July 1, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Sweeney shores up Cannons defense

by Andy Vogt/

Defenseman Kyle Sweeney went from a castoff in Washington to an All-Star in Boston. (photo: Boston Cannons)

Defenseman Kyle Sweeney went from a castoff in Washington to an All-Star in Boston. (photo: Boston Cannons)

Even as a defenseman, Kyle Sweeney has never minded mixing things up in the offensive end. The toughest part, he says, is sometimes getting his teammates to believe in that part of his game.

“A lot of attackmen, if they see a pole down there, they’re not going to give the ball back to them,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney’s defensive skills have always been highly regarded — Cannons coach Bill Daye calls him one of the best defensive players in the game, right next to Toronto defenseman (and former Georgetown teammate) Brodie Merrill. And Sweeney also was a two-time ECAC Defensive Player of the Year with the Hoyas. But since his trade from the Washington Bayhawks to the Cannons, he’s been one of the team’s biggest contributors on both ends of the field.

Through Boston’s first six games, Sweeney was second on the team in ground balls (behind faceoff man Chris Eck) and was tied for fifth with six goals. He found the back of the net in his first four games in Boston, including consecutive two-goal games against Chicago and his former Washington team.

“Kyle’s natural position is long-stick middie, but he’s been very successful in this league playing close D,” Daye said of the player the Cannons acquired for the ninth selection in the MLL college draft. “Now with the new rule [allowing teams to have a fourth pole on the field], he’s flourishing. And he’s brought a veteran leadership down low — we’ve had Chris Passavia and Ryan McClay, now he’s just another guy who can add value to that.”

Plus, he’s been reunited with Ryan Boyle, with whom he played for five years with the Philadelphia Barrage before the team folded in the offseason. With Boyle, there’s one less player in the offensive end that Sweeney needs to convince of his offensive skills, although a video currently on YouTube should put those thoughts to rest.

In the 2007 MLL championship game against the Los Angeles Riptide, Sweeney was dumped to the turf by a Riptide player at midfield. But he maintained possession, jumped to his feet and scooted around a pair opponents. There, he made a clear run to the cage and whipped it into the goal, helping the Barrage to their third MLL title.

“That’s the way I was allowed to play in college — get up the field, push the ball in transition,” Sweeney said. “It’s not my No. 1 objective to score goals, but you let the game come to you, and that’s what happens.”

He’s also been quite accurate, needing only 10 shots to convert his six goals.

“When I get my opportunity to shoot, I haven’t missed many,” he said.
“In shooting drills, he doesn’t go down with the defensemen, he stays on offense,” Daye said. “And he’s not only shooting, but he’s feeding. He’s worked on his offensive game, and it’s shown.”

His arrival in Boston came as a shock to him, however. After just one game with Washington after being reallocated in the offseason, he received a call from the team’s front office, informing him the team was going in a different direction. Sweeney immediately hit the phones, trying to find a franchise that would want his services. Daye called him on May 28, and Sweeney said “less than 24 hours later, I was in a Cannons uniform.

“It didn’t make any sense to bring me in if they were going to trade me,” he said. “Now that I’m with this team, I wish I was there earlier so I could have made my impact a little bit earlier.”

Along with Boyle, Sweeney also has been reunited with two other Barrage teammates — Bobby Horsey and Kevin Cassese — as well as John Christmas, with whom he teamed up in all-star games back when they were Philadelphia high school standouts and also as members of the NLL’s Philadelphia Wings.

Now in his seventh year in the league, Sweeney also has a bright future ahead off the field. He’s one of the part-owners of Maverik Lacrosse, which also employs Christmas and Paul Rabil, A double major at Georgetown in finance and international business, Sweeney also owns restaurants in Manhattan, Washington and Pittsburgh.

Yet he’s not even close to envisioning his playing career coming to an end.

“I feel younger than ever — I’m running around with a couple of 21-year-olds, and I’m faster than those guys,” said Sweeney, who was named a 2009 All-Star. “I’ll play until I start to see myself deteriorate.”

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