Ahead of 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship, USA Lacrosse invites eight with local ties

Here's a closer look at the eight lacrosse players with local ties who were invited to national team tryouts.

Philadelphia Wings transition player Trevor Baptiste runs with the lacrosse ball during practice at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, January 30, 2020.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Melanie Heller, For The Inquirer

Published June 20, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET

Across seven teams — men’s and women’s senior, U20, and sixes as well as men’s box — USA Lacrosse has racked up 31 world championships. The men’s senior team will look to defend its 2018 title next year. While the men’s world championship will be held in San Diego in 2023, the women’s world championship will be in Towson, Md., starting June 29.

USA Lacrosse invited 67 male athletes to Sparks, Md., last week for the first round of the men’s national team tryouts, with hopes of narrowing down the roster to about 46. Of those at the governing body’s headquarters in Sparks, eight had ties to Philadelphia.

Trevor Baptiste (FO)

Arguably the best face-off specialist in the game, Trevor Baptiste looks to keep his spot on the national roster. Just after graduating from the University of Denver as a four-time All-American, Baptiste made his way to Netanya, Israel, for the 2018 championship. There, he won 67 of 89 faceoffs for a 77% win rate.

The New Jersey native splits his professional allegiance between the National Lacrosse League in the winter and Premier Lacrosse League in the summer. With the NLL’s Philadelphia Wings this season, Baptiste recorded a 68.2 faceoff win percentage, second best in the league. Through the first three weeks of the PLL season, the Atlas superstar leads the league with a 70% faceoff rate.

Sam Handley (M)

Handley is one of just six amateur players selected to participate in the tryout. The 6-foot-5 midfielder has no issues being physical with opponents, using size as an advantage. With only two full-length collegiate seasons under his belt, Handley racked up numerous awards for the Penn Quakers. Among his many accolades this season, Handley became the first Quaker to be a Tewaaraton Award finalist, given to the most outstanding player in college lacrosse. He was also named Ivy League player of the year and USILA midfielder of the year.

Because of the league’s policy against redshirting, Handley has one season of NCAA eligibility remaining if he transfers to a non-Ivy school. However, the all-star midfielder has not submitted his name into the transfer portal.

Connor Kirst (M)

As the oldest of the Kirst clan, Connor was the first to transition to professional lacrosse. During the PLL season, he suits up for the Whipsnakes while also playing for the Georgia Swarm of the NLL. Before transferring to Rutgers as a graduate student, Kirst played for Villanova, where he was the 2019 Big East player of the year.

Kirst is a familiar name to many lacrosse fans as there are five Kirst brothers who all play the sport. This spring, brothers Colin, Cole, and CJ played for Rutgers, Lehigh, and Cornell, respectively. Youngest brother Caden plays for his Bernards High School team in New Jersey.

Matt Rambo (A)

At Maryland, Rambo won the Tewaaraton Award in 2017. He continued to make his mark in the pros by becoming the inaugural PLL MVP in the 2019 season after helping the Whipsnakes to the championship.

The Glenside native, who also starred at La Salle High, returned home to Philadelphia last winter for the NLL season with the Wings. Across 15 games, he put up 54 points, averaging 3.6 points per game.

Patrick Resch (SSDM)

The veteran defensive midfielder is in his eighth professional season and fourth with the PLL’s Chaos. Between his graduation from Dartmouth in 2015 and joining the Chaos in 2019, Resch bounced around the now-defunct Major League Lacrosse (MLL).

If they both make the final cut, Rambo and Resch would be reunited as they played together in high school at La Salle. During the 2011 season, Rambo played under Resch’s captainship.

Jake Richard (SSDM)

Beside taking the field for the Atlas, Richard returned to his alma mater, Marquette, to serve as an assistant coach for the men’s lacrosse team. In his native West Chester, Richard played for Henderson High’s lacrosse team for four years.

Along with Baptiste, Richard is the only athlete with Philly ties with experience on the national team. At the 2018 world championships, Richard was an alternate for the U.S.

Blaze Riorden (G)

The starting goalie for the Chaos has a soft spot for goal-scoring action. In box lacrosse with the Wings, Riorden is one of the top goal scorers as a forward. Because the world championship is a field lacrosse affair, he will stick to stopping balls. Along with Baptiste and Rambo, Riorden is the third member of the Wings to make it to the tryout, as the Wings are the only NLL team to have three representatives in Maryland last week.

Last season with the Chaos, Riorden posted a 62% save percentage, good enough for second in the league. A career-high 119 saves in the postseason, he earned both goalie of the year and player of the year honors as well as a PLL title.

Michael Sowers (A)

At Upper Dublin High School, Sowers was a four-time first-team all-league pick and was one of the hottest college prospects. Four years at Princeton gave him the program’s all-time scoring title and he was named a Tewaaraton finalist for the second time during his fifth year at Duke.

The second overall pick of the 2021 PLL draft was out for most of the season for medical reasons. Injury struck Sowers again as the star Waterdogs attacker sat out this weekend.