Inaugural NXTsports Philly Summer Invitational draws 98 HS teams, over 90 college coaches

TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 7/15/13
From Press Release

The inaugural NXTsports Philly Summer Invitational took place over the weekend at United Sports Training Center and Downingtown West High School in Downingtown, PA.

The Philly Summer Invitational featured 98 high school age club lacrosse teams from every corner of the nation. The teams were roughly split into four age divisions, one for every high school graduation year from 2014 to 2017.

The event was inspired by the success of NXTsports Fall Invitational event, which as part of Philly Showcase weekend in November annually attracts over 150 college coaches to Episcopal Academy to watch the best club programs in the nation in action. The Summer Invitational was additionally made possible by NXTsports exclusive partnership with United Sports.

Said Brett Manney, Assistant Captain of the Philadelphia Wings and Director of Showcase Lacrosse, “We are thrilled with the inaugural Philly Summer Invitational. When you have teams flying in from all over the country, you can’t just shut an event down due to weather, you have to figure it out.

“We are very thankful for all of our participating teams who brought their A games, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Philly for years to come at the Summer Invitational. NXT additionally would like to thank our tremendous partners at United Sports.”

In its first year the Philly Summer Invitational attracted 44 NCAA Division 1 programs, and over 90 overall college coaches attended during the weekend to evaluate the talent on display.

Philly Invitational champions were crowned in each division after intense playoffs Sunday afternoon. Complete tournament data including scores, standings, playoff brackets and pictures of tournament champions, is available at ShowcaseGameCenter.com. The full list of 2013 Philly Invitational division champions is as follows:

2014 Division Champion – Team Long Island (NY)
• Team Long Island defeated SweetLax (N.Y.), 6-3 in the championship game. See game coverage.
• The other 2014 clubs qualifying for the playoffs were Top Gun Fighting Clams (MA), NH Tomahawks (NH), LB3 South (GA), NXT (PA), Long Island Jesters (NY), & Team Carolina (NC)

2015 Division Champion – NXT (PA)
• NXT defeated Laker Futures (NJ) 6-4 in the championship game
• The other 2015 clubs qualifying for the playoffs were HEADstrong (PA), Primetime (MA), Team 91 (NY), Seattle Starz (WA), New England Storm, & LB3 South (GA)

2016 Division Champion – Laxachusetts Black (MA)
• Laxachusetts Black defeated NH Tomahawks (NH) 7-3 in the championship game
• The other 2016 clubs qualifying for the playoffs were Palm Beach Elite (FL), NESLL (MA), Team 91 (NY), Team Carolina (NC), CT Chargers (CT), & LB3 South (GA)

2017 Division Champion – Team 91 (NY)
• Team 91 defeated CT Chargers Bolts (CT) 7-5 in the championship game.
• The other 2017 clubs qualifying for the playoffs were 3D Select, Team Minnesota (MN), FLG (NY), Team Long Island (NY), Freedom (PA), & NESLL (MA)