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2009 USIL COMBINE/COMPETITION WRAP-UP

Two-day event culminates with 'Team Black' win on Sunday

10/08/2009

The USIL Combine/Competition expanded to a two-day format in 2009, and the intensity level amongst the 50 participants appeared to expand as well.

Players from across North America traveled to Philadelphia to take part in the event, participating in drills and agility testing on Saturday, before being broken up into three teams for Sunday's competition.

NYIT grad Mark Cottom, who previously played Senior A lacrosse, earned the most skymiles, as the left-handed forward traveled from Scottsdale, Arizona for the event, while defenseman Ryan Zordani, a 2007 draftee of the Boston Blazers, and defenseman Tate Price, an 'enforcer' who saw time in Minnesota Swarm camp last year and previously played Senior A lacrosse, both made the trip from the Denver area.

North of the border, prospects from Quebec to British Columbia attended, including Vincent Talbot, a goaltender from Sherbrooke, Quebec, who saw action this summer with the Vermont Voyageurs, while Steven Jagusch flew in from Calgary.

Also seeing action between the pipes was former NLL goalkeeper Ginny Cappichioni, as well as Delaware grad Chris Collins, who served as the Titans third goaltender in 2009.

Several NLL team representatives were on hand to take in the action, including Buffalo Bandits assistant coach Chuck Brown.

"For the guys that are inexperienced in the box game, their enthusiasm and skill level have come along greatly," said Brown. "I'm impressed by the effort put out by these guys that really want a shot."

When the round-robin games got underway on Sunday, the competition was fierce, as players looked to showcase their skills and help punch their teams' ticket into the tournament Championship Game.

"I thought the combine was more competitive than I have witnessed over the last two years," said Adam Mueller, who retired as head coach of the Titans following the 2008 season. "We certainly have a large group of talented players ready to take the next step as free agents. The athleticism was great and the skills in scrimmages were a notch better than I expected from the group as a whole. I understand many of the players have seen action in 20 indoor games this summer and it showed."

'Team Black' would eventually prove victorious, led by Justin Otto, a Long Island, NY native who is the reigning All-Time leading goal scorer at Manhattan College. Other standouts in the finale included Dan Deckelbaum, Francis Donald and Bryan Tingle.

"I thought the level of play was much improved over the last combine," said Philadelphia Wings GM/Head Coach Dave Huntley. "There were some guys that certainly caught my attention."

NLL training camps open in November; for more information on training camp and the league's preseason schedule, check back at NLL.com in the upcoming weeks.