March 13, 2010

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team put on an impressive show for an overflowing crowd at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse Friday night, dispatching No. 13 Simon Fraser by a score of 22-10. Michigan got off to its best start of the season, scoring seven unanswered to open the game with 13 different players eventually registering goals.

Junior attackman Trevor Yealy (Pittsburgh/Upper St. Claire) put together another strong performance, tallying five goals, including three in a row in a three-minute span midway through the first. Seniors Clark McIntyre (Little Silver, N.J./Rumson Fair-Haven) and Jordan Kirshner (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) both tied career highs with three and two goals, respectively, to help propel Michigan to its fourth win of the season.

McIntyre got Michigan going quickly, just scoring just 22 seconds in on a feed from fellow senior, captain David Rogers (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills). Senior midfielder Anthony Hrusovsky (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) scored from the left wing on a spinning shot at 12:16, followed by senior attackman Kevin Zorovich’s (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) lone goal of the night at 10:25 as Michigan took a 3-0 lead just five minutes into the game.

Kirshner added the first of his two at 6:29 after each team put together possessions midway through the first. Just seven seconds later, Yealy started his own mini-run, finishing a pass from senior faceoff specialist David Reinhard (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing), who cleanly won the faceoff, scooped up the loose ball and fed Yealy right out front for the dip and dunk.

Yealy then finished on both ends of the special teams, scoring on the man-up on a feed from senior attackman Josh Ein (Potomac, Md./Bullis) before registering a man-down goal on the transition at 3:38. With Michigan leading 7-0, Simon Fraser finally got on the board at the three-minute mark followed by two more goals before the quarter-break to draw within 7-3 while also carrying the momentum into the second quarter.

Reinhard put an end to that, winning the opening faceoff of the second and racing down field before firing for his first goal of the year. Yealy added his third at 12:38 before senior midfielder Jamison Goldberg (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) cut across the face of the cage and fired to help Michigan regain the seven-goal lead with 10:05 left in the first half. Goldberg was on the other end next time down, feeding Ein for his first of two goals as UM increased its lead to 11-3 at 9:25.

Once again, however, the Clan didn’t back down, going on another three-goal scoring run in a four-minute span midway through the second. Michigan finally stopped the run with 3:39 left in the quarter on Kirshner’s second tally of the game before fellow senior midfielder Michael Bartomioli (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville – Providence) scored shortly thereafter for the 13-6 lead. McIntyre finished off the first-half scoring on the man-up as the maize and blue cruised into the halftime break.

The teams played evenly to open the third, with each team registering two goals in the first half of the period. Michigan finally got rolling again with 5:28 left in the quarter on Yealy’s final tally of the game before Hrusovsky added his second and freshman Thomas Paras (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Ignatius) got in on the action at the :32 mark.

With the maize and blue leading 19-8 starting the final frame, freshman midfielder Willie Steenland (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) scored his first goal as a Wolverine more than seven minutes into the fourth quarter on a dodge from behind the cage. Sophomore midfielder Alex Vasileff (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm) scored his first career goal 1:30 later to match the feat before Ein closed out the Michigan scoring at 6:05. The Clan scored two late goals as the Wolverines earned the 22-10 decision and their fourth win of the season over a ranked opponent.

Statistically, Michigan won every category. UM outshot the Clan 58-28 and scooped up 64 ground balls compared to 45 by SFU. UM was 27 of 37 on faceoffs and cleared the ball at an impressive rate, finishing 27 of 29 on clears. Michigan held Simon Fraser to under 50 percent on clears (16-33) with a strong ride. The maize and blue scored twice on eight man-up attempts with SFU scoring once on four attempts.

The Wolverines will travel just outside the outskirts of Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti, Mich. to take on Eastern Michigan Sunday at noon in Rynearson Stadium on the EMU campus. For all your Michigan men’s lacrosse needs, please visit mgobluelacrosse.com.

March 13, 2010

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Earlier this week, Davenport head coach Bob Clarkson signed defenseman Scot Bradley of Forest Hills Eastern High School (MI). The Panthers are currently 6-0 on the year and face Dayton and St. Johns in two top 10 matchups this weekend at home.

Bradley comes to Davenport from nearby Forest Hills Eastern HS, where he is a standout on the boys lacrosse team under head coach Jake Heglund. Bradley, a 6′3″ defender, has played the last two years on varsity for the Hawks.

Scot is the son of Michele and Matt Bradley.

Kyle Stelter of Northview High School has also signed to attend Davenport in the fall. The offensive-minded forward will join a Panthers team that is currently ranked No. 2 in the MCLA D-II.

