NLF National Championships: 2025's That Impressed, Part 1

The NLF National Championship tournament is one of the biggest tournaments every year, with teams traveling from all across the country for a chance to showcase their talents in front of top-tier Division I coaches and scouts. This year was no different, and of all of the players I was able to see, these are the guys who impressed me the most: ICYMI, <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2024/07/nlf-class-of-2025-national-championship-breakdown-and-standouts/">check out my recap and standouts breakdown of Prime Time's win over Team 91 LI in the championship</a>.    Having watched O'Neil in the spring with New Canaan, I had an idea of his game, but he put on a show in his matchup against the Annapolis Hawks. I had him going 8/13 from the faceoff X and he looked virtually unstoppable, winning faceoffs in any direction he chose. He's a strong guy with quick hands and a low center of gravity and he's hard to stop with a full head of steam towards the net. The Army commit is not afraid to push the ball in transition after a clean face-off win. In today's game, to have a FOGO who is able and confident enough to handle the ball adds another playmaker on the field that the defense needs to account for. While he didn't score in this game, he helped Eclipse come out on top with an overtime win in muddy and rainy conditions.     As a teammate of O'Neil's, the UNC-bound goaltender also had a great game against the Annapolis Hawks, recording 13 saves. He was up against some high-level shooting talent and made them look almost pedestrian at times with his quick hands and the ability to track the ball well. He was able to come up with multiple athletic stops that came either low or on his off-stick side. After a save, he popped his head right up and made crisp outlet passes to players streaking up the field in an attempt to start a transition opportunity. Marcus doesn't always look to push it, however. He displayed patience in the clearing game at times and wasn't looking to force the ball into a possible turnover scenario. In crunch time he was locked in, and in overtime, he and his defense were able to come up with a stop which eventually led to the game-winning goal for Notre Dame recruit Brendan Mullahy.     The Delbarton product was everywhere for Leading Edge in the two games I was able to catch. At 6'3, Pedicano is a physical presence on the field who showed great hustle in transition chances. He has quick feet and a smooth dropstep when getting dodged on. He doesn't throw unnecessary checks, but he always makes sure the opponent knows he's there with poke checks to the gloves. He didn't get dodged on too often due to his size, strength and athleticism, but when he did, he displayed good positioning and technique. One of his more underrated traits would have to be his stick skills. Pedicano handles the ball in the offensive end and even stayed on to play offense a few times, resulting in an assist for him. He does good work on the wing and if he isn't able to get the ground ball, he makes sure to make it tough on the opponent.     Caldwell was a bright spot in the first round of playoffs against a West Coast Starz squad that ended up eliminating Leading Edge. He had two goals and two assists while attacking the defense in a variety of ways. He is a team player who is always dodging with his head up and surveying the field, but coming off a dodge he can also drop the hammer if the defense is lacking. The Washington and Lee commit has a good change of direction when dodging from X and has shown patience and will re-dodge if he likes his matchup. He can use either hand interchangeably when shooting and can put the ball in good spots with fakes or deception around the goal crease. Caldwell is also a tough player and will put his body on the line if it means helping his team or increasing his angle to get off a shot. He also added one goal in the win vs. the Crabs.     The Massachusetts native had a great game against Team 91 LI Shock in his first-round playoff game, totaling three goals and an assist. This game was extremely physical, with bodies, helmets, and flags flying everywhere, but Lally did not back down from the physicality. He is an athletic and crafty attackman who doesn't need much space to make an impact. His dodging ability is probably his best quality, with quick bursts of speed and a hard shot on the run. I counted at least two goals he had when dodging from the wings and sweeping across the field to find an open lane to shoot on the run. He can also affect the game from the perimeter with his vision and ability to take step-down shots with power and accuracy.     Robinson is exactly the kind of player every coach wants on their team. He's a workhorse for Laxachusetts who plays as a two-way midfielder. At 5' 9, he's not the biggest player on the field, but he plays the game the right way and is always hustling in transition or to get back on defense. Laxachusetts executed the one-man clear at a high rate when Robinson had the ball in his stick due to his relentless style of play. Offensively, he's able to dodge with either hand effectively and looks to get his teammates involved. On the flip side, he can stick with his man and even when his man has a step on him, he's got the speed to make up that ground. He finished with a pair of goals against Team 91 LI Shock.     I was able to see one game from Hopper when the Annapolis Hawks lost to Eclipse in overtime and in that game, Hopper played some solid defense and was able to generate multiple transition chances after a caused turnover. With his large frame, the Spalding product overpowered opponents and grabbed the loose ball with superior stick-checking ability. He works hard in the clearing game with good stickhandling, speed, and the luxury of being able to drop his shoulder if someone's in his way. There was one instance in the game where that was the case. Hopper had the ball for a clear and an attackman was in his way and he just barreled right over him and toed the sideline to stay in bounds. That fired up the entire Hawks team and if I'm being honest, it fired me up too. You can't teach size, so if you have it and use it to your advantage as Hopper does, it could be a difference-maker for any team.

The NLF National Championship tournament is one of the biggest tournaments every year, with teams traveling from all across the country for a chance to showcase their talents in front of top-tier Division I coaches and scouts. This year was no different, and of all of the players I was able to see, these are the guys who impressed me the most:

ICYMI, check out my recap and standouts breakdown of Prime Time's win over Team 91 LI in the championship.