July 1st - 4th, 2005

Vail, CO - Team Rock-it Pocket, comprised mostly of current and former Colorado State University players, finished #3 in the Vail Lacrosse Shootout. The 3rd place result was the highest in team history. After defeating Team Guttman and the Jammin' Salmon, Rock-it Pocket ran into the buzzsaw that was eventual tournament champion GMH. After losing 13-2, Team RIP rebounded the next day to take down Team 21 in the consolation game.

Team Rock-it Pocket featured players from another MDIA powerhouse as several players from the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos made the trip from California to join their rivals. RIP also enjoyed the services of two Ohio State attackmen, Lance Vitt and Craig Nolan. The defense was loaded with players as nearly 15 poles shared time, including two full lines of defensemen.

On day one of the tournament, Team Rock-it Pocket took on Team Guttman. Guttman is made up of current and former Middlebury players and has been a stalwart performer in Vail over the past five years or so. Rock-it Pocket slowly pulled away from Guttman and won the game 11-6. It was not the first time that RIP played the Middlebury boys as Guttman won the 5th place game in 2003 by one goal. 2005 was a different story as Rock-it Pocket never trailed throughout the game and came away with a solid win.

Day two brought on the Jammin' Salmon, a team that had been in the Vail semifinals for the past three years. The Jammin' Salmon had beaten Rock-it Pocket by seven two years ago in the quarterfinals, but RIP was not about to go quietly on this day. In a hard-fought and entertaining game, Rock-it Pocket scored four of the last five goals of the game to take a 10-7 win. It marked the first time in history that Flip Naumburg's team had reached the semifinals of the tournament.

GMH had no problem with just about anyone during the 2005 tournament, and that included Team Rock-it Pocket. The all-star team from the Philadelphia area dismantled Rock-it Pocket 13-2. GMH featured some of the best players in the tournament, including attackman Sean Morris (UMass), midfielder Bill McGlone (Maryland) and defenseman Jeff Bigas (Salisbury). It was a bit of a wake up call for RIP, who were simply not up to the challenge of GMH's talent.

Rock-it Pocket lined up to play another "alumni" team in Team 21 on day four. Team 21 was named in honor of former Cornell player George Boiardi, who passed away while playing lacrosse last year. In one of their most complete games, Team Rock-it Pocket got a couple of late goals to take a 12-10 win. Team 21 led in the fourth quarter, but RIP was not ready to lay down. Holding tough on one of the last defensive stands up by one goal, Rock-it Pocket was able to score a late goal to ice the game. It was a satisfying end to Team Rock-it Pocket's best shoowing ever in the Vail tournament.

In addition to their best team finish ever, Team Rock-it Pocket also got two players on the All-Tournament team as attackman Lance Vitt and defenseman Troy Ergenbright were honored. No player from the team had been previously honored.

Read more about the Vail Lacrosse Shootout here >>

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