Stelter has already scored 100 goals on the Northview varsity squad as he heads into his senior season this spring. He has been a starter each season as a Wildcat and was named All-Conference (OK-Conference Tier 2) and All-Region last season.

Kyle is the son of Tammy and Joe Shelter and plays lacrosse under head coach Mike Malloy.

For Immediate Release (March 12, 2010) – In cooperation with Lindenwood TV, CollegeLAX is proud to annouce that tonight’s men’s and women’s lacrosse doubleheader between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Lindenwood Lions will be broadcast live online!

This special event is a benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project. All proceeds from the event will go to the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization that assists wounded men and women of the United States armed forces. To get involved and make an online donation, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Game time for the women’s lacrosse game is 6:00 p.m. with the men’s game immediately following at 8:00 p.m. (Central Time) from Lindenwood University’s Hunter Stadium.

CLICK HERE to watch the video stream of the women’s game online at 6:00 p.m. (CT) plus chat about the games with other CollegeLAX fans.

CLICK HERE to watch the video stream of the men’s game online at 8:00 p.m. (CT) plus chat about the games with other CollegeLAX fans.

For Immediate Release – US Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse

Annapolis, MD – Sunday, March 7th, 2010 was a great day for the Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse program, but it had nothing to do with a Championship, a win, a coveted new recruit or a spectacular play.  It had to do with a family reunion.  After 21 long years of separation, the Senyard Family was reunited with the Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse family.

John Senyard was one of the key figures in the founding of the Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse team.  A member of the Coast Guard Academy Class of 1983, John was a Baltimore kid that grew up with an intense love for the game of lacrosse.  As a cadet, John was often seen roaming the decks of Bravo Company in Chase Hall (the cadet barracks) with a lacrosse stick in hand.  He attempted on several occasions to start a Men’s Lacrosse team without success.

However, his persistence and example to junior cadets sparked the launch of the Men’s Lacrosse team during the spring following his graduation.  One of those junior cadets, Charlie Turner, CGA ‘86, remarked “I’m convinced that the Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse program would never have come to fruition without John Senyard. We underclassmen were emboldened by a small, but loyal group of seniors who kept playing lacrosse because of John”.  All information pointed to the fact that John Senyard was the spark that started the lacrosse team – John Senyard was the “Father of Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse”.

Unfortunately, LT Senyard was not able to witness the Men’s Lacrosse team grow into the highly competitive team that exists today. He was killed in an aircraft accident in Ilhithi, Kenya in 1989 along with his classmate LT Anthony Czapowskyj.  Following his untimely death in 1989, LT Senyard’s parents started the LT John M. Senyard Lacrosse Endowment that has been the life blood of Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse since 1989. Unfortunately, that’s where the connection faded and was feared lost.

In 2008, the Coast Guard Academy celebrated 25 years of lacrosse and embarked on a project to understand and document the past in order to chart the team’s future course to success.  Many Bears lacrosse players past and present knew there was a Lacrosse Endowment, but very few knew it was the LT JOHN M. SENYARD LACROSSE ENDOWMENT – let alone who John Senyard was.

To start, the team contacted several of John’s classmates and scoured the Class of ‘83 yearbook for references, but not much information was available.  Google searches revealed only that there was an end-of-season lacrosse team award given out by the St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco, CA called the John M. Senyard Award.  Why?  What was the connection?

Little by little, members of the “Old Bears” Lacrosse Network, an informal group of former players, coaches and friends of the Coast Guard Lacrosse Program, were able to piece together the puzzle of John Senyard’s life.  John served aboard USCGC Alert (WMEC-630) homeported in Cape May, New Jersey from 1983-84 and the Electronics Engineering Center (EECEN), Wildwood, New Jersey, from 1984-85.  He attended the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif., from 1985-87 where he earned a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering.  He reported to Maintenance and Logistics Command – Pacific (MCLPAC) in 1987 where he met California Lacrosse Hall of Fame Coach Stockton Buck and started as a volunteer Assistant Coach for the St. Ignatius College Preparatory program in nearby San Francisco for the 1988 and 1989 seasons.  Coach Buck recently contacted the “Old Bears”, remarking, “Needless to say, he was greatly admired and respected and his death was a tragic blow to all of us. In reviewing this material, it’s hard to believe that it’s been 20+ years since he died; it all seems like just yesterday.”

