Valenza Named to 2018 Italian National Men’s Lacrosse Team

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Men’s lacrosse senior close defenseman Luc Valenza earned a spot on the 2018 Italian national team roster for the upcoming Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship in Netanya, Israel.

Valenza is the second Minuteman selected to compete in the international tournament, alongside junior close defenseman Isaac Paparo of Team Israel.

Valenza started all 15 games at close defense for the Minutemen and posted career highs of 25 groundballs and 15 caused turnovers. He tallied at least one caused turnover in 11 of his 15 appearances and had multiple groundballs in seven contests, including four each against Army West Point and Harvard. Valenza also recorded his first collegiate point during the 2017 season on an assist at Harvard.

The 2018 World Lacrosse Championship will be the 13th edition of the international tournament organized by the FIL. A record 51 teams are expected to compete in the championship.

Italy competed in each of the most recent three holdings of the FIL World Championship in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The Italian squad finished 19th out of 38 competing teams in 2014.