On Saturday, athletes invaded Schaumburg, Illinois just outside of Chicago, to compete in front of 40+ college coaches from all NCAA divisions.
The athletes competed in three games following a positional period.
The facility was insane. The weather was better for late October Illinois. The athletes had nothing to worry about but showcasing their abilities.
Disclaimer, as a former attackman, I tend to identify qualities in goal scorers and playmakers faster than little nuances defenders make to be contribute positively to their teams. It is also easier to have success on offense in a showcase setting than it is on defense. That doesn’t mean that defenders didn’t have a great showing on Saturday.
2024 Mason Sanden – Attack – Western Reserve – Sweet Lax/Six Nations
Sanden has all the goal scoring tricks developed in box. He opened his first game with two goals in the first half getting to dirty areas. In his second game, he dropped a twister from near GLE that completely baffled the goalie.
2024 Brett Goldstein – Defense – Western Reserve – Second City/Team Illinois
Goldstein popped for the Team Seven defensive corp. He has the prototypical pitbull mentality you want in a defender to go along with an active stick.
2024 Mikey Usterbowski – Attack – Marist – East Ave/Team Illinois
The Bellarmine commit thrived thanks to determined dodging. He soaked a check and then a slide before scoring on the doorstep. He formed a nice one two punch with Sanden on Team Five.
2024 Jack Tocko – Attack – Prior Lake – UNRL Minnesota/UNRL National
As we mentioned in our event preview, the lefty is very adapt at making plays from traditional attack and midfield dodging locations. When he refines his decision making in terms of making more neutral plays, he will be a ruthless and efficient creator.
2024 Daniel Dorszewski – Goalie – Palatine – Second City/Team Illinois
A left handed goalie who fills up a ton of the net with his length and quickness. He made a demoralizing off stick high save that was the best of the day.
2025 Blake Collier – Midfield – Western Reserve – Juiced Cherries
The Indianapolis middie is a tour de force in the midfield third of the field. He competes defensively and is very explosive as a dodger, willing to carry through contact.
2025 Jonah Frank – Attack – Neuqua Valley – East Ave/Team Illinois
Frank is a polished lefty ball carrier with multiple dodging techniques. The lefty had two goals in the first half of the second game. On his second goal, he picked apart two defenders who were unwilling to be physical with him during early offense.
2025 Tieson Cooper – Attack – Grand Ledge – Juiced Cherries
The Michigan native scored two goals in a half. The lefty scored off a roll dodge before tucking the ball away under the pipe. He seemed incredibly composed through contact and always had his head up.
2025 Luke Kloostra – Defense – Western Reserve – Juiced Cherries
Our favorite sophomore pole at the showcase, Kloostra has a great frame to grow into but already has exceptional off ball positioning and IQ.
Additional athletes of note:
2024 James Grosspietsch – Midfield – Middleton – Alpha
2024 Ryan Blaszczak – Midfield – Rosemount – UNRL Minnesota
2024 Tyler Thill – Defense – Farmington – UNRL Minnesota
2024 Colin Swanson – Defense – Evanston – True Illinois
2024 Mattix Groves – Attack – Naperville North – Second City/Team Illinois
2024 Miles Mann – Attack – St. Ignatius – Second City/Team Illinois
2024 Tyler Ludtke – Defense – Middleton – Alpha
2024 Drew Tedrow – Defense – Neuqua Valley – East Ave
2025 Andrew Mullan – Attack – Maine South – East Ave/Team Illinois
2026 Colman McNamara – Face Off – Saline – Juiced Cherries
