{{short description|American professional lacrosse player (born 1981)}} {{for|the American football coach and player|Kyle Sweeney (American football)}} {{Infobox lacrosse player|name=Kyle Sweeney|image=File:Kyle Sweeney playing for New York Lizards (cropped).jpg|birth_date={{birth date and age|1981|4|5|mf=y}}|birth_place=Springfield, Pennsylvania, U.S.|height_ft=6|height_in=2|weight_lbs=195|position=Defense|ncaa_team=Georgetown|class=2003|nll_draft=83rd Overall|nll_draft_year=2003|nll_draft_team=Philadelphia Wings|nll_team=New England Black Wolves|former_nll_teams=Philadelphia Wings <br> Edmonton Rush <br> Buffalo Bandits|mll_draft=3rd Round|mll_draft_year=2003|mll_draft_team=Bridgeport Barrage|mll_team=New York Lizards|former_mll_teams=Chesapeake Bayhawks <br> Boston Cannons <br> Washington Bayhawks <br> Philadelphia Barrage <br> Bridgeport Barrage|shoots=Right|career_start=2003|career_end=2016|coach=|profhof=2024|career_highlights=* 4× MLL Champion (2004, 2006, 2007, 2011)|medaltemplates={{MedalCountry|{{fb|USA}}}} {{MedalSport|Men's lacrosse}} {{MedalCompetition|World Lacrosse Championship}} {{Medal|S|2006 London|}} {{Medal|G|2010 Manchester|}} {{MedalCompetition|World Indoor Lacrosse Championship}} {{Medal|B|2007 Halifax|}}|uslaxhof=|uslaxhof_year=2023}} '''Kyle Sweeney''' (born April 5, 1981, in Springfield, Pennsylvania) is an American professional lacrosse player who plays for the New York Lizards in Major League Lacrosse. He is the vice president of sports nutrition at Medifast, and co-founder of the Gotham Lacrosse League.

Sweeney played for the U.S. Men's National Team in the 2006 and 2010 World Lacrosse Championship,<ref name=":3">2010 Men's World Lacrosse Championship Roster</ref> and played for Team USA in the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.uslacrosse.org/team-usa/us-men|title=U.S. Men {{!}} US Lacrosse|website=www.uslacrosse.org|language=en|access-date=2017-04-01}}</ref>

== Personal == Sweeney is a native of Springfield, Pennsylvania. He is from an athletic family: both his father, Jack, and mother, Denise, are gym teachers, and his brother was an All American athlete in high school.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/sports/springfield-cougars-lacrosse-club-honors-kyle-sweeney-with-campbell-alumni/article_9fd4f060-e835-51c2-8658-91ab1d5ae286.html|title=Springfield Cougars Lacrosse Club honors Kyle Sweeney with 'Campbell Alumni Award'|last=McCartyCORRESPONDENT|first=Dan|work=Delco News Network|access-date=2017-03-31|language=en}}</ref> He began playing lacrosse in middle school for the Springfield Athletic Association, and moved on to the Springfield Cougars Lacrosse Club in high school, where he received All-American honors and was the All-Central League MVP. He also played football and basketball.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nylizards.com/players/kyle-sweeney|title=Kyle Sweeney {{!}} New York Lizards|last=Lizards|first=New York|website=New York Lizards|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}}</ref>

Sweeney married Angela Lanzafama in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/fashion/weddings/angela-lanzafama-kyle-sweeney-weddings.html|title=Angela Lanzafama, Kyle Sweeney: Weddings|date=2011-08-05|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-03-31|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Collegiate career== Sweeney attended Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, where he was a three-time All-American long-stick midfielder. As a freshman, he was awarded the 2000 ECAC Rookie of the Year. He was also named Two-time ECAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 and 2001, and was named to the All-ECAC First Team three times.<ref name=":0" /> He served as co-captain of the 2003 Georgetown Hoyas men's lacrosse team. Sweeney set the Georgetown all-time record of 229 ground balls while in college.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostoncannons.com/players/kyle-sweeney|title=Kyle Sweeney {{!}} Boston Cannons|last=Cannons|first=Boston|website=Boston Cannons|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}}</ref> Academically, he was a double major in international business and marketing as well as minor concentration in sociology.

Sweeney was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.usalacrosse.com/player-profile/kyle-sweeney | title=Kyle Sweeney Hall of Fame entry | last= | first= | website=USA Lacrosse | language=en | access-date= }}</ref>

==Professional lacrosse career == ===Major League Lacrosse=== Sweeney was selected by the Bridgeport Barrage in the 2003 Collegiate Draft, Round 3. He followed the team when it moved from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2003. Sweeney anchored the defensive unit that helped the Barrage win the MLL championship in 2004, 2006 and 2007. When the team folded in 2008, Sweeney moved to Washington Bayhawks for one game, then over to the Boston Cannons, which he led to win the 2011 MLL Championships. In 2014 he moved back to the Bayhawks, which relocated in Chesapeake. In 2017, he began playing for the New York Lizards.<ref name=":1" />thumb|312x312px|Sweeney playing for New York LizardsSweeney has been selected to the MLL All-Star Game nine times, been named All-MLL three times, and has won the Steinfeld Cup four times.<ref name=":2" /> He is currently ranked third for all-time games played in the league, as well as eighth for all-time ground balls fielded.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/articles/record-book|title=Record Book {{!}} Major League Lacrosse|last=Lacrosse|first=Major League|website=Major League Lacrosse|language=en|access-date=2017-04-01}}</ref>

After a fifteen-year career, Sweeney announced his retirement from Major League Lacrosse on August 31, 2017.

