Vail Lacrosse Shootout - Elite Division Results 7-1-04

GMH continued their dominance of the Vail Shootout’s tournament field today, routing team Go Fast in the Men’s Elite Division Championship Game by a score of 13-7. GMH attackman Sean Morris (UMass ’06) led all scorers with three goals and two assists, followed by Marc Morley (UMass ’02) and Xander Ritz (Maryland ’06) who each contributed two goals and two assists. Morris’ effort earned him All-Tournament Team and Tournament MVP status. This was the 33rd annual Vail Lacrosse Shootout.

GMH jumped out to a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Go Fast goaltender Jesse Schwartzmann (Hopkins ’05) played well early, making four saves in the opening period, but he didn’t stand a chance on many of the shots. GMH’s attackmen got a lot of good looks early and helped put their team in a strong position for the rest of the game.

GMH simply controlled play through the entire first half, scoring another three goals in the second quarter to take a 7-1 lead into halftime. Go Fast could not seem to solve the GMH defense, which waited in the middle and pounced on dodgers with regularity through the opening twenty-four minutes. Meanwhile, the overwhelming depth of the GMH midfield began to take its toll. The Philadelphia-based boys had nearly three very good lines of middies and started to wear down Go Fast as the game wore on.

But the story of the day was the GMH defense. Led by Brett Moyer (Hofstra ’06) and Jack Reid (UMass ’06), the GMH poles did not allow many opportunities all day and when Go Fast did get chances, goaltender Kevin Keenan was there to snuff them out. Go Fast’s attack featured former Team USA member Mike Law (Denver, ’06). Law had tallied 21 points in the first three games, but was held to only one goal in the finals by the stingy GMH defense.

Go Fast made a run in the second half by closing the gap to 10-5 at the end of the third. They then scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to make it a three-goal game with 8:36 remaining. Go Fast middie Paul Rabil (Johns Hopkins ’08) took it upon himself to get his team back in the game with two goals. Rabil was one of the most exciting players in the tournament, but struggled at times with the GMH defensive midfield.

The win marks GMH’s first ever Vail championship after finishing as the bridesmaid two years in a row. GMH was stronger than ever in 2005 and did not have a lot of trouble in any of the four games. Combined, they outscored their opponents 51-14 over the four days and left little doubt as to who deserved the title.

Detail Championship Game Statistics

The 2005 Vail Lacrosse Shootout men’s elite division All-Tournament Team and Tournament Awards were announced following the final today in Vail, Colo. The highest honors went to GMH’s Sean Morris (UMass ’06) who earned a spot on the All-Tournament team as an attacker as well as being named the Tournament MVP. Morris scored 10 goals and five assists in four games for the 2005 tournament champions while collecting five ground balls. Morris was one of two University of Massachusetts lacrosse players. Jack Reid (UMass ’06) joined his classmate as an All-Tournament Team member in one of the defenseman slots. Another notable was Paul Rabil from the NCAA Division I Champion Johns Hopkins (’08) roster.