More box lacrosse influence

Head coach Andy Towers expects Curtis Dickson and Austin Staats to be with the team in July. Both are box-first players; expect the six-on-six offensive schemes to be built on box principles.

Get ready for Connor Fields and Austin Staats hang up two-man games. Or Staats and Josh Byrne. On the righty side, Dickson will pair with Dhane Smith and Miles Thompson.

I’m curious to see how newly acquired Sergio Salcido fits into that style. Salcido is a long dodger who usually uses a rollback or five to get free for his shot. Other Americans – like Deemer Class and Jake Froccaro – have more experience in offenses with two-man games and sticks-to-the-middle principles. If those with box backgrounds can mesh with the field-first players, then the result will be beautiful offense.

Who will help the helper?

Brodie Merrill cleaned up a lot of messes on defense last summer. This is an aggressive unit – sometimes aggressive to a fault. Everyone wants to be the hammer. Someone will need to step up and split two off-ball while Jarrod Neumann, Jack Rowlett, and Johnny Surdick beat up ball carriers.