the Fall and Prague, Czech Republic in April.

While field lacrosse is the more popular version of the sport in Israel, mostly due to a lack of proper box lacrosse facilities, Barak Netanya Lacrosse Club has been holding clinics and practices regularly at Poleg Sportek, and has been fundraising to renovate the Poleg Box with inspiration from LCC Radotín’s box lacrosse facilities on the outskirts of Prague, Czech Republic.

Israel is in a pool with Ireland, Turkey and Serbia. The top two teams in the pool earn a bye to the quarterfinals. England, Czech Republic, host Finland and Germany are vying for Gold from the adjacent pool, while Austria, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland look to play in to contention.

Sat, Jul 8 at 8:30 PM – Israel vs. #10 Turkey (Marli Arena)
Sun, Jul 9 at 2:00 PM – Israel vs. #12 Serbia (Gatorade Center)
Sun, Jul 10 at 5:00 PM – Israel vs. #6 Ireland (Gatorade Center)
**Playoffs begin on July 12th

In conjunction with the Israel Lacrosse Tzedakah Program, each player on Israel’s roster will be competing in honor of a charity of their choosing. The mens national indoor team has chosen to devote their entire fundraising effort towards the “Rock the Box” campaign, which seeks to transform Poleg Sportek’s roller-hockey rink into a modern box lacrosse facility inspired by LCC Radotín.

NO POS NAME CLUB/SCHOOL TZEDAKAH
3 F Adam Wolf Everest Academy Rock the Box: Netanya
4 D Benjamin Smith Harvard Rock the Box: Netanya
7 D Andrew Kruter Lebanon Valley Rock the Box: Netanya
11 F Bryan Hopper Barak Netanya LC Rock the Box: Netanya
13 T Kevin Harper Oakville Titans Rock the Box: Netanya
15 D Daniel Bialosky Tufts Rock the Box: Netanya
18 M Seth Mahler Herzliya LC Rock the Box: Netanya
21 D Dalton Lundy Hartford Rock the Box: Netanya
26 D Chris Friedman Ashkelon LC Rock the Box: Netanya
31 G Zachary Higgins Brooklin Redmen Rock the Box: Netanya
32 T Daniel Leventhal Be’er Sheva LC Rock the Box: Netanya
33 F Ari Sussman Dartmouth Rock the Box: Netanya
34 T Doug Utting Nipissing Rock the Box: Netanya
35 G Andrew Copeland Ashdod LC Rock the Box: Netanya
40 T Matthew Flapan Sderot LC Rock the Box: Netanya
43 F Kyle Bergman Drexel Rock the Box: Netanya
53 T Ori Bar David Barak Netanya LC Rock the Box: Netanya
56 D Harrison Freid Michigan Rock the Box: Netanya
68 F Jean-Luc Chetner Richmond Rock the Box: Netanya
71 F Zachary Pall Hofstra Rock the Box: Netanya
77 T Jacob Silberlicht Sderot LC Rock the Box: Netanya
87 F Eric Fischer Be’er Sheva LC Rock the Box: Netanya
91 T Zachary Ornstein Haifa LC Rock the Box: Netanya

Head Coach: Brad MacArthur
Assistant Coaches: Jason Crosbie, David Dennenberg
Director of Player Personnel: Chaka Bainbridge
Physiotherapist: Denyse Beaumont
Equipment Manager: Dave Murray
Team Assistant: Mookie Alderman