===National League Lacrosse=== The Philadelphia Wings drafted Sweeney in the eighth round (83rd overall) of the 2003 NLL Entry Draft.<ref>[http://www.wingslax.com/Team/player/player/ Kyle Sweeney Wings Player Bio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080122132809/http://www.wingslax.com/team/player/player/ |date=2008-01-22 }}</ref> He followed the team when it moved to Connecticut, changing its name to the New England Black Wolves. He retired from indoor play in 2015.

===International career=== Sweeney played for the U.S. Men's National Team in the 2006 and 2010. In 2010, his team won the World Lacrosse Championship in Manchester.<ref name=":3" /> He also played for Team USA in the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.<ref name=":4" />

Sweeney has been described as one of the "best defenders in the game, period", by Inside Lacrosse, which placed him no. 24 on their Top 50 list in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.insidelacrosse.com/wire.php?id=3080|title=NLL Insider Top 50: Kyle Sweeney #24 {{!}} Inside Lacrosse|website=www.insidelacrosse.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}}</ref>

== Business career == Sweeney was the chief operating officer for Maverick Lacrosse, a New York-based lacrosse equipment manufacturer, from 2005 to 2010. He then moved to Performance Sports Group, where he worked as Vice president of operations and product development until 2013, when he became vice president of marketing and business planning. He left in 2016 to become vice president of sports nutrition at Medifast.

Sweeney co-founded the Gotham Lacrosse League, an elite men's summer league in New York City, with Billy Pymm in 2007. The league expanded to include an elite women's league in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/gotham-lacrosse-league-launches-women-s-league/18940|title=Gotham Lacrosse League Launches Women's League|access-date=2017-03-31}}</ref>

==Statistics== ===Major League Lacrosse (MLL)=== {| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! rowspan="106" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! colspan="7" | Regular&nbsp;Season ! rowspan="106" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! colspan="7" | Playoffs |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season !! Team !! GP !! G !! 2ptG !! A !! Pts !! GB !! PIM !! GP !! G !! 2ptG !! A !! Pts !! GB !! PIM |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2003 ||Bridgeport||5||0||0||1||1||15|| 1 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2004 || Philadelphia ||12||2||0||1||3||47|| 4 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2005 || Philadelphia ||12||1||0||2||3||44|| 1 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2006 || Philadelphia ||11||1||0||0||1||32|| 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2007 || Philadelphia ||12||5||0||2||7||29|| 0 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 5 || 0 |- ALIGN="center" | 2008 || Philadelphia ||11||5||0||4||9||47|| 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2009 || Washington ||1||0||0||0||0||3|| 3 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2009 || Boston ||11||9||0||4||13||57|| 3 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 |-ALIGN="center" | 2010 || Boston ||10||5||0||1||4||36|| 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2011 || Boston ||9||2||0||2||4||21|| 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 0 |-ALIGN="center" | 2012 || Boston ||14||3||0||5||8||32|| 3 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2013 || Boston ||14||4||0||3||7||35|| 1 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2014 || Boston ||13||3||0||0||3||25|| 1 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2015 || Chesapeake ||13||1||0||0||1||22|| 2 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2016 || Chesapeake ||8||0||0||1||1||22|| 1 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2016 || New York ||5||0||0||0||0||18||.5|| - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" | MLL Totals !!161!! 41 !! 0 !! 26 !! 65 !!485!!36.5!!10!! 3 !! 0 !! 2 !! 5 !! 18 !! 0 |}

===National League Lacrosse (NLL)=== {| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! rowspan="105" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! colspan="6" | Regular&nbsp;Season ! rowspan="105" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! colspan="6" | Playoffs |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season !! Team !! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! LB !! PIM !! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! LB !! PIM |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2005 || Philadelphia || 12 || 1 || 6 || 7 || 53 || 11 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2006 || Philadelphia || 15 || 4 || 9 || 13 || 91 || 8 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2007 || Philadelphia || 16 || 4 || 7 || 11 || 85 || 6 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2008 || Philadelphia || 16 || 5 || 20 || 25 || 127 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2009 || Philadelphia || 16 || 7 || 18 || 25 || 130 || 6 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2010 || Philadelphia || 15 || 4 || 6 || 10 || 90 || 4 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2011 || Edmonton || 6 || 1 || 7 || 8 || 24 || 2 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2011 || Philadelphia || 9 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 43 || 0 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ALIGN="center" | 2012 || Buffalo || 5 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 20 || 4 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2013 || Philadelphia || 9 || 2 || 5 || 7 || 37 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 |- ALIGN="center" | 2014 || Philadelphia || 18 || 2 || 12 || 14 || 53 || 18 || - || - || - || - || - || - |- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" | NLL totals !!180!! 32 !! 92 !! 124!! 753 !! 67 !!2!! 0 !! 2 !! 2 !! 3 !! 0 |}

===NCAA=== {| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp; ! colspan="6" | |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season !!Team!! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! GB !! |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2000 ||Georgetown|| 14 || 2 || 4 || 6 || 61 || |- ALIGN="center" | 2001 ||Georgetown|| 15 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 60 || |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2002 ||Georgetown|| 15 || 5 || 4 || 9 || 75 || |- ALIGN="center" | 2003 ||Georgetown|| 11 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 33 || |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" |NCAA Totals!! 55 !! 7 !! 9 !! 16 !! 229 !! |}

==See also== * Lacrosse in Pennsylvania

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20041012154554/http://www.thehoya.com/sports/050200/sports2.htm Hoya website highschool and college background]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Kyle}} Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:American lacrosse players Category:Edmonton Rush players Category:Georgetown Hoyas men's lacrosse players Category:Major League Lacrosse players Category:National Lacrosse League All-Stars Category:Philadelphia Wings players Category:Sportspeople from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Category:People from Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Category:McDonough School of Business alumni Category:Lacrosse players from Pennsylvania