Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Georgetown on May 10, 2025 , Loss , 12, to, 16
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Final
Men's Lacrosse
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vs Georgetown
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Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Quartet Named to USA U21 National Team
11/30/2021 3:35:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
DURHAM, N.C.—The quartet of Blue Devils Kenny Brower, Jake Caputo, Jake Naso and Brennan O'Neill have been named to the USA Lacrosse Men's U21 final 23-player roster that will represent the United States in the 2022 World Lacrosse Men's U21 World Championship as announced by head coach Nick Myers. The event will take place, Aug. 10-20, in Limerick, Ireland.
Much has changed since tryouts were held for the team in the summer of 2019. The championship, originally a U19 event scheduled for 2020, has been postponed twice due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. World Lacrosse has since increased the age grouping to U20 permanently with a one-year exception to U21 for the 2022 championship due to the postponements.
Duke's four representatives are tied with Yale for the most of any collegiate lacrosse program. Four of the five ACC teams – Duke, North Caroline, Notre Dame and Virginia – have at least one player on the roster.
"This national team process has been like no other," said Myers, who guided the 2016 U.S. U19 team to a gold medal. "We are grateful for the opportunity we had to compete against outside competition. It had been almost two years since we saw another colored jersey. It was a great step in our team building process. We feel strongly about the pool of men that have been in this USA process in different ways for the past three years. More than just these 23 men have made this team what it is today, and we will be playing for them as well as many others next summer."
Brower, a junior close defenseman for the Blue Devils, benefits from the one-year exception for U21 players. A two-year starter, Brower is a premier defensemen and will lead Duke's defensive unit this year after playing behind 2021 National Defenseman of the Year JT Giles-Harris the past two years and with Cade Van Raaphorst his rookie season.
A starter in all 17 games last season, the Massapequa, N.Y., native was third on the team with 11 caused turnovers and ranked fifth among non-faceoff players in ground balls with 21. Drawing the opponent's top attackman on occasions, Brower had at least one ground ball in 13 games and registered a total of five caused turnovers in the three NCAA Tournament games last season.
Caputo, a mainstay in the USA U21 National Team player pool over the past two years, is a junior midfielder for the Blue Devils. Primarily playing as a defensive midfielder during his Duke career, the Holly Springs, N.C., native has the ability to provide great contributions on the offensive end. In 2021, his first full season of college lacrosse, Caputo helped anchor the ACC's second best defense, collecting 15 ground balls and two caused turnovers. He has played in 24 career games and has scored three goals and one assists.
Naso and O'Neill were standout freshmen for the Blue Devils last season, earning USILA All-America honorable mention recognition. Naso handled the faceoff duties for Duke, winning 63 percent of his faceoffs (227-of-361) and picking up 133 ground balls. His 227 faceoff wins are the most by a Duke freshman in program history, while his .629 win percentage at the dot was the best in the ACC and 10th nationally. He also scored three goals and dished two assists in his rookie season.
The 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year, O'Neill led all Blue Devils with 45 goals and finished with 55 points on a talented attack line. The Bay Shore, N.Y., native ranked second in the league in goals per game (2.65) and led all freshmen nationally. O'Neill registered nine hat tricks and scored four-plus goals in four outings in 2021 and was lethal on extra man with nine man-up scores to rank second among all Division I players.
The U.S. has won all eight previous men's championships at the U19 age grouping, winning in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2012 and 2016. The 2016 championship saw the U.S. rally from an 8-2 halftime deficit against rival Canada, winning 13-12 on Ryan Conrad's last-second goal in the gold medal game.
The final 23 players represent 14 different colleges and come from high schools in 10 different states. The next event for the team will be training weekend at USA Lacrosse headquarters in June.
2022 U.S. Men's U21 World Championship Roster
#GoDuke
Much has changed since tryouts were held for the team in the summer of 2019. The championship, originally a U19 event scheduled for 2020, has been postponed twice due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. World Lacrosse has since increased the age grouping to U20 permanently with a one-year exception to U21 for the 2022 championship due to the postponements.
Duke's four representatives are tied with Yale for the most of any collegiate lacrosse program. Four of the five ACC teams – Duke, North Caroline, Notre Dame and Virginia – have at least one player on the roster.
"This national team process has been like no other," said Myers, who guided the 2016 U.S. U19 team to a gold medal. "We are grateful for the opportunity we had to compete against outside competition. It had been almost two years since we saw another colored jersey. It was a great step in our team building process. We feel strongly about the pool of men that have been in this USA process in different ways for the past three years. More than just these 23 men have made this team what it is today, and we will be playing for them as well as many others next summer."
