The 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse World Lacrosse Championships in Netanya, Israel is a couple of weeks away. Nearly 2,000 players representing 46 countries will complete in the upcoming World Championships, making this year’s event the largest of all-time. Deerfield will also be represented at the championships with five former Big Green players; Rob Pannell ’08, Will Swindell ’11, Courtney Morgan ’16, Jose Boyer ’18, and Ollie Hollo ’18 representing five different countries; USA, Slovakia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Hungary, at the world event. And, three current DA coaches; Jan Flaska, Drew Philie ‘09, and Roger Finck will be coaching at the FIL event for team Slovakia.
The ten-day event will kick-off on Thursday, July 12th and round robin games are scheduled through July 17th. The final rankings will determine the final championship game schedule; each team will compete in a total of 6-8 matches during the tournament. The event will conclude with the gold medal game on July 21st.
Rob Pannell will appear in his second career World Lacrosse Championships. In 2014, he led team USA, scoring 17 goals and registering 15 assists, he was named the FILA Most Outstanding Attackman and was named to the All-World Team. Rob attended Deerfield as a post-graduate student-athlete in 2007-2008. After graduating from Deerfield, he continued his playing career at Cornell. Rob graduated from Cornell as their all-time leader in points (354) and assists (204). In 2013, he was the recipient of the Tewaaraton Award and was named the three-time Ivy League Player of the Year and All-American (2010, 2011, 2013). At the 2014 FIL World Lacrosse Championships, Rob and team USA were finalists.
Will Swindell continued his lacrosse-playing career at Brown University after graduating from Deerfield. In his senior campaign for the Bears he led the team and defense as a captain and played in all 17 games during his final season. The team finished the season with a first round loss in the NCAA Division I Championships. Since graduating from Brown, Will has been playing for team Slovakia as well as assisting Coach Flaska with coaching and developing lacrosse in Slovakia for the past two years. This summer he will continue to support the Slovakian national lacrosse team, by imparting his player experiences into his new role as a coach.
Courtney Morgan a second year student-athlete at Connecticut College will be traveling overseas to the World Lacrosse Championships with team Jamaica. In his sophomore season with the camels, Morgan played in all 16 games of the season starting in 13 and registered one goal and two assists as a defender. At Deerfield, Morgan captained both the boys hockey and lacrosse teams during his senior season. This is the first year that a team from Jamaica will be represented at the world event. Note: At the time of publication, team Jamaica had not released their official roster online.
Jose Boyer will make his first appearance at the World Lacrosse Championships with Puerto Rico. In January, Boyer was named to the 23-man roster for Puerto Rico’s first ever national team for an FIL event. Boyer was a post-graduate student-athlete at Deerfield this year. In his lone season with the Big Green, he received All-Western New England Division I honors for his impact on the field as a long stick midfielder. This season, Boyer was awarded the Deerfield Rhodes Cup, given to that outstanding first year member of the boys varsity lacrosse team who best displayed the leadership, determination and dedication of Andrew W. Rhodes. Additionally, Boyer was named an Under Armour All-American and played in the annual UA North-South game on ESPNU on June 30. Next year, Boyer will continue his playing career with the University of Notre Dame lacrosse team.
Ollie Hollo will also make his first appearance at the World Lacrosse Championships with team Hungary this summer. A four-year senior for the Big Green, Hollo received All Western New England Division I honors for his efforts this season. Hollo’s best game of his senior campaign came against No. 2 ranked Salisbury, when he led a stifling defense to a 9-5 win, causing multiple turnovers. He capped off his Deerfield career at Exeter, where he netted two goals in the team’s win 13th win of the season. In addition, Hollo was a quad-captain of the Big Green football team this past fall. Next year, Hollow will join the Harvard Crimson men’s lacrosse team.
Jan Flaska, a former Slovakian national team lacrosse player will return to the 2018 games as team Slovakia’s head coach. Coach Flaska joined the Big Green community in 2005. Currently, he is the Dean of Spiritual & Ethical Life, teaches in the Philisophy and Religious Studies Department, and assists the boys hockey and boys lacrosse teams.
This year Coach Flaska will be joined on the Slovakian team sideline by fellow Big Green lacrosse coaches, Drew Philie ’09 and Roger Finck. Along with Flaska, Philie is an assistant coach for the Big Green boy varsity lacrosse team. He returned to the Deerfield community after four decorated years as a lacrosse player for the University of Vermont, gathering many athletic awards and academic distinctions. Most recently, Philie was named to the UVM 40th Anniversiaty team. As a student at Deerfield, Coach Philie was a tri-varsity athlete in football, hockey, and lacrosse. Currently, he is Assistant Director of Admission and assists with the football, boys hockey and boys lacrosse teams among many other responsibilities.
Roger Finck will serve as the third current Deerfield coach on the Slovakian national team coaching staff. He joined the Big Green lacrosse staff in spring 2015 and currently, assists the boys JV lacrosse team. He brings over 40 years of lacrosse experience to the program.
This year ESPN and ESPN+ have secured exclusive US coverage of the 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championships. You can tune in to watch Deerfield lacrosse alumni and coaches on the world stage by viewing the complete schedule here.
For more event information, visit the World Lacrosse Championships homepage.
Team Canada captured the gold medal at the 2014 World Lacrosse Championships in Denver, CO. Could a Big Green member be crowned championships in 2018? Stay tuned…
List of Deerfield Alums and Coaches Represented at the World Championships
Rob Pannell #3 (Attack) – USA
Deerfield Academy ’08
Cornell ‘13
Courtney Morgan (Defense) – Jamaica
Deerfield Academy ‘16
Connecticut College ‘20
Jose Boyer (LSM) – Puerto Rico
Deerfield Academy ’18
University of Notre Dame ‘22
Ollie Hollo (Midfield) – Hungary
Deerfield Academy ‘18
Harvard University ‘22
Jan Flaska – Slovakia, Head Coach
Drew Philie ‘09 – Slovakia, Assistant Coach
Deerfield Academy ‘09
University of Vermont ‘13
Roger Finck – Slovakia, Assistant Coach
Will Swindell – Slovakia, Assistant Coach
Deerfield Academy ‘11
Brown University ‘15