Piroli sees the color of Brown

Nick Piroli decided a few days ago where he will go to college, even though his senior year of high school has yet to begin.

The Carthage lacrosse standout confirmed that he has verbally committed to play for, and attend, Brown University beginning in the fall of 2011.

Piroli considered offers from several other Division I programs before finally choosing to join the Bears, who finished in a four-way tie with Cornell, Princeton and Yale for the league title at 4-2 last season.

"Brown is a great academic school," he said. "That's what I was looking for first and foremost.

"They shared the Ivy League title last season, so the program is heading in the right direction," he added. "That's something I want to be a part of."

This season's Times All-North MVP tallied a Section 3 best 94 points (43 goals, 51 assists) during his junior campaign with the Comets. He's looking forward to testing his talents on the field at college lacrosse's highest level, but he's also looking forward to challenging his brain in the Ivy League classroom.

Dartmouth and Harvard were among the schools competing for Piroli's services, as were Fairfield, Loyola and Army.

"I work hard in the classroom, and I don't want that to go to waste," he said.

The attackman joins teammates Derek Kehoe (Ohio State) and Thomas Grimm (Syracuse) as the third Carthage senior-to-be to commit to a Division I program.

"I couldn't be happier for Nick," Carthage coach Kirk Ventiquattro said. "Not too many Ivy League opportunities come along for kids from Carthage."

Piroli said the choice to pass on a chance to attend West Point was the most difficult part of the process. His father, Tom, retired from the Army after 20 years of service, and Nick said he once considered a similar career path.

"It was a difficult decision," he said. "But I sat down with my parents, weighed the pros and cons, and I think I made the right choice."