A ‘JACK OF ALL TRADES’
Adrian Sorichetti a versatile player for Rush
If there’s one Saskatchewan Rush player who has maybe flown under the radar this season, it’s Adrian Sorichetti.
Rush fans maybe haven’t taken notice of this transitional player, but head coach Derek Keenan certainly has.
“He’s a real good player for us,” says Keenan, who also coached Sorichetti in junior. “He’s steadily got better.” Sorichetti, 25, was taken 13th overall in the 2013 National Lacrosse League draft. The 6-foot, 200-pounder played junior in Ontario for the Whitby Warriors and college lacrosse at Hofstra University.
“He’s got a lot of skill and he’s extremely strong,” says Keenan, whose Rush round out a huge two-game set Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at Sasktel Centre against the Colorado Mammoth.
“He hits really hard. He’s a fast player in transition. He’s always been a skilled player with offensive potential and upside, but his defensive game is a part he’s really had to work at and he continues to get better.”
Sorichetti has five goals and five assists for 10 points through 13 games this season. Last season, he totalled five goals and three assists in 15 games.
Defensively, he has scooped up 51 loose balls and created 16 turnovers this season.
“He’s been able to add a bit of special teams play to his game and his offence,” says Keenan. “He’s scored some big goals for us in big games. His fitness level is very high end. He works hard at that. He really wants to be a good player in this league.”
‘JACK OF ALL TRADES’
Sorichetti can’t say if there’s a certain position or role that he prefers.
“I just prefer playing and having that opportunity to show that I can compete,” he says.
“I’m just very fortunate for the opportunities I’ve had so far.”
Sorichetti has also had the opportunity to coach and teach lacrosse in the Whitby area. What he stresses is all-around play.
“These kids are coming in saying, ‘I’m an offensive guy’ or ‘I’m a captain’ and I always go to them and say, ‘No, you’re a lacrosse player,” says Sorichetti. “You should never staple yourself as this or that. You should be able to play every position and feel comfortable at every position because that’s the way the game is transitioning to. You have a lot of guys who are versatile and can play offence and defence. Having that trade of playing one very well and one very good, you’re going to be more successful in the sport as opposed to being just very good at one position. If you’re more athletic and fast, you can definitely be more of an asset to a lot of NLL teams.”
NLL teams like the Rush do not deploy a conventional cookie-cutter system in terms of offence and defence.
“Transition guys do play a major role in a team’s success, whether it’s playing that concrete D or pushing that ball up the floor with pace and really creating those odd-man situations,” Sorichetti stresses. “Those kind of situations can win championships.”
Jimmy Quinlan, who coaches the Rush defence, certainly appreciates Sorichetti’s versatility.
“He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades guy,” says Quinlan, adding Sorichetti played almost every position on his NCAA team. “He was a guy we were lucky to get just due to his versatility. He’s really developed into a really solid defensive player for us, but growing up, he played kind of on offence. He’s very coachable and all the respect and success he’s had in this league, he’s definitely earned it.
“He’s a player that, when he gets the ball on his stick in transition, usually good things happen.” Even better than they thought. “He’s another one of coach Keenan’s finds,” adds Quinlan. “Just the amount of energy, athleticism and strength he brings, we definitely knew what he brings when he selected him, but we never knew how good he would be and he’s kind of living up to the billing.
“He’s a pleasant surprise.”
BIG GAME
Saturday’s game will have a huge bearing on NLL standings and possibly first place overall.
“It’s always been a battle with Colorado — they’re a tough team,” says Sorichetti. “Heading into that final stretch, our bodies are a little beat up and this is definitely going to put us and Colorado to the test because it’s a back to back with a lot of travel and a lot on the line. It’s going to make for a good NLL game, for sure.”
Winning is the bottom line. Sorichetti knows a bit about that, says Keenan.
“He’s been a winner his whole life. He played on a championship team in junior A and on our championship team last year. He usually plays really big in big games. He’s scored big goals in big games in the past and he usually shows up with big defensive efforts. He’s a gamer and we expect this weekend he’s going to bring it to an even higher level.”