Daniel F. "Dan" Cocoziello (born August 8, 1985) is a lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 defenseman who plays professional field lacrosse

Field lacrosse

Field lacrosse, sometimes referred to as the "fastest sport on two feet," is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867....

 in the Major League Lacrosse

Major League Lacrosse

Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...

 (MLL). He starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse

Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse

The Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team represents Princeton University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...

 team from 2005 through 2008 where he started every game. He is the only defenseman to have earned the Men's Ivy League

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 Rookie of the Year. He was a three-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of institutions with varsity college lacrosse programs in all three NCAA divisions, founded in 1885.-Awards:...

 (USILA) All-American (once first team and twice second team) and three-time All-Ivy League selection (twice first team and once second team). During his college career, Princeton earned an Ivy League championship and two NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship

NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship

The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....

 invitations. In high school, he won three state lacrosse championships.

Background

Born in , Cocoziello was a baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 and soccer player in his youth. He attended elementary school at Gil St. Bernards in New Jersey. He met his middle school, high school and college teammate Alex Hewit

Alex Hewit

Alexander G. "Alex" Hewit is a retired lacrosse goaltender. He began playing lacrosse as a youth. He led his high school to three New Jersey state championships and was one of the most sought after high school lacrosse players in the United States...

 taking an entrance exam for New Jersey's Delbarton School

Delbarton School

Delbarton School is a private all-male Roman Catholic college preparatory school in Morristown, New Jersey, educating young men from 7th to 12th grade. Delbarton is a Catholic independent school directed by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey....

 in sixth grade. Even in seventh grade at Delbarton, Cocoziello was still a baseball player who was introduced to lacrosse during lunch and free periods with his classmates. He eventually got a lacrosse stick

Lacrosse stick

A lacrosse stick or crosse is a long-handled racket used to play the sport of lacrosse. Players use the lacrosse stick to handle the ball and to strike at opposing players...

 and started practicing as much as he could. In eighth grade, he joined the school team and made a New Jersey state eighth-grade all-star team along with Hewit that competed against all-stars from other states. He eventually joined the varsity team

Varsity team

In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...

 and helped lead the team to a cumulative 63–4 record and three high school lacrosse state championships. He was regarded as the best high school lacrosse recruit in the nation in the 2003, according to Inside Lacrosse

Inside Lacrosse

Inside Lacrosse is a lacrosse media entity and ESPN affiliate. It includes many parts including a news website, an 11 times annual magazine, online video streaming, internet forums and an ESPN television show...

. He played linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 in high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 and was offered a scholarship to play for Hofstra University

Hofstra University

Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...

, but opted to play lacrosse at Princeton.

College career

He started every game of his career at Princeton, where he earned the 2005 Men's Ivy League Rookie of the Year. That year he was an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection. He was also the first defenseman to win the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award. He was a first team All-Ivy League choice in 2006 & 2008 and second team choice in 2007 He was a first team USILA All-American Team

USILA All-American Team

The USILA All-American Team is an honor given annually to the best American men's college lacrosse players at their respective positions by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. The term All-American is derived from the same practice in American college football, in which the...

 selection in 2008 and second team selection in 2006 and 2007. He served as co-captain

Captain (sports)

In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...

 of the 2008 team. The 2006 team was Ivy League co-champion with Cornell

Cornell Big Red men's lacrosse

The Cornell Big Red Men's Lacrosse team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse. Cornell competes as a member of the Ivy League, of which they have won 23 conference championships. The Big Red have appeared in the NCAA tournament 22...

. Princeton qualified for the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 2006

2006 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship

The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 36th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Sixteen NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.The semifinals and...

 & 2007

2007 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship

The 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was held from May 12 through May 28, 2007. This was the 37th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament...

.

Professional career

Cocoziello began his MLL career with the Denver Outlaws

Denver Outlaws

The Denver Outlaws are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team. From 2006 to 2008, they were in the Western Conference. With the MLL contraction in the 2009 season from 10 to 6 teams The...

 during the 2008 MLL season

2008 MLL season

The 2008 Major League Lacrosse season was the 8th season of the league. The season began on May 17, 2008 and concluded with the championship game on August 24, 2008.-Pre-season:...

. On February 20, 2009, he was reassigned to the Toronto Nationals

Toronto Nationals

The Hamilton Nationals are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They began play in the 2009 season from Toronto, Ontario as the Toronto Nationals, becoming the first-ever Canadian team in MLL history...

. In 2010

2010 MLL season

The 2010 Major League Lacrosse season was the 10th season of the league. The season began on May 15, 2010 and concluded with the championship game on August 22, 2010.-Team movement:...

, he was a member of the Boston Cannons

Boston Cannons

The Boston Cannons are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They have played in the MLL since the 2001 season. From 2006 to 2008, they were in the Eastern Conference. From the league's inception in 2001 through 2005, they were in the...

.

He has appeared in no National Lacrosse League

National Lacrosse League

The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...

 games. However, his National Lacrosse League

National Lacrosse League

The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...

 rights were acquired by the Philadelphia Wings

Philadelphia Wings

The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 in the 2010 Orlando Titans

Orlando Titans

The Orlando Titans were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League that played in the 2010 season. The Titans began as the New York Titans, and played for three seasons in New York before announcing the move to Orlando on August 10, 2009....

 dispersal draft.

MLL statistics

The following are his MLL career stats:

			Regular Season								Playoffs
Season	Team		GP	G	2ptG	A	Pts	LB	PIM		GP	G	2ptG	A	Pts	LB	PIM
2008	Denver		6	0	0	0	0	13	2		2	0	0	0	0	3	0
MLL Totals			6	0	0	0	0	13	2		2	0	0	0	0	3	0

External links

• Cocoziello at the Major League Lacrosse
  Major League Lacrosse
  Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...