Seneca Valley High School senior Evan McGoogan has been accepted to the United States Naval Academy, which says a great deal about his intelligence.

He is one of the top scholastic lacrosse players in Western Pennsylvania. That means he's an outstanding athlete.

And he is considering trying to get into the Navy SEALS program, which speaks volumes to his toughness.

"I didn't necessarily consider going to a military academy, but I went down to Annapolis [Md.] twice and just fell in love with the place," McGoogan said. "While I was visiting at the Naval Academy, I saw a part of myself in every one of the Midshipmen I spent time with. Attending the academy allows me to be among a special group of people that few others have the chance to be a part of."

He will first attend the Navy Academy Prep School in Newport, R.I., for a year before enrolling in the academy, which is fine with him. The prep school has a strong lacrosse team that competes against other prep schools.

It should come as no surprise that lacrosse is something McGoogan, a Cranberry resident, wants to continue in college. But he is quick to point out he made his college choice based on the opportunities the academy provides.

He is one of the captains on the Seneca Valley squad this spring and has a strong resume. McGoogan was on the All-American Watch List as a junior, and was an All-Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association midfielder and team MVP.

He was also one of three Pennsylvania players and the only one from this area to be selected to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Outback National High School team last June that played eight games in four cities.

At 6 feet 3 and 190 pounds, he has the strength -- he bench presses 250 pounds -- and speed -- he has been times at 4.7 seconds in the 400 -- to be a force. In 17 games last year, he scored 18 goals with 12 assists.

That's not bad for someone who didn't start playing lacrosse until he was in seventh grade. A neighbor, Chris Seguin, got him interested in the sport.

"[Chris] is from Rochester, N.Y., and went to Syracuse and he'd be out in the driveway with a [lacrosse] stick," McGoogan said. "He sort of showed me what to do and that's how it started."

Lacrosse requires endurance, especially for midfielders, because they are in constant motion. It didn't hurt that McGoogan was and is a good runner. He was on the cross country team at Seneca Valley in eighth and ninth grade, and has run indoor track while in high school.

He can't run track in the spring because it clashes with lacrosse. During the indoor season, McGoogan competes in the 400- and 800-meter runs, and runs legs on the 3,200-meter and distance medley relays. Last winter, the Raiders distance medley relay placed ninth at the Pennsylvania State Track Coaches Association championships at Penn State.

Last summer, McGoogan attended the Jake Reed/Nike Blue Chip Lacrosse Camp in Owings Mills, Md., and was one of a handful of players singled out by InsideLacrosse.com for their performances.

"What I think I do best is my play in the open field," he said. "That and my faceoff percentage are two things I do well."

He won more than 65 percent of his 260 faceoff assignments last season, which is excellent.

An outstanding student with a 3.3 grade-point average, McGoogan is interested in majoring in political science or economics at the academy. He is also interested in helping Seneca Valley improve on last season's 8-9 overall record.

The Raiders were third with a 3-2 record and finished behind Central Catholic, 5-0, and North Allegheny, 4-1, in the WPSLA Division 1 North Division last year.

Seneca Valley is in the same division again this season with Central Catholic, North Allegheny, Shady Side Academy, Sewickley Academy and Pine-Richland.