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Bucknell's Cara, Abou Jaoude Invited to Lacrosse National Team Tryouts
May 4, 2005 LEWISBURG, Pa. -- US Lacrosse announced the 120 players that have been invited to try out for the 2006 U.S. Men's Lacrosse Team on Wednesday, and two standout members of the 14th-ranked Bucknell team are among them. Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Chris Cara (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and first-team all-conference defender Michael Abou Jaoude (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius) will represent the Bison in Catonsville, Md., next month. A total of 30 attackmen, 42 midfielders, 36 defensemen and 12 goalies were invited to participate by the 2006 U.S. Team Men's Player Selection Committee, chaired by three-time U.S. team player Larry Quinn. The players were selected from a field of approximately 200 applicants. The tryouts will be held from June 13-16 at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and 23 players will be selected from those tryouts to represent the United States at the International Lacrosse Federation World Championships in July 2006 in London, Ontario. Cara is tied for the national scoring lead with 66 points and leads the nation in assists with 37 in 13 games. Cara this season broke the Bucknell and Patriot League records for career points with 249 (111G, 138A), and he tied the school assist mark. One of 16 nominees for college lacrosse's player of the year award, the Tewaaraton Trophy, Cara this week was presented the Christy Mathewson Award as Bucknell's top senior athlete. Abou Jaoude was a first-time all-leaguer in 2005, making this the fifth straight season that a Bucknell defenseman has earned first-team honors. Taking over the role vacated by 2004 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Blaise Fletcher, Abou Jaoude is the team's "shut down" cover man, who is usually assigned to the opposition's best offensive player. He leads a Bucknell defense that has allowed only 7.92 goals per game this season, the second-best figure in the conference and 14th-best nationally. Abou Jaoude was terrific in Bucknell's overtime loss to Army at the Patriot League Tournament last week, when he held Tewaaraton Trophy nominee and fellow U.S. team tryout invitee John Walker to just a single goal. Syracuse head coach John Desko is the head coach for the 2006 U.S. Men's Team. He will be assisted by Denison's Mike Caravana, Hobart's Matt Kerwick and Albany's Scott Marr. Bucknell (8-5 overall) finished 5-1 in the Patriot League and tied Navy and Army for the Patriot League regular-season title. Seeded third in the PL Tournament, the Bison lost a 9-8 overtime heartbreaker to Army in the semifinals last Friday. The team now awaits Sunday night's bracket announcement to see if it has gained an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament field. The announcement will be made between 9:30 and 10 p.m. on ESPN News.
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