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Y! MyWebLOCAL COLLEGES SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW
Witt freshman changing loyalties
Lord will play for England in U-19 World Lacrosse Games.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Matt Lord drank plenty of tea growing up, but that's not why he will be wearing the jersey of the under-19 English national lacrosse team this summer.
Lord's dad, Mike, was born in England, and that connection was enough to get the Wittenberg freshman from Pickerington a tryout with the English team in February. Lord competed in front of the English coaches in Philadelphia and was selected for the team.
Wittenberg freshman Matt Lord (right) talks with Wittenberg head lacrosse coach George Harris at Edwards-Maurer Field. Lord will play for England in the U-19 World Games in July. Lord will play for England in the U-19 World Lacrosse Games. The event takes place July 3-12 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
"I think it will be a different experience," Lord said. "I've had some contact with players on the team on the Internet. They seem like really nice guys. Some of their English slang is funny."
Mike Lord moved to the United States with his family when he was 6, so his son's connection to the country is limited. Matt's grandmother still has a thick English accent, and his aunt and uncle, who now live in Ann Arbor, Mich., are big fans of Tottenham Hotspur, an English Premier League soccer team.
Matt Lord has been to England once, though he'll be going again in May to train with the team in Manchester. He'll live with a host family and expects to get plenty of chances to sightsee.
In the meantime, Lord awaits his first chance to play for the Tigers. He's an attacker who was a three-time club division all-state honoree in high school.
"He's going to have a big impact for us," Wittenberg coach George Harris said. "He's one of our top freshman recruits. We're going to ask him to do a lot this year. It's going to be exciting to see how he adjusts."
England's 23-man team will be an underdog, especially because it's in the same division as the USA, Canada and Australia, the top three teams at the 2003 World Games.
Lacrosse glance
The Wittenberg men's team returns 15 letterwinners from a team that went 6-6 last season.
The Wittenberg women's team finished 3-11 in 2007 and returns 14 letterwinners.