Although the “Old Bears” were excited to finally have a timeline of John’s Coast Guard career, they still couldn’t find any surviving members of the Senyard family.   After two and a half years of tracking down leads, making phone calls and writing letters that were often sent back marked “return to sender”, John’s sister, Melissa, contacted a CGA alumnus on Facebook to inquire about all the information about her brother on the Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse website.  Specifically, she noted the LT John M. Senyard Endowment Challenge – a major fund raising effort for 2010 intended to raise the Endowment financial assets to a goal of $25,000.

Soon emails and phone calls were being exchanged between various alumni, current players and members of the Senyard Family – culminating in John’s mother and sister, Mrs. Pat Graham and Mrs. Melissa Schlee, attending the Bear’s Spring Break double-header at the Naval Academy against club teams from Navy and University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC).

Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Schlee had a great time meeting coaches and former players, watching warm-ups and talking to current cadets about John’s legacy.  They were pleased to see that the team had decided to honor John by adorning the new game jerseys with the Class of ‘83 crest and JMS on the right sleeve.  Mrs. Graham was particularly interested in meeting whatever player was wearing jersey number four because that was John’s number on the Monterey Lacrosse Club.  Ironically enough, another Baltimore-native, Cadet 2/c Matt Chase, has worn the number four jersey for the last few years – in fact, there have been several Maryland natives that have worn the number four jersey over the years.  Mrs. Graham stated that she was “glad that the Coast Guard Academy had not retired John’s number, that way he could still be on the field playing.”

March 10, 2010

COLORADO RETURNS TO TURF IN ST. LOUIS

The University of Colorado will travel to St. Louis this weekend to face back to back games versus No. 16 Lindenwood (4-3, GRLC 0-0) March 12 at 8 p.m. followed by Miami (FL) (4-2, SELC 1-2) March 13 at 4 p.m. Both games will be played on the Lions’ home field.

BUFFS SEEK TO END WEEKEND AT 3-1

CU opened the season with a heartbreaking loss to the University of New Hampshire, falling 9-8 March 5. With redemption on its mind, CU pulled off a monster upset of No. 3 Simon Fraser two days later by a final of 17-7. Lindenwood, meanwhile, is looking to increase its current three-game win streak to five this weekend at home against the Buffs and the ‘Canes. The Lions are coming off wins against Texas A&M, Tennessee and Texas. After losing to conference rival Florida State 17-7, Miami is currently on a two-game win streak after beating Florida International and Florida Gulf Coast.

LET THE RECORD SHOW

As of the 2006 season, Colorado is 10-7 in conference games and 34-17 in non-conference contests. Lindenwood has dominated its conference since ‘06, losing only one game while compiling a 24-1 record. In non-conference play, the Lions are 28-23. Thus far in the 2010 season, Miami is 1-2 in conference and 3-0 non-conference. *

HEAD TO HEAD

The Buffaloes’ previous and very first matchup with the Lions came out in their favor in the form of a 9-4 win at home April 9, 2009. This weekend will be the first meeting between the Buffs and Miami.

STATISTICS

Colorado dropped this week from No. 7 to No. 11 in the MCLA The Lax Mag poll, while Lindenwood rose from No. 17 to No. 16. The Hurricanes remain unranked in the Top 23, but still will not be underestimated by CU head coach Pete Stevenson and his squad. Miami averages 11 points per game in the regular season while giving up 9.83 goals per contest. Meanwhile, Lindenwood bolsters a  9.43 points per game and a 9.86 goals against average. And Colorado? 12.5 goal average versus eight goals against.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Junior James Blackburn (6 goals, 3 assists) and freshman Doug Lilburne (5 goals) lead Colorado’s offense. That’s 4.5 points per game for Blackburn and 2.5 for Lilburne. Miami’s scoring is led by junior attackman Keith Ryan (22 goals, 9 assists), who averages just over five points per game alone. Another notable ‘Cane is Chris Fitzgerald—also a junior on attack—who averages four points per game with 16 goals and eight assists. For Lindenwood, it is senior midfielder Samuel Spallitta (16 goals, 4 assists), who is averaging just under three points per game in seven games. Tyler Davis (10 goals, 3 assists), the Lions’ junior attackman, holds a 1.85 points per game average.

