2009 NCAA Semifinalists Duke Lacrosse Over the Years

Four players with Duke ties — Kevin Cassese, Ned
Crotty, Parker McKee and Matt Zach – along with
former Blue Devil head coach Mike Pressler will be leading
the U.S. Men’s Lacrosse National Team at the 2010
Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship
in Manchester, England from July 14-24. Duke was one
of two schools to have more than two players selected to
the team, while Crotty and McKee are the lone collegiate
players to be awarded a roster spot.
In 2002, three players with connections to Duke – Scott
Bross, Kevin Cassese and Tim Knowles — and Pressler
helped United States capture the gold medal with an 18-
15 win over Canada at the FIL World Championship on
July 14 in Perth, Australia.
Duke added another gold medal to the group in the
summer of 2008 at the U-19 FIL World Championship
in Coquitlam, British Columbia as current sophomore
CJCostabile helped the United States to top honors with
a 19-12 victory over Canada on July 12. Current redshirtsophomore
Justin Turri earned a spot on the U-19 roster,
but missed the tournament due to injury.
Bross, an All-America midfielder and face-off specialist
who closed out his career at Duke in 2001, was an All-ACC
pick as a senior and led the Blue Devils to the 2001 ACC
Tournament championship with an MVP performance. He
finished the season with a .658 percentage on face-offs and
led Duke in ground balls with 93.
Cassese, who finished his career at Duke in 2003, was
a First Team All-America and the National Midfielder
of the Year in 2002. He tallied nine total points on
four goals and five assists in six games at the World
Championships.
Knowles, a defenseman who graduated from Duke in
1999, was named third team All-America in 1999.
The World Championship event began in 1967 and has
been held every four years since 1974. The 1998 World
Championship was held in Baltimore and featured 11
nations. In 2006, Cassese was a member of the U.S. squad
that earned a silver medal at the ILF World Championship
in London, Ontario, Canada. In addition, former Duke
standouts Ryan Marshall and Taylor Wray were members
of the gold medal-winning team from Canada.