Roughriders Fall into Spotlight

Elkridge, MD — The Roughrider Lacrosse club showed this past fall on why it is considered to be one of the elite in the country. Maryland and Pennsylvania both had teams reach top 20 rankings from USClublax for their performances during the fall tournament season. The Maryland 2022 team, lead by coach Brian Reese, ranked 10th in the country. The Pennsylvania 2026 Elite team, lead by coach Tom Lavin, ranked 15th in the country. The Pennsylvania 2027 team, lead by coach James Patton, ranked 11th in the country.

The Maryland 2022 team is loaded with talent. Boasting six Division 1 commits, the MD 2022 Roughrider team was poised to have a big fall. Coach Reese said, “Our MD Roughriders 2022 team has always been focused on improving, playing hard and playing as a team. It is nice to be recognized in the US Clublax rankings, but that’s never been our focus. We have been able to compete with the top teams in our age group year after year and I am really proud of the boys for sticking together and continuing to improve. They have been a pleasure to coach and many of these guys are going to make an impact at the collegiate level.”

Brian Ruppel (UMD), Riley Reese (UMD), James Azbill (Towson), Will Hopkins (Bucknell), Alex Steers (UMBC), and Dylan Hendrix (UMBC) have all verbally committed to continue their careers at the Division 1 level and look to make an impact right away. With the continued success, the MD 2022 team is looking to fill out the rest of their roster with more commitments by the end of the season.

The Pennsylvania 2026 Elite team, After a crazy year, with schools shut down and our lives disrupted…we were able to cobble together a great year of development for these 7th grade competitors. After a hugely successful summer 2020 season the PA 26 elite team was awarded with a ranking of #23 by US Club Lacrosse.

Going into the fall, coach Lavin wanted to focus on development. The Sunday small clinic sessions in small groups were hugely successful. A ton of great weather combined with the high energy curriculum directed by Tre Wilkes (U of DE assistant coach) really helped our boys…developing their fundamentals, their skills and their competitiveness.

The hard work of the boys all translated to a ton of success on the field, going 9–1–2 over 3 tourneys. Again, playing and competing with the top teams in the country with our only loss to 3rd ranked Sweetlax Upstate. “We are fortunate and thankful that US Club Lacrosse recognized us with being ranked 15th for our 2020 fall ball play.”

Upon reflection, the boys realize where they need to be with their game…in order to compete with the best teams in the country. They also realize that it is not all about the wins and the losses. It is about getting out there…chopping wood…working at it.

“The entire PA RoughRiders 2026 Elite team is looking forward to getting our work in this winter and getting the freight train back on the tracks this spring 2021.”

The Pennsylvania 2027 team took great strides to become ranked 11th in the country. We added a few players last fall to take the team to the next level. With a lot of hard work, dedication and Coach Paul Zelmick, the team came together to beat teams we couldn’t beat in the past. We beat a few Maryland teams along the way. We are looking for great things this spring/summer as we step up the competition.

These three teams along with the rest of the Roughrider teams are gearing up and looking to make an impact this coming spring and summer. The Roughriders are looking to continue to prove why they among the elite lacrosse clubs in the country.

We’re coming! Ride or Die!