Defensively, Colorado seniors Martin Taffet and Mike Geocaris, alongside freshman Ben Litwak, make quite the formidable trio. They have helped the Buffs maintain pressure on the opponent’s offense and improved clearing-wise—something that has plagued the defense since the preseason. For the Lions, it’s a combined effort of Julian Barnes, Jessie Stone and Daniel Strike on the defensive end. All three have contributed to Lindenwood’s low goals against average so far and all are able to scoop the ground ball consistently and cause turnovers. They are also able to stay out of the penalty box very often; only six-and-a -half minutes of combined penalty time has come from the Lions’ defense (that’s just over 55 seconds of man down situations caused by the long poles in seven games). Look for the senior leadership of Miami to cause problems for opposing offenses as well. Philip Davis, Tommy Holder and Matt LaPan are all in their final year, have played in all six games for the Hurricanes this season and are not afraid to use force to get their point across. Both Holder and Davis have four minutes in the box each and are known to intimidate the opposing shooters.

And how can we leave out the men between the pipes? All three of the teams’ starting goaltenders show impressive numbers so far this season. Colorado’s William Brown has started both games for Buffs and holds an averages of 10.5 saves per game, 6.5 goals against and a .618 save percentage. Lindenwood’s sophomore Danny Ashlock also has played in all the Lions’ matchups so far and shows 61 saves, but as let 54 past him, leaving him with a save percentage of just over 50 percent. For Miami, watch Tim Heacock. The senior is currently averaging 16.5 saves per game and has a .627 save percentage with an impressive 99 saves.

*Note: Miami schedules were not found before 2010 season

The Southwestern Lacrosse Conference’s (SLC) Executive Board and League Directors regret to inform that they have had to take immediate and swift disciplinary action against the UNLV Men’s Lacrosse program.

On March 5th, in a game against Utah, #4 Eric Jones was ejected from the game for his participation in a fight.

The next day, in a game against Arizona on March 6th, the same #4 Eric Jones was not held out of the contest by the UNLV coaching staff, as is required by Rule 5, Section 12 of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rulebook: The penalty for an expulsion foul shall be a three-minute nonreleasable penalty, ejection for the remainder of the game in which the foul occurred and suspension from the next intercollegiate contest of the team. Subsequently, to compound the mistake, #4 Eric Jones was involved in another altercation in this Arizona game as well, and was ejected for the second time in two days.

The Executive Board and League Directors would like to point out that they understand lacrosse is a physical sport. However, all of its participants are always expected to honor and play by the rules that govern our sport; there is a certain standard of respect and sportsmanship that is always expected to be demonstrated by all participants. We take these incidences very seriously, particularly the playing of an ineligible player.

The Executive Board and League Directors would also like at this time to point out that #4 Eric Jones had began the season serving a 4 game suspension for his part in an incident that occurred at the Best of the West Fall Ball Tournament. Head Coach Gary Campo had also begun the season serving a 4 game suspension for his involvement in this incident as well; and in addition to the 4 game suspension, was coaching under a two year probationary period by the SLC.

The SLC Board of Directors has come to a final ruling in regards to the UNLV Men’s Lacrosse Team and player actions during the March 5th and 6th regular season games, they are as follows:

Consecutive Game Expulsion of Eric Jones, #4, for Fighting

Eric Jones, #4 for UNLV Men’s Lacrosse, has been SUSPENDED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 2010 AND ALL OF THE 2011 SLC/MCLA LACROSSE SEASONS. This includes all “Fall Ball” play as a member of the any SLC Team. This decision is final and a result of being kicked out of two games in a row for fighting. The Board strongly recommends that Eric Jones be given time to gain a better understanding of his actions and has requested that UNLV provide him with student counseling in this matter. Should Eric Jones wish to return his Senior year, and play in the 2012 season, he will be allowed to do so.

Ethan Ritz, executive producer of the 2010 MCLA Championships on Fox College Sports, writes an open letter to all followers of the MCLA and those interested in this year’s telecast of the season-ending tournament in Denver.

Fans of MCLA,

Lots of new Twitter adds today. This is great and I look forward to the dialogue to grow.

First off, let’s discuss last year’s show.  I thought they went very well. We had some issues like a few graphics mistakes and tape cues but that’s live television.

Coverage of this year’s tournament will begin on Friday, May 14, 2010. We will cover both MCLA Division 1 semifinal games. We will then broadcast the Division 1 and Division 2 championship games on Saturday, May 15, 2010 (Airtimes have not be finalized as of yet). This is the same amount of coverage we did last year.

Last year, between games, we aired what is known as a “bridge show.”  Rather than go back to the FCS studios for analysis, we provided that with our host Josh Gross and analyst Michael Allan. The guys provided a recap of the first game each day and a preview of second game.  While the guys did a great job, I want to make this part of the broadcast to be better this year.

