Jake Caputo was one of three Team 91 players chosen to the Under Armour All-America Game in Wave 2 of invitations.
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Connor Drake first remembers the Under Armour All-America Game from watching one of his youth coaches, Eric Parnon, play among the best players in the country before heading off to Maryland, where he played on three Final Four teams.
“That was the first I’d heard of it, and after that, I always dreamt of playing in the game,” said Drake, a Team 91 2019 and Salisbury School (Conn.) midfielder and Duke commit. “I’ve watched it ever since and followed the kids that played in it every year. Two summers ago, I watched it in person when I was there for the Under Armour Underclass Games, and it was so cool.”
Fellow ’19 Orange midfielder and Duke commit Jake Caputo‘s brother, ’18 Extreme midfielder Owen Caputo, played in the game last year, giving the younger Caputo an enviable vantage point to see what it took to get to that point.
“Seeing my brother play in it against some of the best players in the country was really cool,” said Caputo, who recently hit the 300-point mark for his career at Middle Creek (N.C.).
’19 Orange and Massapequa faceoff midfielder Angelo Petrakis, a Cornell commit, was taking a nap a few weeks ago when his father woke him up to tell him that Inside Lacrosse wanted to talk to him. IT turned out to be the best unexpected wakeup call he’d ever gotten.
The talented trio will get to play a final game together as all three were chosen to the Under Armour game in Wave 2 of the selections, cementing their status as some of the very best players in the country. They’ll join ’19 Orange and – you guessed it – Duke commit Kenny Brower in the game. The lefty defenseman was chosen in the first wave of invitations. The game takes place Saturday, June 29 at 8 p.m. at Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood Field.
“There have only been three players from the state of North Carolina to play in the game, and when I saw that my brother did it, it made me think that maybe I could do it,” Caputo said. “The 91 guys also have a super cool brotherhood and what we had there was awesome, so to have one last go of it is kind of cool. I’ll be playing with some of them in college, too. I didn’t know if I would be in it or not, but it just felt awesome to get the news.”
All three players are ranked as five-star recruits in Inside Lacrosse’s 2019 rankings, with Petrakis checking in at No. 10 overall, Drake at No. 17 and Caputo at No. 19. They have been cornerstones of the ’19 Orange team, which firmly entrenched itself in the discussion of the best 2019 teams in the country. It’s no surprise to see that all three are posting dominant senior seasons, either.
Angelo Petrakis was named to the Under Armour All-America Game.
It was particularly tough for Petrakis to get the nod because of the strength of the faceoff position in the class, so he was especially relieved to hear the good news.
“Being picked was always in the back of my mind, but with the ’19 class being so strong at faceoff, I didn’t think about it too much,” Petrakis said. “I just kept training and getting better and I believed in myself, and it’s great to have people back what I’ve been telling myself my whole career. This also says a lot about the program that we come from. To have four 91 guys in the first two waves is completely unheard of, and it means a lot to me. I’ve grown up playing with these guys since fourth or fifth grade, so it’ll be cool to go out with a bang.”
Like the others, Drake hoped that he’d be considered for the game, but it wasn’t something that he expected.
“I’ve worked hard for it, but I never expected to receive it,” Drake said. “I’m honored to be chosen. I couldn’t have asked for better guys to play with, either. I’m excited to play with Angelo one last time, and I’ll be playing with the other guys at Duke. My goal has always been to play on Final Four weekend, and I think we have the talent to do that when we get there.”
But first, one final high school game.
Connor Drake will join a trio of Team 91 teammates in the Under Armour All-America Game.