(Photo: Adrenaline Lacrosse)

On Sunday night, some of the best players from the west took to the field at The Star in Frisco, Texas for the Adrenaline All-American Game. The Nationals beat the Americans 10-9 with Lehigh-bound Grant Rodney grabbing MVP honors.

Here’s a look at some of the standouts from Sunday’s contest:

John Alie, Grandview (Colo.) – Bellarmine

Appearing as one of the smoothest players out there, the Bellarmine-bound attackman was one of the major factors in the Nationals’ victory. Often playing behind the cage at X, he dished out two assists and put a goal in the back of the cage himself. His lone goal came in the fourth quarter and came by way of a backhanded bouncer as he pushed past GLE.

Grant Rodny, A, Air Academy (Colo.) – Lehigh

Rodney’s first goal of the game came early in the second quarter as he rolled away from his defender on the far left side of the field, sprinted towards the middle to the field, and let it rip just as he passed the hash marks. From then on the Colorado native continued to impress as he showed all his tools during a two-goal performance that earned him MVP honors.

Max Sloat, A, Sacred Heart Prep (Calif.) – Duke

The Duke-bound California native came to life when his team needed him the most, scoring consecutive goals in the third quarter to help cut the Americans’ deficit to one. On both of his scores, Sloat showcased his ability to get the slightest edge on his defender and put the ball in the back of the net however needed.

Logan Ip, M, Corona Del Mar (Calif.) – Harvard

The Harvard-bound California native came to life late in the game to give some hope for an Americans comeback. He threaded the needle with an assist to Jack Pappernick inside before later inverting against a short-stick, getting him to bite, taking a few steps past GLE, and letting it rip for what ended up being the last goal of the game. IP also did a great job when needed in between the boxes with grabbing crucial ground balls.

Wilson Van Buren, FO, Blessed Trinity (Ga.) – Georgetown

While the Americans overall had trouble getting started, trailing 7-1 at the half, Van Buren sure didn’t. The lone representative from the state of Georgia in the contest, the Georgetown-bound faceoff man was dominant from start to finish as he gave both Grant Guthrie and Tyler Kloeckl plenty of trouble all night at the dot. Van Buren ended the day with a 10-for-17 (58%) mark by my count.

Landon Johnson, D, Bellevue (Wash.) – Drexel

Perhaps no defenseman brought the boom quite like Johnson did on Sunday night for the Nationals defense. No matter what the situation was the 5-foot-9, 180-pound defenseman seemingly found a way to make his presence known. A Physical playmaker he constantly put the ball on the carpet. Matched up with Chad Palumbo for a good portion of the game, he helped hold him scoreless.

Connor Knight, G, Jesuit Dallas (Texas) – Richmond

Playing the first half of the contest for the Nationals, Knight showed why he is such a special talent. Taking up plenty of cage, he gave opposing shooters some real trouble and made it seem at times as if the goal had a lid on it. He had five saves on the day.

Sam Cooper, G, Santa Fe Christian (Calif.) – Dartmouth

Coming in during the second half to backstop the Americans defense, Cooper put on a show and was a major reason as to why they were able to stay in this game until the very end. A natural shot stopper, Cooper ended the day with six saves (by my count).