Patton Makes Puerto Rican National Lacrosse Roster
Tampa's Alex Patton was selected to Puerto Rico's Men’s National Team for the 2018 FIL Men’s World Championships in Netanya, Israel.
TAMPA, Fla. — The University of Tampa senior midfielder, Alex Patton has been chosen for the 23-man roster of the Puerto Rican National Lacrosse Team, which will compete at the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's Lacrosse World Championship in Netanya, Israel. This will be Puerto Rico's first appearance at a FIL World Championship event.
Patton is the only player from the Sunshine State Conference represented on the 23-man roster.
A little over 14 months since Puerto Rico Lacrosse was awarded membership into the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), the organization has been working non-stop to identify qualified players/members to represent its Men's National Team. Those efforts resulted in the identification of 80 eligible players who now represent the organization. Following a series of player assessment camps, scrimmages and tournament play, the top 40 players were invited to compete at a two-day tryout this fall. The tryout, under the direction of the Men's National Team coaching staff, led to the identification of a 30-man practice team (23 man roster and 7 alternates) who will stay together through the end of May.
The team make-up includes a number of young players. They will be supported by a core group of players with professional experience, Ricky Pages (Boston), Devin Cruz (Ohio) and Lance Yapor (Ohio). According to Jeff Ramos, Head Coach of the Men's National Team "The selection process was more difficult than I expected. I could not have been more pleased with the effort of all our players." Addressing the selection of Puerto Rico's First Men's National Team, Ramos said "We had two goals in mind. First was to select a team we believe will be competitive at the World Championships. The second and just as important, was to establish a base group of young players we could build future National Teams around. Getting our younger players valuable international experience is key to achieving that long-term goal.
The team will regroup after the NCAA lacrosse season for a couple of scrimmages, tournament play and a final team camp in late June prior to departing for Israel and the World Championships.
2018 Puerto Rico Men's National Team Roster:
Jake Alvarez | Attack | Ithaca College
Carlos Forde | Attack | Monmouth University
Luis Gonzalez | Attack | LIU Post
Lance Yapor | Attack | Hofstra University
John Thomas Giles-Harris | Defense | Duke University
Jaron Greenidge | Defense | Molloy College
Ricky Pages | Defense | Ohio State University
Tomas Rodriguez | Defense | Pace Unversity (UMBC)
Nicholas Vazquez | Defense | University of Hartford
Jared Hershman | FO | Marquette University
Alex Patton | FO | University of Tampa
Mathew Martinez | Goalie | Cornell University
Will Ramos | Goalie | University of Albany
Jose Boyer | LSM | University of Notre Dame
Devin Cruz | LSM | Belmont Abbey College
Justin Albarran | Midfield | Chestnut Hill College
Desiderio Gonzalez | Midfield | Limestone College
Michael Licata | Midfield | LIU Post
Corey Millhouse | Midfield | University of Virginia
Edward Munoz | Midfield | Stony Brook University
Steven Ramirez | Midfield | University at Albany
Kris Alvarado | SSDM | LIU Post
Thomas O'Connell | SSDM | University of Maryland
Alternates:
Alex Cordero | Goalie | Wingate University
John Davis | Attack | Florida Atlantic University
Joe Espinosa | SSDM | St. Leo University
Anthony Irizarry | Attack | Tompkins Cortland CC
Garrett Johnson | Attack | University of Delaware
Christopher Morales | LSM | Franklin Pierce University
Tyler Perez | Defense | St. John's University
John Rivera | SSDM | Florida Atlantic University
Daniel Rivie | Midfield | SUNY Polytechnic Institute
About Puerto Rico Lacrosse
Established in 2016, Puerto Rico Lacrosse, a not-for-profit organization has oversight over all Puerto Rico Lacrosse National Teams participating in Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) sanctioned events. Our mission is to introduce the game of lacrosse to the youth of Puerto Rico. We are devoted to developing and growing the game throughout the island while promoting the importance of education, healthy living and community service. Puerto Rico Lacrosse is proud to be affiliated with corporate partners that support our mission, including; Warrior Lacrosse, New Balance and Signature Lacrosse. For more information about Puerto Rico lacrosse, visit our website at www.puertoricolax.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.