This article appears in the May/June edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

Tom Schreiber gets most of the headlines when it comes to American players on the Toronto Rock, but don’t forget the other New York native Toronto brought to the indoor game two years ago.

Former St. John’s star Kieran McArdle scored in the teens in his first two years playing box lacrosse and through 11 games this year was on pace to continue improving his statistical totals each season in the National Lacrosse League. At press time, he was the team’s fourth-highest scorer with 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists).

US Lacrosse Magazine caught up with McArdle, who figures to play a central role on the 2019 U.S. indoor team seeking to break through its bronze ceiling, to discuss his process of learning box lacrosse and what it means to him to see more Americans following his lead.

You’re on pace to have your best year, statistically. How far along do you feel you are toward learning the box game?

I definitely have a ways to go, but this is so far my best year yet. The game has been slowing down for me a little bit. Obviously, I hadn’t played [box] prior to the Toronto Rock, so it’s a completely different game compared to the outdoor game. Everything was so fast for me, so quick, but now everything is starting to slow down and I’m kind of getting the hang of things, realizing how defenses are rotating and moving off ball.

We’ve seen a lot of Americans come into the league recently, this year especially. You and Tom were the first wave. What does it mean to you to see others following?

It’s huge just for the overall game of lacrosse. It’s real cool to see a lot of Canadians playing outdoor and then a lot of Americans going to the indoor game. As lacrosse becomes more of a full-time job, it’s more enticing for a lot of these younger guys to be playing in both leagues.

But also, I see with the youth, a lot more box being played in the states. I run a club lacrosse program, and we’ve been practicing box. There’s a lot of different tournaments and coaches teaching the indoor game.

Tom and you travel to NLL games together. How helpful has it been to have him by your side, going through a similar process?

We’ve become very close friends over the past three years. Being able to travel with someone and learning the game together and kind of bouncing ideas of each other, questions and things like that, has meant a great deal and helped my transition tremendously. Having him around has been great moving forward, and just gaining a great friend as well has been real cool.

You’re playing in the Premier Lacrosse League this summer. For the first time in your career, you’ll be able to play both indoor and outdoor and not miss any time in either. What does that mean to you?

It’s always weird toward the end of the NLL season. We were in the playoffs my rookie season, and my outdoor team was four games in already. You want to be there for both teams and help your teammates on each end. This year’s going to be great with no overlap, and you’re going to see more guys playing in both leagues for that reason specifically.

Toronto has taken a step forward this year and has established itself as one of the best teams in the league. What’s caused the improvement?

We just have been finding ways to win. We’ve been scrapping out a few Ws. When you look at some great teams, they always find a way to win. That’s something that we have this year. That’s been the main thing. Coach [Matt Sawyer] has been stressing all year just doing the little things, moving off the ball, and when you have the ball in your stick, making a quick decision.