The recent Rochester signee leads his team in the Senior B tournament.
Trips to the President’s Cup have become an expectation for Rochester Knighthawks’ prospect Mark Vradenburg. Just days after signing his first National Lacrosse League contract, the 25-year-old made his fifth appearance in the Senior “B” tournament.
On the opening day of the event in Nanaimo, BC, Vradenburg led the Capital Region Axemen into a Sunday morning showdown against the Ladner Pioneers. Even though the West Coast Lacrosse League representatives defeated the Axemen 13-6, Vradenburg showed why the Knighthawks signed him on Friday. The crafty forward led Capital Region with three goals as he tallied a goal in all three periods.
“It felt good to contribute to the offensive output, of course,” he said. “It would have been better with a win to start our week off right.”
The Capital Region Axemen swept the Kahnawake Mohawks to win the Quebec Senior Lacrosse League (QSLL) title to reach the President’s Cup. Vradenburg was a big reason for the team’s success, posting 18 goals and 30 assists in 12 regular season games. After finishing second in the QSLL and Three Nations Lacrosse League scoring race, Vradenburg continued to find the net in Senior B’s biggest tournament.
Against the Pioneers, he opened the scoring for the Axemen to tie the contest at one at 1:27 of the first period. The Ottawa, Ontario native would net his second on a quick-stick power-play tally from the edge of the crease to cut the deficit to 8-4. Vradenburg’s final goal was his most impressive. After beating his defender with a swim move, he dove across the top of the crease and buried a low shot to complete the hat trick. After the game, the veteran analyzed the team’s performance.
“We need to get better at doing the little things right on the offensive side and defensive side of the ball,” he said. “We need to dictate the play better and control the tempo. If we cut off their transition, we limit them to nearly half of their goals. We’ll take this loss and learn from it to put ourselves back in the win column tomorrow.”
Capital Region returns to action on Monday with a 2:00 p.m. ET contest against the two-time defending President’s Cup champion St. Albert Miners.
“After a long travel day yesterday, we’re going to have to use the rest of the day to take care of our bodies and get the necessary rest for arguably the toughest test tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll be ready.”