As much as I would love to travel to shoot and do interviews at schools across the MCLA, budget restrictions preclude a travel of this nature at this point. I’m coming to you, the MCLA fan. I’m soliciting story ideas from you. If you have a camera and can provide footage for use, that would be great as well. Give it your best shot. I’m looking for packages that run 2 minutes to 2:30 minutes.  I have a YouTube channel at UTLAX. You can upload your ideas to me there or submit via email at UTLAX@aol.com. Be sure to add “2010 MCLA Championships Story Idea” to the header.

Thanks, Ethan

Event: Men’s Lacrosse
Site: Kittredge Field, Boulder, Colorado
Score: #3 Simon Fraser University 7, #11 University of Colorado 17
Record: SFU (1-2, 0-0 PNCLL), CU (1-1, 0-0 RMLC)
Next SFU Game: Friday, March 12, 2010, 7:00pm EST – vs. #1 University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI (Oosterbaan Field House)

BOULDER, CO (March 11, 2010) – No. 3 Simon Fraser (1-2, 0-0 PNCLL) once again struggled in transition and was unable to bounce back from a slow start, losing 17-7 to No. 11 Colorado (1-1, 0-0 RMLC) on Sunday, March 7. SFU’s second consecutive loss concluded a disappointing 0-2 out-of-conference road trip for the Clan, moving their 2010 regular season record to 1-2. Attackmen Adam Foss (Cochrane, AB / Cochrane High School), Chris Tessarolo (New Westminster, BC / New Westminster Secondary) and Ben Towner (Port Coquitlam, BC / Terry Fox Secondary) each scored 2 goals to lead Fraser in the loss, while freshmen midfield Eric Ransom (Sherwood Park, AB / Bev Facey High School) rounded out the SFU scoring with 1 goal.

A lack of discipline would prove to be an early turning point, as Colorado attack James Blackburn opened the scoring with a man-up goal on a 1:00 minute non-releasable unsportsmanlike penalty by SFU. CU freshman Doug Lilburne made the score 2-0 before Blackburn scored his second of the game to give the Buffaloes an early three goal lead. With both teams coming off upset losses the game prior, the early success on the scoreboard seemed to quickly reestablish CU’s confidence under first-year Coach Pete Stevenson, while a fraught combination of hesitant and forced play began to compound difficulties for the Clan. SFU freshmen Eric Ransom scored with the man advantage to ignite the Clan offense and put Fraser on the board at a score of 3-1. With SFU now working hard to gain momentum and turn the game in their favor, Lilburne scored his second of the game to dampen the Clan efforts and give the Buffaloes a 4-1 lead at the end of the opening frame.

A CU flag to end the first quarter would see Simon Fraser start the second period with possession on the man-up. Looking to cut the Colorado lead to two, a Clan turnover would instead lead to an unsettled offensive opportunity for the Buffaloes. With CU able to clear the ball off of a SFU breakdown in transition, Blackburn would again make Fraser pay for their mistakes, scoring on the man-down to complete the early hat trick. With the Colorado lead now at four, Buffalo midfield Ryan Haines trickled a shot by Clan goaltender Dean Stewart (Duncan, BC / Claremont Secondary) to make the score 6-1. Looking to stop the CU assault, SFU replaced Stewart following Colorado’s sixth goal with senior goaltender Mike Ripley (Saskatoon, SK / E.D. Feehan High School). It would not take the Buffaloes long to get back on the scoreboard, as another lapse in the Fraser ride led to Blackburn’s fourth of the game as the CU attackman broke the Clan’s defensive coverage to receive a long clearing pass and blast a high shot past Ripley to extend the Buffalo lead to six. Lilburne would continue to add to the damage with his third goal of the game before Foss was finally able to snap Colorado’s five-goal-run at a score of 7-2. Blackburn would end the half with his fifth goal of the game to cap off a dominating first half performance by the Buffaloes and a halftime score of 9-2.

SFU entered the second half with optimism and were confident that a return to their high powered offense could chip away at the Colorado lead. Unfortunately for the Clan, CU quickly diminished any chances of a comeback as a 7-2 third quarter made the score 16-4 and extended the Buffalo lead to twelve heading into the fourth quarter.

With most of Colorado’s starters now out, SFU would out score the Buffaloes 4-1 to start the fourth quarter before both teams worked down their benches to run out the remaining minutes and land at a final score of 17-7.

