Former Maryland men’s lacrosse star and PLL Goalkeeper of the Year Logan McNaney played for Team USA in the Atlas Cup at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md., in late September.
The Atlas Cup was played in a six-on-six format, which will also be used in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. McNaney is coming off an impressive rookie season in the PLL, having led the Denver Outlaws to the championship game. Now, he dreams about a future in the Olympics.
“Late high school, early college, I saw guys like Jesse Bernhardt and all those older guys that have played in the USA program for a good amount of time, kind of looking up to those guys and kind of dreaming of being in their shoes,” McNaney said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 25, prior to the tournament. “The World Games are great, it’s going to continue to happen and the guys are going to play in that, but the Olympics is a pretty special thing.”
McNaney was asked about wearing the U.S. jersey for the first time leading up to the Atlas Cup. The Corning, N.Y., native took the moment in, recalling the inspiration he took from watching the movie “Miracle” and dreaming of representing his country.
“The movie ‘Miracle’ from the 1980 Winter Olympics — that’s always been a dream of mine, to wear the red, white and blue and USA in the front of my chest,” McNaney said. “… Once you put that on, it kind of changes the prospect of everything. You’re playing against countries and you’re playing for your country, and that’s something not a lot of guys or girls can say. Obviously, super honored to wear the red, white and blue.”
McNaney was asked how different it is to play in the “sixes” format as a goalie. This marked his first time playing in the format, and he said it is different than field lacrosse because for various reasons.
“In field lacrosse, you’re seeing alley shots and sweep shots from past 10 yards. Your defense is rarely getting dunks on you, hopefully,” McNaney said. “Sometimes … you’re going to let up more goals than you’d think, so you just have to realize that and focus on the next shot. I think the mental side of everything is going to be a little bit more challenging than field lacrosse.”
McNaney said playing internationally is a little different as well, but it’s still about stepping out in the field and performing well.
“That’s the nature of what we are doing here. It’s the same for everybody. Every time you go out there, there is a little pressure, but you just put foot in front of the other, try to do your best job and help the team win,” McNaney said. “I think that is my mentality, try to make as many saves as possible, direct the defense when I can, try to keep it down to a science rather than getting emotional about it. Once you start doing that, then you start to lose focus on the big picture.”
For more from McNaney, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of USA Lacrosse