Jake Piseno is a long pole/ box lacrosse defender out of Liverpool, New York, which is just in the Syracuse area. Piseno played college lacrosse at Albany University where he gained a reputation as a take away defender and a ground-ball machine, who isn’t afraid to push the ball in transition. Piseno was named a high school All American college American and was also named All World and defender of World games while playing for Haudenosaunee at the 2023 World Men’s field games in San Diego.
Currently Piseno just got done with his rookie season with the Denver Outlaws of the PLL and is gearing up for his first season with Rochester Knighthawks. A member of the Purepecha tribe Jake has played in both the u21 and men’s field championships for the Haudenosaunee Nationals.
I reached out to Piseno over social media with some questions so fans could get to know more about this great player.
- Being this your first season in the PLL what’s the biggest difference from the college game that you have found?
“The biggest difference for me is the mental side of things. Because you’re not in a locker room with your team every day like at college, you have to be a little more dialed on your own in order to stay ready with film, training, etc.”
2. Did you have a favorite MLL and NLL team growing up?
“Went to a few Rochester Rattlers/Rochester Knighthawks games growing up in Syracuse so I would say that was definitely my favorite team.”
- What was it like when you found out you were being drafted in both PLL and NLL?
“It was a dream come true. Understanding that all my life I was working for one ultimate goal and it was coming to fruition was a feeling like no other.”
- What played a part in getting you into box lacrosse?
“I Didn’t play a lot of box growing up so I didn’t know if I was going to play in the NLL so once I started getting looks in mock drafts and all that I knew I needed to take a summer to play in the UCBLL which really helped me.”
- What was it like playing in both the U21 and Men’s field’s worlds for Haudenosaunee?
“Playing in the world was something I never thought would happen. Playing alongside my teammates and coaches for both the U21 and men’s was something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Those tournaments really made me understand my love for this game.”
- Last world’s you made yourself a household name in the future will you be trying out for 6s and the next box worlds in 2028?
“Yes, for sure. I definitely wish I could’ve made it to tryouts for this year’s box team. I was in the last wave of people but ultimately because I was away for the PLL I couldn’t make it to tryouts so yeah that is definitely the goal to play in the Olympics and the next worlds for box”
- I know you wear the number 88. How did you pick it and any meaning behind it?
“Funny story actually I had #20 going into my freshman year at Albany and it was actually requested by some of the seniors so the coaches just had a mix up. So my coach gave me a sheet of numbers to choose from and 88 was on there and the first thing I thought of was Cody Jamieson and chose it. So not too
much significance but super happy it worked out the way it did.
Lookout for Jake as he will be wearing is #88 for Rochester Knighthawks once training camp begins. He will look to continue to make a name for himself in his first NLL season.”
Written By: Chris Vale
