Brady Moze and Peyton Manko will soon be embarking on a hard-earned road trip.

Moze, from Cranberry Township, and Manko, a resident of Buffalo Township, have been chosen to represent Pennsylvania at the 2014 Brine National Lacrosse Classic, to be held June 30-July 3 in Maryland.

Both players, who will be sophomores at Seneca Valley and Freeport, respectively, made the cut at a spring tryout at Shady Side Academy.

Moze, a goalie, started for SV’s junior varsity team this past season.

“I began playing lacrosse my fifth-grade year,” he said. “By the end of that season, I had moved to the goalie position.”

“I instantly knew that he had a lot of talent and that he could do well as a goalie,” said Moze’s goalie coach, Duane Mayeda.

Moze is one of two netminders on Pennsylvania’s roster; Colin Miller of Downingtown, Chester County, being the other.

Only six of the team’s 25 players — including Moze and Manko — are from the western side of the state.

“I will be meeting the rest of my teammates and practicing once before the tournament starts,” said Moze. “I’m not concerned about us (being unfamiliar with each other). I know the kids I’ll be playing with are elite.”

Moze is doing what he can to improve his game.

“Every year, I go to the Rising Star Goalie Camp,” he said. “The shots are becoming faster and the level of play is getting better as I get older.”

Moze also plays for Low and Away’s club team, which is based in Pittsburgh. He is eager to see where he stacks up against players from across the country at the Brine Classic. Many college recruiters scout the talent at the annual event.

“I’m going to see some good competition and I think it’s going to be a good experience for me,” Moze said. “I’m hoping to meet some recruiters. I want to play in college.”

Mayeda believes Moze is putting himself in line to do just that.

“He has a passion for the sport and he understands his role as the quarterback of the defense,” he said. “He’s certainly one of the best young goalies in the area. Only two goalies were chosen from Pennsylvania. The fact that Brady is one of them, it speaks volumes about where he is at.”

Manko, a midfielder, became involved in lacrosse two years ago with the onset of Freeport’s middle school team. The Yellowjackets are in the process of fielding a varsity team, on which Manko plans to be a major contributor.

“It was after my first year when I started to really love the sport instead of just looking to hit people,” said Manko, who had lofty expectations entering the tryouts at Shady Side.

“Only a few freshmen were there, but my goal was to make the team. We did a lot of stick work and then some one-on-one drills. I was really excited when I heard that I was chosen.”

Like Moze, Manko can’t get enough of the sport. He has attended camps at Penn State, University of Michigan and the American Revolution Camp at Southpointe. He is a member of True Lacrosse Pittsburgh’s elite team.

“Peyton is self-motivated,” said Freeport coach Jarvis Lindsay. “He puts in the extra time and you wish you could have a whole team full of kids like that. It’s tough to pull kids away from other sports, but when they see what Peyton has done, they might think about trying lacrosse (at Freeport).”