Former Syracuse University and Penn Yann standout Bradley Voigt among signees.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today that the team has agreed to two-year deals with forwards Matt Vangalen, Bradley Voigt, and Alec Simons; defensemen Dustyn Pratt, Sean Darroch, and Tyler Biles; and transition players Carter Badour, Thomas Whitty, and Cory Highfield. All transactions are pending league approval.
Vangalen recently completed his collegiate career at the University of Detroit Mercy as one of the most decorated players in program history. He started all 15 games at attack for the Titans in 2019, scoring 19 goals while breaking his own school records with 36 assists and 55 points to become the first player in UDM history to be named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year. Vangalen led the MAAC and was 13th in nation with 2.40 assists-per-game and was also third in the conference and 51st overall with 3.67 points-per-game.
For his efforts, the 6-foot, 200-pound Orangeville, ONT., native was named a 2019 All-MAAC First Team selection and a USILA/Warrior and New Balance Division I Scholar All-American. He was also two-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection.
Vangalen has spent the past two summers with the Oakville Rock of Major Series Lacrosse, where he has scored 25 goals and added 37 assists in 25 games.
Voigt recently completed his senior year at Syracuse University, where he started all 14 games this past season on attack and led the Orange with 35 goals and 44 points during a breakout year for the Penn Yann native.
Before joining SU, the 6-foot, 202-pound forward was a 5-year letter winner for Penn Yan Academy, whom he led to 4 straight sectional championships. As a senior in 2014, he set the single-season school record with 125 points on 73 goals and 52 assists before finishing his high school career as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 416 points (252+164). His 252 goals are also the most in school history. For his efforts, he was named an Under Armour All-American, a NILCA First Team All-American and USLacrosse All-American. Additionally, he was named the 2014 All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year, a First Team All-Section selection in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and the Brine National High School All-American in 2012.
A 21-year-old native from Etobicoke, ONT., Simons is on the heels of his second 30-point season with the Mimico Mountaineers in 2019. In his Junior “A” career, he has recorded 176 points (66+110) over 92 career games with Mimico and the Mississauga Tomahawks while also collecting 36 points (15+21) in 24 career playoff appearances for the Mountaineers.
A native of Orangeville, ONT., Pratt spent parts of the last four seasons with his hometown Orangeville Northmen, recording 20 points (5+15) in 71 games while also adding nine points (1+8) in 47 playoff contests. He helped Orangeville to the Minto Cup this past summer and also won back-to-back Founder’s Cup with the Junior “B” Northmen in 2016 and 2017.
Darroch, the third defenseman chosen by Rochester in the 2019 NLL Entry Draft, recently completed his collegiate career at Lindenwood University, where he recorded 122 points (80+42) and 93 ground balls in 59 career games for the Lions. As a senior in 2019, Darroch finished with 33 points, including a career-best 28 goals. During his freshman season, he led the team with 18 assists and ranked second with 36 points, earning Rookie of the Year honors as well as a selection on the ECAC All-Rookie Team.
A native of Oshawa, ONT., the 6-foot-1, 210-pound defenseman has spent the past three summer seasons playing Senior “A” ball with the Brooklin Lacrosse Club.
During the 2019 season, Biles set career-highs in goals (1), assists (7) and points (8) while also adding one assist in eight playoff appearances for the Brampton Excelsiors. Since 2015, he has appeared in 78 combined Junior “A” games with Brampton and Halton Hills, recording one goal and 16 assists for 17 points.
Badour, a native of Ottawa, ONT., started all 14 games at attack for The College of Saint Rose during a record-setting season in 2019 which saw him set the single-season program record with 61 points – matching his own school record of 44 goals – while also becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer. He finished his career at Saint Rose with a record 146 points, including 112 goals, the most ever by a Golden Knight. He left Saint Rose as the only player to record a pair of 50-point seasons and remains the first and only Golden Knight lacrosse player to score 40 or more goals in two different campaigns. He ranked 13th in the nation and third in the Northeast-10 Conference with 3.14 goals-per-game and was sixth in the league with 4.36 points-per-game. Additionally, he placed sixth in the NE-10 with 44 goals and 10th overall with 61 points, earning him a selection to the All-Northeast-10 Conference Third Team. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward was also a two-time team captain in each of his last two seasons.
Whitty is coming off his fourth season with the St. Catharines Athletics in 2019, posting career-highs in assists (10) and points (11) while appearing in all 20 games. In 74 career games with St. Catharines, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound defenseman has amassed 26 points (5+21), including a career-best four goals during the 2017 season.
After being held to just 12 points in each of his first three seasons with the UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Highfield enjoyed a breakout year in 2019 when he erupted for a career-high 38 points on 18 goals and 20 assists. He also added 14 ground balls in 14 games before closing out his collegiate career with 80 points (39+41) in 56 games. As a freshman in 2015, the Georgetown, ONT., native was credited with scoring the first goal in UMass-Lowell’s DI history and was named to the America East All-Rookie Team.
Highfield also appeared in 17 combined contests with the Oakville Rock this past summer, collecting 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points. In 2017, he helped the Six Nations Arrows capture the Minto Cup.
A new era of Knighthawks lacrosse begins on Saturday, Nov. 30 when Rochester opens its inaugural NLL season against the Georgia Swarm at the Blue Cross Arena.