Eric and Adam Perroni and Members of the Brooklin Lacrosse Club and Brooklin Merchants Invade Utica

By Mark Stehlin

It was a successful trip to Utica for Eric Perroni, his son Adam and some members of the Brooklin Lacrosse Club and the Brooklin Merchants. The group donned the Rochester Bats jerseys in the 2024 version of The North American Invitational (also known as “LAXNAI”). This event, the world’s largest international box lacrosse tournament, was held at the Utica University Nexus Center in Utica, NY from October 17-20, 2024. The Bats were dialled-in from the opening whistle, winning four consecutive games before they reached the final game, when a tight 4-3 win over the Code Talkers gave them the championship.

Adam was introduced to the Bats when he played for the original Rochester Knighthawks in the National Lacrosse League, it was there he met the Bats founder Michael Cooper. The tournament team has played in a few versions of LAXNAI. Adam said this was “my fourth tournament with the Bats, we won in 2022 and again this year” adding, “having my dad behind the bench is always fun”. Adam noted he and Liam Osborne had been coached by his dad since they were very young, saying “my dad seems less intense now and as we are older, he takes more time to sit back and watch.”

Eric took his spot behind the bench for the second consecutive tournament. He said that he had a great time and loved the competition. He added that the fact that the games are “short with two fifteen-minute periods meant I had to have a strategy in place” before the game. Eric said coaching members on the team that he has seen grow up was fun and he hopes to get the chance to take part again.

Adam said, “some of the guys I asked out didn’t know much about the tournament, but they had a good time and we are already planning for a return next year” to defend the title.

Notes:

Joining Eric and Adam were Ben MacDonnell, Kellen Pullera, Luke Keenan, Liam Osborne, and Christian Watts. Merchants goalie and Ontario Series Lacrosse MVP, Deacan Knott, suited up for Club24HEAT.

The tournament started in 2016 and has grown in popularity. This year’s version included the traditional Men’s division in addition to a Women’s division, Masters, and youth divisions for those in the U-15 and U-18 age brackets.

 All stats and information can be found at www.laxnai.com