Five SU Alums in Team USA Mix

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Five former Syracuse University men's lacrosse standouts have been named to the U.S. Men's National Team Blue and White rosters for the evaluation game at the ninth annual Champion Challenge that will take place Sunday, Jan. 26 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Kevin Drew and Steven Brooks will play for the Blue. JoJo Marasco, Matt Abbott and John Galloway will suit up for the White team.

The match is the final on-field opportunity for members of the 51-player Team USA training roster to earn a place on the squad that will defend gold at the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship, July 10-19 in Denver.

Team USA head coach Richie Meade is expected to announce the 30-player roster for the FIL World Championship on Wednesday, Feb. 5

Drew was SU's top short-stick defensive midfielder as a senior in 2012. He earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors that season and was named to the North roster for the USILA North-South Senior All-Star Game. He finished his Syracuse career with 89 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers.

Brooks was integral to the Orange's 2008 NCAA title run. He scored 41 points, including 28 goals, that season to win the Lt. Donald C. MacLaughlin Jr. Award as the country's best midfielder. A member of the 2009 U.S. training team, Brooks finished his SU career with 67 goals and 101 points.

Marasco was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award (national player of the year) and earned BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year honors in 2013. He set an SU midfield record with 42 assists last season and totaled 66 points (24 goals and 42 assists). Marasco finished his career ninth all-time at SU with 87 career assists.

Like Marasco, Abbott was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award in his senior season (2009). One of the top defensive middies in Major League Lacrosse (MLL), Abbott led the Orange with 77 grounds balls as a senior and finished his career ninth in school history with 212 career grounders.

Galloway earned two first-team All-America nods and won two national championships with the Orange (2008, 2009). A two-time winner of the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award as the nation's top goalie, Galloway set the NCAA records for minutes played (3,776) and most wins (59) during his SU career.

Sunday's Blue-White scrimmage is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. It will be live on ESPN3 and rebroadcast at 10 p.m. on ESPNU.

Syracuse University Athletics

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