Ryan Hotaling picked for U.S. National Team
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Former Nazareth lacrosse standout Ryan Hotaling is off the reserve list and on the official roster for the United States National Indoor Lacrosse Team that will compete in the 2011 World Indoor Championships in Prague, Czech Republic in May.
Hotaling was one of five players added to the 23-player roster earlier this week after making the Reserve List following tryouts last November. He is currently playing for the Boston Blazers of the National Lacrosse League.
"There are some serious names on that team," said Hotaling, a 2007 Nazareth grad who scored 139 goals in four seasons. "It's pretty cool just to be included on the same list as them."
A three-time All-American as an attackman for the Golden Flyers, Hotaling has successfully transitioned to the indoor game and has become a fixture in the Blazers' lineup thanks in part to his face-off skills. He credits a stint in the U.S. Developmental Program in helping him improve his indoor proficiency. In a recent game against the Knighthawks in Rochester, Hotaling won 20 of 28 face-offs as the Blazers won 16-7. He's won 58 percent of his draws taken through eight games this season after never taking a single face-off at Nazareth.
"I'm doing some things that I never had to do in college, but it's a fun challenge," said Hotaling, now in his second season.
“Ryan Hotaling can definitely hold his own and more,” said U.S. team coach Tom Ryan. “He’s such a versatile player. He can play defense, he can play transition, he can really fill in anywhere on the floor that you need him to. We just felt that overall he was somebody we needed to have on our team.”
In his 'real' job, Hotaling works as an Energy Territory Manager for Gyrus ACMI of Olympus. He lives in Albany and commutes to Boston for practices and games. He credits great support from parents, Jay and Sondra, who never miss a game, for helping him stay focused. "My dad is retired and my mom works part time so they have nothing better to do," he joked.
The World Indoor Lacrosse Championships take place at Telsa Arena in Prague May 21-28, 2011. Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Finland, Ireland and the Iroquois Nationals will join the U.S. in the one-week tournament.
Complete Team USA Roster
F – Matt Alrich – Philadelphia Wings (Delaware)
F – Kevin Buchanan – Boston Blazers (Ohio State)
F – Brian Langtry – Colorado Mammoth (Hofstra)
F – Bill McGlone – Philadelphia Wings (Maryland)
F – Sean Morris – Boston Blazers* (UMass)
F – Brendan Mundorf – Philadelphia Wings (UMBC)
F – Casey Powell – Boston Blazers (Syracuse)
F – Paul Rabil – Washington Stealth (Johns Hopkins)
F – Drew Westervelt – Philadelphia Wings (Maryland)
T – Greg Downing – Boston Blazers (Fairfield)
T – Kyle Hartzell – Washington Stealth (Salisbury)
T – Ryan Hotaling – Boston Blazers (Nazareth)
T – Chris Schiller – Rochester Knighthawks (Penn State)
T – Max Seibald – Philadelphia Wings (Cornell)
T – Matt Zash – Rochester Knighthawks (Duke)
D – Mitch Belisle – Boston Blazers (Cornell)
D – Scott Ditzell – Rochester Knighthawks (Syracuse)
D – Eric Martin – Washington Stealth (Salisbury)
D – John Orsen** – Boston Blazers (Hofstra)
D – Jack Reid – Boston Blazers (UMass)
D – Joe Smith – Philadelphia Wings (Towson)
G – Ginny Capicchioni – New Jersey Storm* (Sacred Heart)
G – Erik Miller – New York Titans* (Salisbury)
*Last Pro Team
**Currently injured; may not be available for World Championships