SPARKS, Md. — The kids know most of the stories.
They have heard the familiar tales — at the family dinner table, beside the pool on hot afternoons, or during the endless car rides to and from practices, games, and summer tournaments.
Dad collected these awards. Mom received these honors. Their teams won these championships.
This weekend at the Brogden Cup in Sparks, Md., some of the young athletes wearing the red, white and blue are creating their own storylines.
Among them is Oliver Fin, playing on the U.S. Boys’ U15 National Team. His dad, Dom, was a standout collegiate player in the 1990s and is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
“We talk about the game a lot,” said Oliver, the youngest of three siblings and the only one who plays the sport his dad played. “He teaches me new dodges and reminds me to always play with my head up.”
Dom was a three-time first-team All-American midfielder at Syracuse and was the national midfielder of the year as a senior in 1994. He helped the Orange win the 1993 NCAA championship and advance to the final four in each of his four seasons. Fin was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2015 as a truly great player.
Oliver Fin, 14, hopes to eventually follow a similar path.
“I would love to play Division I. That’s my dream,” he said.
While he is still several years away from potentially seeing that happen, the younger Fin is focused this week on continuing to raise his game while playing alongside some of the most talented youth players in the country.
“I’m really enjoying this experience, especially making new friends and meeting new coaches,” he said. “Mostly, I’m trying to just have fun out here.”
That’s the same song being sung by U.S. Girls’ U17 player Maddie Moran, considered to be one of the nation’s top recruits in the high school class of 2028. A junior at Maryvale Prep in Maryland, she committed earlier this month to play at Maryland, where her father also played.
Ryan Moran was an All-ACC player, third-team All-American and team captain for the Terps. He is now back in College Park as offensive coordinator for the men’s team after spending 10 years as the men’s head coach at UMBC.
“I’ve known lacrosse was special in my family almost from the day I was born,” Maddie Moran said. “I grew up with a stick in my hand. We’d just go out to the backyard, roll out the balls and just run and shoot. It was the best.”
Moran said her parents have supported her throughout her lacrosse journey.
“My dad always provides the words of wisdom,” she said. “One big thing he always says to me is, ‘Get the next play.’ Get the next play on the field and get the next play in life in order to be the best person I can be, the best teammate and the best leader.”
The oldest of three sisters, Moran acknowledges the irony of having already committed to a college with two years of high school still ahead.
“It’s so crazy,” she said. “You’re still looking forward to your high school days, and yet I’ve also got the future planned with something I’ve dreamed of doing my whole life. It’s a weird balance.”
This week, she is playing on the youth national team alongside two others — Carly Eikenberg and Luca Diehl — who are also committed to Maryland.
“They are the best people ever,” Moran said. “We formed friendships over the summer, and now that we’re all committed, we text each other all the time. We’re already building such a great friendship.”
The Brogden Cup, a three-day tournament featuring U15, U17 and U19 boys' and girls' teams from USA Lacrosse, Lacrosse Canada and the Haudenosaunee Nationals, concludes Sunday with championship games for each division.
Canada-USA Delivers Another U19 Thriller
Since USA Lacrosse revived the Brogden Cup in 2019 as a platform for the National Team Development Program, the results have skewed heavily in favor of the U.S. Youth National Teams.
The oldest boys' division, however, has added another layer to the tense Canada-USA rivalry.
Braxten Howard deposited a lefty twister on a run down the alley late in the fourth quarter to lift Canada to a 7-6 victory Saturday over the United States in the U19 boys' division at St. Paul's (Md.).
Ryker Babock scored a game-high three goals and added an assist for the Canadians, who trailed for most of the game but remained within striking distance of the U.S. He gave Canada its first lead early in the fourth quarter, but USA attackman Brayson Thurber answered to tie it at 6 before Howard put the Canadians ahead for good.
The U.S. had a chance to tie it on the last possession, but Barrett Mullahy's pass intended for Fin Kilbourne was deflected near the crease. Thurber and Mullahy paced the U.S. with two goals apiece.
It was the seventh game in the series decided by just one goal. Canada prevailed by the same margin in 2022 and 2023, the only other times a U.S. Youth National Team has lost in this format.
While previous iterations of the Brogden Cup determined a champion using a points system across all divisions, this year there's bracket play. With wins over the U.S. and the Haudenosaunee, Canada locked up the top seed in the U19 boys' division and earned a bye to Sunday's championship game — a likely rematch with the U.S. at 11:30 a.m. Eastern at USA Lacrosse in Sparks, Md.
First, the U.S. must get past the Haudenosaunee, a team it defeated 15-2 on Saturday. They'll play a semifinal at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
— Matt DaSilva
Brogden Cup Results
Friday, Sept. 25 (Sixes)
U15 Boys
USA 28, Canada 9
USA 24, Canada 13
USA 15, Haudenosaunee 2
USA 18, Haudenosaunee 3
U15 Girls
USA 22, Canada 12
USA 28, Canada 8
USA 34, Haudenousaunee 2
Canada 25, Haudenosaunee 7
Saturday, Sept. 26 (Field)
U15 Boys
USA 18, Haudenosaunee 0
USA 16, Canada 1
Canada 12, Haudenosaunee 4
U15 Girls
USA 23, Haudenosaunee 0
USA 24, Canada 3
Canada 22, Haudenosaunee 1
U17 Boys
USA 21, Haudenosaunee 0
USA 14, Canada 3
Canada 11, Haudenosaunee 3
U17 Girls
USA 13, Canada 2
USA 19, Haudenosaunee 0
Canada 14, Haudenosaunee 2
U19 Boys
USA 15, Haudenosaunee 2
Canada 7, USA 6
Canada 13, Haudenosaunee 5
U19 Girls
USA 20, Canada 0
USA 20, Haudenosaunee 1
Canada 11, Haudenosaunee 7
Brogden Cup Playoffs
Sunday, Sept. 27 (Field)
U15 Boys (at St. Paul's)
(3) Haudenosaunee vs. (2) Canada - 8:15 a.m.
Winner vs. (1) United States - 10:45 a.m.
U15 Girls (at St. Paul's)
(3) Haudenosaunee vs. (2) Canada - 8:15 a.m.
Winner vs. (1) United States - 10:45 a.m.
U17 Boys (at St. Paul's)
(3) Haudenosaunee vs. (2) Canada - 9:30 a.m.
Winner vs. (1) United States - 12 p.m.
U17 Girls (at St. Paul's)
(3) Haudenosaunee vs. (2) Canada - 9:30 a.m.
Winner vs. (1) United States - 12 p.m.
U19 Boys (at USA Lacrosse)
(3) Haudenosaunee vs. (2) United States - 9:30 a.m.
Winner vs. (1) Canada - 11:30 a.m.
U19 Girls (at USA Lacrosse)
(3) Haudenosaunee vs. (2) Canada - 8:30 a.m.
Winner vs. (1) United States - 10:30 a.m.