SCORE BY QUARTER        1    2    3    4    Total
Simon Fraser            1    1    1    4    7
Colorado            4    5    7    1    17

NOTES
- SFU continued to struggle offensively with only five Clan players registering points: Foss 2g; Tessarolo 2g, Towner 2g; Ransom 1g; Davalos 1a.
- Fraser rotated in all 3 goalies in the loss. In the order that they appeared, junior Stewart played 22:00 minutes, making 2 saves with 6 goals against; senior Ripley played 33:00 minutes, making 6 saves with 11 goals against; freshman Middleton played 5:00 minutes, making 1 save with no goals against.
- Clan freshmen Frank Davalos (Moose Jaw, SK / Albert E. Peacock Collegiate) earned his first collegiate point with 1 assist.
- SFU registered 36 ground balls. Senior midfielder Kevin Riley (Coquitlam, BC / Gleneagle Secondary) led the Clan with 6 ground balls, while defenders Nathan Clare (Ladner, BC / Vancouver College) and Dan Patterson (Erin, Ontario / Erin District High School) each recorded 5.

QUOTES
SFU Co-Head Coach Brent Hoskins
On Colorado: “I think that Colorado was vulnerable to start the game but too many mistakes and a lack of discipline on our part allowed them to capitalize early on and build some important confidence. Even though this is Coach Stevenson’s first year as a head coach in the MCLA, we have a lot of respect for his ability and knew that he would have the Buffaloes playing tough if we left the door open. We opened the door and to be honest CU kicked it down. They are very talented at both attack and close defense and we need to do a better of job of winning the battles in between the restraining lines in order to be successful and fight back from adversity.”

SFU Co-Head Coach Jeff Cathrea
On Simon Fraser: “We have a talented group but once again our execution needed to be better. As a team, we have the experience to know what it takes to be successful against elite teams. We have some work to do but are confident that a little adversity will continue to make us stronger as we work through our schedule.”

For further information on Simon Fraser men’s lacrosse please visit www.sfulacrosse.com or follow the Clan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/fraserlacrosse.

Returning from a lengthy Spring Break has brought us here….I can’t say I am happy with our play vs Elon and SCAD, although we won both.

Davenport and St. John’s this weekend.  Are we ready?  The questions that we have will be answered.  Will the talent we have overcome the chemistry that we haven’t yet established?  That is a tough one.  Will our last year’s young, now experienced defense face the impending challenge?  I think so.  Our captain and defensive leader Alex Reynolds gets his first start against either team, after sitting out almost all of last year with a devastating knee injury.  The position where we had the least depth last year, we now have the most, and the competition has created a marked improvement in an already great stopper.

The chances of us being a lock for Denver are improved greatly with a sweep this weekend, but two TOUGH teams stand in the way of that.  There are what if’s.  What if we aren’t the better team in both games?  Will our wins against SCAD and Elon give us enough mojo to make the trip out west in May?  Will we have to win our tournament to get there?  So many questions, and we will know the answers around 5PM on Saturday.

Check things out next week, and I give you the rundown of the weekend.

Here my latest installment of my Division II Top 25:
1. University of St. Thomas
2. University of Dayton
3. Davenport University
4. Utah Valley University
5. St. John’s University
6T. Grand Valley State University
6T. Grove City College
8. Tennessee Wesleyan College
9. Westminster College
10. University of Northern Colorado
11. Elon University
12. Kennesaw State University
13. University of California-Santa Cruz
14. Western Washington University
15. Hope College
16. Southern Oregon University
17. Western Oregon University
18. Savannah College of Art and Design
19. Concordia University
20. Cal State Fullerton
21. Missouri State University
22. Northern Michigan University
23. Coastal Carolina University
24. Sam Houston State University
25. Stonehill

As always, if you disagree, start a post on CollegeLAX forums!!

By Casey Lamon

In what is a relatively light weekend, only six teams will suit up for four games that might begin separating the contenders from the pretenders.  It is also the midway point of the season.  Because of this special occasion, I have chosen several Mid-season Awards, which are my own unofficial PNCLL D-II awards and all-stars at this point.  Hopefully this will add a little more excitement to an otherwise light weekend.

The first game of the weekend takes place up in Tacoma as College of Idaho (0-2, 0-1) takes on Pacific Lutheran (0-4) as both look to gain their first win knowing that the loser will be the only winless team left in the PNCLL D-II.  The Lutes come into this game being outscored 48-18 in their first four games and only being able to one team under double digits (Portland, 9).  A team that has been in trouble with injuries all season has seen little go its way.  But freshman midfielder Alex Lineweaver (3g, 3a) has been a breath of fresh air this season.  Goalie Greg Fredlund (56.8%, 12gaa) has seen a drop in production as well, and a large part can be attributed to the overall lack of defense in front of him. 

