Kyle Sweeney Explained

Kyle Sweeney
Birth Date:April 5, 1981
Birth Place:Springfield, Pennsylvania
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lbs:195
Position:Defense
Ncaa Team:Georgetown
Class:2003
Nll Draft:83rd Overall
Nll Draft Year:2003
Nll Draft Team:Philadelphia Wings
Nll Team:New England Black Wolves
Former Nll Teams:Philadelphia Wings
Edmonton Rush
Buffalo Bandits
Mll Draft:3rd Round
Mll Draft Year:2003
Mll Draft Team:Bridgeport Barrage
Mll Team:New York Lizards
Former Mll Teams:Chesapeake Bayhawks
Boston Cannons
Washington Bayhawks
Philadelphia Barrage
Bridgeport Barrage
Shoots:Right
Career Start:2003
Career End:2016
Profhof:2024
Career Highlights:
Uslaxhof Year:2023

Kyle Sweeney (born April 5, 1981, in Springfield, Pennsylvania) is an American professional lacrosse player who plays for the New York Lizards in Major League Lacrosse. He is the vice president of sports nutrition at Medifast, and co-founder of the Gotham Lacrosse League.

Sweeney played for the U.S. Men's National Team in the 2006 and 2010 World Lacrosse Championship,[1] and played for Team USA in the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.[2]

Personal

Sweeney is a native of Springfield, Pennsylvania. He is from an athletic family: both his father, Jack, and mother, Denise, are gym teachers, and his brother was an All American athlete in high school.[3] He began playing lacrosse in middle school for the Springfield Athletic Association, and moved on to the Springfield Cougars Lacrosse Club in high school, where he received All-American honors and was the All-Central League MVP. He also played football and basketball.[4]

Sweeney married Angela Lanzafama in 2011.[5]

Collegiate career

Sweeney attended Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, where he was a three-time All-American long-stick midfielder. As a freshman, he was awarded the 2000 ECAC Rookie of the Year. He was also named Two-time ECAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2001, and was named to the All-ECAC First Team three times. He served as co-captain of the 2003 Georgetown Hoyas men's lacrosse team. Sweeney set the Georgetown all-time record of 229 ground balls while in college.[6] Academically, he was a double major in international business and marketing as well as minor concentration in sociology.

Sweeney was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2023.[7]

Professional lacrosse career

Major League Lacrosse

Sweeney was selected by the Bridgeport Barrage in the 2003 Collegiate Draft, Round 3. He followed the team when it moved from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2003. Sweeney anchored the defensive unit that helped the Barrage win the MLL championship in 2004, 2006 and 2007. When the team folded in 2008, Sweeney moved to Washington Bayhawks for one game, then over to the Boston Cannons, which he led to win the 2011 MLL Championships. In 2014 he moved back to the Bayhawks, which relocated in Chesapeake. In 2017, he began playing for the New York Lizards.Sweeney has been selected to the MLL All-Star Game nine times, been named All-MLL three times, and has won the Steinfeld Cup four times. He is currently ranked third for all-time games played in the league, as well as eighth for all-time ground balls fielded.[8]

After a fifteen-year career, Sweeney announced his retirement from Major League Lacrosse on August 31, 2017.

National League Lacrosse

The Philadelphia Wings drafted Sweeney in the eighth round (83rd overall) of the 2003 NLL Entry Draft.[9] He followed the team when it moved to Connecticut, changing its name to the New England Black Wolves. He retired from indoor play in 2015.

International career

Sweeney played for the U.S. Men's National Team in the 2006 and 2010. In 2010, his team won the World Lacrosse Championship in Manchester. He also played for Team USA in the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.

Sweeney has been described as one of the "best defenders in the game, period", by Inside Lacrosse, which placed him no. 24 on their Top 50 list in 2009.[10]

Business career

Sweeney was the chief operating officer for Maverick Lacrosse, a New York-based lacrosse equipment manufacturer, from 2005 to 2010. He then moved to Performance Sports Group, where he worked as Vice president of operations and product development until 2013, when he became vice president of marketing and business planning. He left in 2016 to become vice president of sports nutrition at Medifast.

