Greg "GD" Downing (born March 24, 1985, in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, th ...

) is a professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

player with the

Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws were a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team. Since joining the league, the Outlaws have played in the ...

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...

and with the

Toronto Rock The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. Oakville resident ...

of the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

. He was selected to participate in the 2008 and 2009 MLL All-Star Games.

College

Downing attended Fairfield University, where he was a three-time All-American. In 2005, Downing helped lead the Stags to the Great Western Lacrosse League Championship and the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament. Also in 2006 and 2007, he was selected for the

Tewaaraton Trophy The Tewaaraton Award is an annual award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players, since 2001. It is the lacrosse equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. The award is presented by The Tewaaraton Foundation and th ...

Preseason Watchlist, given to the nation's most outstanding NCAA lacrosse player. During his college career Downing produced 141 points, on 101 goals and 40 assists. Downing was clocked shooting the ball 109 mph in practice.

Professional

Downing was drafted in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 2007

Collegiate Draft by the Los Angeles Riptide. Downing was also selected in the 4th round (43rd overall) in the 2007 National Lacrosse League expansion draft by the Boston Blazers. As a member of the Los Angeles Riptide, Downing was selected to play in the 2008 MLL All-Star Game, and as a member of the

he was selected to play in the 2009 MLL All-Star Game. Downing won the 2011 MLL championship with the Boston Cannons and the 2016 MLL Championship with the

. On March 14, 2018, Downing retired from the MLL.

Team USA

Downing was one of 18 players named to the

United States men's national lacrosse team The United States men's national lacrosse team has won ten of thirteen World Lacrosse Championships, the most recent in 2018. Team USA finished second in the other three field lacrosse tournaments, losing to Canada in 1978, 2006, and 2014. The te ...

by U.S. Indoor Lacrosse and participated at the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in

Prague, Czech Republic Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oc ...

, in May 2011, where he won the bronze medal. At the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, hosted by the

Onondaga nation The Onondaga people ( Onondaga: , ''Hill Place people'') are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois (''Haudenosaunee'') Confederacy in northeast North America. Their traditional homeland is in and around present-day Onondaga ...

, Downing was again a member of the team, and again won the bronze medal. In 2019, Downing was named to the team again.

External links

Boston Blazers Profile"The Goal" – 2005 Last Second Game Winning Goal vs. Notre Dame

References

1985 births Living people American lacrosse players Boston Blazers players Minnesota Swarm players Georgia Swarm players Fairfield Stags men's lacrosse players Major League Lacrosse players Denver Outlaws players Sportspeople from Auburn, New York {{US-lacrosse-bio-stub