College of Idaho also comes off a disappointing weekend that saw them get outscored 32-8 but was able to put up a competitive performance against fellow PNCLL D-II South team, Southern Oregon.  The Coyotes rely heavily on senior midfielder Nate Hample (2g, 1a) and attack Jeff Ball (2g, 1a) to lead a team that saw last season’s playoffs fade due to a tie-break on goal differential.  College of Idaho will also need to see an extremely young defense grow this weekend as the trio of freshman and lone sophomore will take on the only other team in the league that has yet to put up double digits.

At the same time on Saturday, Whitman travels to Salem to take on Willamette.  Last season Whitman controlled the Bearcats in both games and ruined their first trip to the playoffs with a first-round win in Walla Walla.  This game will feature the two highest scoring freshmen in the league as Whitman’s Aedan Weber (12g, 1a) and Willamette’s Andrew King (15g, 3a) square off. 

Weber will take on the Bearcats with the assistance (pun intended) of Bidnam Lee (3g, 11a) who put up seven assists against Central Washington last weekend.  Whitman’s defense will be led by the two-headed monster in goal of freshmen Loigi Lollini and Stephen Toyofuku, who have each split time this season.  King may be without attack Ian McAnnis-Entenman (12g, 3a) on Saturday, but the resurgance of Addam Fishel (10g, 4a) will help take some of the attention off of him.  The Bearcat defense at this point is ranked second to last in the league and will need to tighten up if they want to keep this game within grasp.

Sunday will see Southern Oregon (3-3, 1-0) make the seven-hour trip north to Tacoma to play Pacific Lutheran in the Lutes second game of the weekend.  Attack Lawrence VanEgdom (16g, 7a) leads the Raiders in both goals and assists and has made the transition very easy for freshman attack Tom Halley (12g, 3a).  No one has handled the loss of Alex White worse than attack Tyler Baumann (6g, 5a) who has seen his points per game total fall by 65% from last season. 

The most welcome surprise for the Raiders has been the play of goalie Carter Boggess (59.8%, 8.2gaa), who after a season and a half off has shown no signs of rust.  While the play of his close defense hasn’t been bad, his play has been nothing short of great.  Southern Oregon might be too much for Pacific Lutheran to handle on their second game of the weekend, but if there is one thing I have learned it’s not to underestimate the drive in determination Bubba installs into his players.

Also at noon on Sunday, the Yotes from College of Idaho finish their Washington trip off as they take on Central Washington (2-4, 0-1) in Ellensburg.  The Wildcats come off a disappointing overtime loss to Western Oregon that showed how competitive they are right now.  Central Washington brings two of the league leading scorers in midfielder Jake Mehl (17g, 11a) and freshman attack Bowen Hadley (20g, 6a).  Mehl has been quietly performing at an extremely high level all season, as he has been putting up impressive numbers against all levels of competition.  The defense is held together by the close defense of Kellen Gallacher (1a) whose stellar play has been enough to carry the team to as many wins so far as they had all last season.  If the Coyotes come out of Saturday with a win over Pacific Lutheran, emotions and momentum could help them overcome odds against a Wildcats team that could easily overlook them.

Mid Season Awards:

First Half Champion: Western Washington University
The record of the team may look average at only 4-3, but when you look at their losses, they came by the hand of Simon Fraser, Utah Valley, and Westminster.  The team was able to control games against top 25 teams Western Oregon and Southern Oregon.  Undoubtedly the best team in the PNCLL-II right now.

Offensive Player of the First Half:  Bidnam Lee, Whitman College            
Calvin Davis was in my thought process, but that would seem to be more of a Tim Tebow lifetime achievement award than a deserved Offensive Player award.  Lee is the best offensive player in the league right now and what’s more impressive is that he is leading the league in assists per game by a large margin.  Creating for your team is more important than just goals.
Honorable Mention: Calvin Davis, Western Oregon; Andrew King, Willamette; Aedan Weber, Whitman

Defensive Player of the First Half: Carter Boggess, Southern Oregon University
There is no player that means more to the success of their defense than Boggess.  He is pretty much the only defense that Southern Oregon has right now.  He made the Western Washington loss look much more competitive than it actually was.  It’s an interesting thought process to wonder where Southern Oregon could/would/should have gone in last season’s playoffs with Boggess in cage.
Honorable Mention: Kellen Gallacher, Central Washington; Ian LaBelle, Western Washington; Greg Fredlund, Pacific Lutheran