Sweeney co-founded the Gotham Lacrosse League, an elite men's summer league in New York City, with Billy Pymm in 2007. The league expanded to include an elite women's league in 2013.[11]

Statistics

Major League Lacrosse (MLL)

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team GP G 2ptG A Pts GB PIM GP G 2ptG A Pts GB PIM
2003 Bridgeport50011151 - - - - - - -
2004 Philadelphia 122013474 - - - - - - -
2005 Philadelphia 121023441 - - - - - - -
2006 Philadelphia 111001323 2 1 0 0 1 2 0
2007 Philadelphia 125027290 2 1 0 0 1 5 0
2008 Philadelphia 115049471 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
2009 Washington 1000033 - - - - - - -
2009 Boston 1190413573 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
2010 Boston 105014361 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
2011 Boston 92024212 2 0 0 1 1 4 0
2012 Boston 143058323 1 1 0 0 1 2 0
2013 Boston 144037351 - - - - - - -
2014 Boston 133003251 - - - - - - -
2015 Chesapeake 131001222 - - - - - - -
2016 Chesapeake 80011221 - - - - - - -
2016 New York 5000018.5- - - - - - -
MLL Totals 16141 0 26 65 48536.5103 0 2 5 18 0

National League Lacrosse (NLL)

    Regular Season  Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM GP G A Pts LB PIM
2005 Philadelphia 12 1 6 7 53 11 - - - - - -
2006 Philadelphia 15 4 9 13 91 8 - - - - - -
2007 Philadelphia 16 4 7 11 85 6 - - - - - -
2008 Philadelphia 16 5 20 25 127 4 1 0 1 1 3 0
2009 Philadelphia 16 7 18 25 130 6 - - - - - -
2010 Philadelphia 15 4 6 10 90 4 - - - - - -
2011 Edmonton 6 1 7 8 24 2 - - - - - -
2011 Philadelphia 9 2 0 2 43 0 - - - - - -
2012 Buffalo 5 0 2 2 20 4 - - - - - -
2013 Philadelphia 9 2 5 7 37 4 1 0 1 1 0 0
2014 Philadelphia 18 2 12 14 53 18 - - - - - -
NLL Totals 18032 92 124753 67 20 2 2 3 0

NCAA

   
Season TeamGP G A Pts GB
2000 Georgetown14 2 4 6 61
2001 Georgetown15 0 0 0 60
2002 Georgetown15 5 4 9 75
2003 Georgetown11 0 1 1 33
NCAA Totals55 7 9 16 229

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. 2010 Men's World Lacrosse Championship Roster
  2. Web site: U.S. Men US Lacrosse. www.uslacrosse.org. en. 2017-04-01.
  3. News: Springfield Cougars Lacrosse Club honors Kyle Sweeney with 'Campbell Alumni Award'. McCartyCORRESPONDENT. Dan. Delco News Network. 2017-03-31. en.
  4. Web site: Kyle Sweeney New York Lizards. Lizards. New York. New York Lizards. en. 2017-03-31.
  5. News: Angela Lanzafama, Kyle Sweeney: Weddings. 2011-08-05. The New York Times. 2017-03-31. 0362-4331.
  6. Web site: Kyle Sweeney Boston Cannons. Cannons. Boston. Boston Cannons. en. 2017-03-31.
  7. Web site: Kyle Sweeney Hall of Fame entry . USA Lacrosse . en .
  8. Web site: Record Book Major League Lacrosse. Lacrosse. Major League. Major League Lacrosse. en. 2017-04-01.
  9. http://www.wingslax.com/Team/player/player/ Kyle Sweeney Wings Player Bio
  10. Web site: NLL Insider Top 50: Kyle Sweeney #24 Inside Lacrosse. www.insidelacrosse.com. en. 2017-03-31.
  11. News: Gotham Lacrosse League Launches Women's League. 2017-03-31.