Matt Manown develops into high-end midfielder, teammate at Army

Credit: Army West Point Athletics

Matt Manown’s father insisted that he visit Army when the former La Salle Academy (R.I.) star was considering where to play college lacrosse. His mother wanted him to have no part of it. Neither did Manown, at first.

But as the Sauderstown, R.I., native took one trip to West Point, N.Y., then another, and yet another, he began to think that the U.S. Military Academy might be the right fit after all. It was actually during a recruiting visit to Princeton that Manown said he became convinced of it.

“Originally, I did not want to come here," said the junior midfielder, whose older brother, Joey, plays for Duke and whose other older brother, John, played at Hartford. "I was thinking more an Ivy League school; I really liked Brown. But my dad forced me to come for a visit. I fought him on it. But then I came, and I kept coming. I don’t know why. I fell in love with the guys, and the way the locker room was. It didn’t have the same atmosphere as most other places.”