Brower, a junior close defenseman for the Blue Devils, benefits from the one-year exception for U21 players. A two-year starter, Brower is a premier defensemen and will lead Duke's defensive unit this year after playing behind 2021 National Defenseman of the Year JT Giles-Harris the past two years and with Cade Van Raaphorst his rookie season.
A starter in all 17 games last season, the Massapequa, N.Y., native was third on the team with 11 caused turnovers and ranked fifth among non-faceoff players in ground balls with 21. Drawing the opponent's top attackman on occasions, Brower had at least one ground ball in 13 games and registered a total of five caused turnovers in the three NCAA Tournament games last season.
Caputo, a mainstay in the USA U21 National Team player pool over the past two years, is a junior midfielder for the Blue Devils. Primarily playing as a defensive midfielder during his Duke career, the Holly Springs, N.C., native has the ability to provide great contributions on the offensive end. In 2021, his first full season of college lacrosse, Caputo helped anchor the ACC's second best defense, collecting 15 ground balls and two caused turnovers. He has played in 24 career games and has scored three goals and one assists.
Naso and O'Neill were standout freshmen for the Blue Devils last season, earning USILA All-America honorable mention recognition. Naso handled the faceoff duties for Duke, winning 63 percent of his faceoffs (227-of-361) and picking up 133 ground balls. His 227 faceoff wins are the most by a Duke freshman in program history, while his .629 win percentage at the dot was the best in the ACC and 10th nationally. He also scored three goals and dished two assists in his rookie season.
The 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year, O'Neill led all Blue Devils with 45 goals and finished with 55 points on a talented attack line. The Bay Shore, N.Y., native ranked second in the league in goals per game (2.65) and led all freshmen nationally. O'Neill registered nine hat tricks and scored four-plus goals in four outings in 2021 and was lethal on extra man with nine man-up scores to rank second among all Division I players.
The U.S. has won all eight previous men's championships at the U19 age grouping, winning in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2012 and 2016. The 2016 championship saw the U.S. rally from an 8-2 halftime deficit against rival Canada, winning 13-12 on Ryan Conrad's last-second goal in the gold medal game.
The final 23 players represent 14 different colleges and come from high schools in 10 different states. The next event for the team will be training weekend at USA Lacrosse headquarters in June.
2022 U.S. Men's U21 World Championship Roster
| Name | Pos | High School | HS Grad | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Alexander | D | West Islip (N.Y.) | 2019 | Yale |
| Jackson Bonitz | D | McDonogh (Md.) | 2020 | Navy |
| Kenny Brower | D | Massapequa (N.Y.) | 2019 | Duke |
| Graham Bundy Jr. | M | MICS (Mo.) | 2019 | Georgetown |
| Jake Caputo | M | Middle Creek (N.C.) | 2019 | Duke |
| Liam Entenmann | G | Chaminade (N.Y.) | 2019 | Notre Dame |
| Brendan Grimes | M | Boys' Latin (Md.) | 2020 | Johns Hopkins |
| Patrick Hackler | M | Skaneateles (N.Y.) | 2019 | Yale |
| Cole Herbert | M | Calvert Hall (Md.) | 2020 | North Carolina |
| Patrick Kavanagh | A | Chaminade (N.Y.) | 2019 | Notre Dame |
| Cole Kirst | A | Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) | 2018 | Lehigh |
| Shane Knobloch | M | Moorestown (N.J.) | 2020 | Rutgers |
| Quentin Matsui | D | Eden Prairie (Minn.) | 2019 | Virginia |
| Jack Monfort | M | Syosset (N.Y.) | 2019 | Yale |
| Jake Naso | FO | St. Anthony's (N.Y.) | 2020 | Duke |
| Brennan O'Neill | A | St. Anthony's (N.Y.) | 2020 | Duke |
| Jared Paquette | G | West Islip (N.Y.) | 2019 | Yale |
| Danny Parker | M | St. Anthony's (N.Y.) | 2019 | Virginia |
| Ryan Schriber | D | Wilton (Conn.) | 2019 | Michigan |
| Alex Slusher | A | Oregon Episcopal School (Ore.) | 2019 | Princeton |
| Jacob Snyder | D | Calvert Hall (Md.) | 2019 | Ohio State |
| Alec Stathakis | FO | Culver Military (Ind.) | 2019 | Denver |
| Lance Tillman | A | Valor Christian (Colo.) | 2019 | North Carolina |
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