Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/3/16
From Princeton Lacrosse
The Princeton men’s lacrosse team, featuring Philly standouts Gavin McBride (Haverford School), Michael Sowers (Upper Dublin) and Greg Merrill (Great Valley) – is touring Europe for a week and will play the English National Team two more times, after winning, 15-5, at the National Sports Complex in Lisbon.
From left, Princeton’s Gavin McBride (Haverford School), Michael Sowers (Upper Dublin) and Greg Merrill (Great Valley) enjoy their time in Portugal
Princeton arrived Sunday in Portugal, and toured the Algarve region near the border with Spain. Today’s win, in Lisbon, featured two goals and an assist from McBride and three assists from Sowers – the 2016 Phillylacrosse.com Co-Player of the Year. Merrill did not play due to injury. The Tigers play the English again Friday and then Sunday before a flight back home.
On Wednesday the team bus made its way to the town of Alcoutim, which sits on one side of the Rio Guadiana (about 14 miles up river from where it meets the Atlantic Ocean). On the opposite side, maybe a quarter mile away, was the Spanish town of Sanlucar de Guadiana.
The team ferried across the river in groups of eight and then took a Jeep up the hill on the Spanish side, where, by the way, it was an hour later. From there, it was a short walk to a launching point, from which the members of the travel party could zipline their way back over the river, crossing back into Portugal and going back an hour in time, even if the entire 720-meter ride took only 50 seconds.
Because there were 54 zipliners, it took a few hours for everyone to get through. The rest of the time was spent in the small town of Alcoutim, which features some small coffee shops and restaurants right along the water’s edge. It was a cool morning, with just a little fog, which made it perfect conditions for the zip line and the cafes.
After the last member of the group had come back to Portugal, it was time to head back to Lisbon, which was a four-plus hour excursion. The team arrived at its second hotel, which is on a golf course, about three miles from the Atlantic Ocean and about 20 minutes from downtown Lisbon.