Freshman of the First Half: Andrew King, Willamette University
Willamette has won three games out of six, which is already one more than last season.  While Aedan Weber and Jacob Bohince might seem like more logical picks, King is second in the league in goals per game (3.75) and third in points per game (4.5).  Out of all freshmen, King ranks first in points per game, second in goals per game, and forth in assists per game (.75).  The freshman from Chicago’s New Trier High School will surely be a crucial part of Willamette’s future in the PNCLL.
Honorable Mention: Jacob Bohince, Western Oregon; Aedan Weber, Whitman; Bowen Hadley, Central Washington

First Half Most Valuable Player: Adam Extine, Western Washington University
Yes, a defensive player for Most Valuable Player, which will never actually happen.  But the best player on the best team makes Ian Labelle’s job a lot easier in cage.  While they are only second in the league in points allowed per game, the competition they have played is much more impressive than Southern Oregon, who is in first.
Honorable Mention: Ian Bohince, Western Oregon; Cody Bludorn, Western Washington; Lawrence VanEgdom, Southern Oregon

First Half All-PNCLL II Team:
Attack: Bidnam Lee, Whitman
Attack: Andrew King, Willamette
Attack: Calvin Davis, Western Oregon
Attack:  Aedan Weber, Whitman
Midfield: Jake Mehl, Central Washington
Midfield: Cody Bludorn , Western Washington
Midfield: Ian Bohince , Western Oregon
Midfield: Jacob Bohince, Western Oregon
Defense: Adam Extine, Western Washington
Defense: Kellen Gallacher, Central Washington
Defense: Sean Harding, Willamette University
Defense: Joe Robert, Southern Oregon
Goalie: Carter Boggess , Southern Oregon

Casey Lamon is an aspiring writer located in the great northwest and will be blogging on the news and notes throughout the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League’s Division II this season on CollegeLAX.

For Immediate Release –

Skyhawks Fall in Season Opener to PBA 13-11

Stonehill’s men’s lacrosse team travelled south for the 2010 Sailfish Shootout, leaving the harsh New England weather for the more appealing Floridian climate. Their first game pitted Stonehill against the host, Palm Beach Atlantic University.

The opening stanza was a low scoring affair as the teams felt each other out. Stonehill’s offense was frustrated early by PBA’s well coached zone defense. The Sailfish drew first blood at the 6:28 mark with an unassisted goal by #3, Trey Darby. This would prove to be a trend for the remainder of the contest. The quarter ended with PBA on top, 1-0.

In the second quarter both teams’ offenses picked up the pace. Stonehill senior captains Colin Lancey and Tom Higgins connected for their team’s first goal with a nifty quick-stick one-timer. Sophomores Connor Green and Bobby Flippin tallied two more to give Stonehill a 3-1 lead, with assists from Flippin and Lancey respectively but the Sailfish would go on a four goal run to end the half with the scoreboard showing PBA up 5-3.

Stonehill opened the third quarter with three straight goals, grabbing their final lead of the game at 6-5. Junior Matt Coletti scored with a hard bounce shot to start the run. Next, Coletti found senior Dan Cermack on the crease, who then made a nice move to escape traffic and place a bounce shot in the top left corner of the goal. Lancey scored again on a feed from freshman Anthony Powers to put Stonehill on top, 6-5.

The Sailfish would not be silenced for long, however, regaining their lead with two goals before Coletti was able to answer and knot the game at 7-7 with an assist from Flippin. The tie was short lived as PBA scored four straight goals to end the third quarter at 11-7.

In the final quarter Lancey found the net four more times, with assists from Cermack and Green. Despite the effort, it was not enough to earn the comeback win as, PBA notched two more of their own to come away with a 13-11 victory and the Sailfish Shootout crown.

Freshman goalkeeper Mike Phillips made his college debut in net, recording 17 saves on the day. Defensemen Charlie MacDonald and Mike Moccia shined in transition, picking up valuable ground balls and forming the foundation of Stonehill’s clearing game. Green and Lancey fought hard in the trenches, coming up with several faceoff wins and combining for an impressive 15 ground balls.

Stonehill Downs Georgia State 13-6

The Stonehill men took the field again looking to rebound after losing its season opener to the hosts Palm Beach Atlantic in the Sailfish tournament.  Stonehill’s next match would pit them against the Panthers of Georgia State coached by Tom Higgins.

The Purple and Black struck first , with an strong individual effort from Connor Green, who would put Stonehill on the board 13:46 into the first. The Sophomore Green was not done, as he netted the next Stonehill score as well at 11:30,  finishing the day with 3 goals and 2 assists.

The Panthers of Georgia State responded with a goal of their own with 7:31 remaining to close the gap to 2-1.  However, Stonehill stifled any attempts of a come back with three more goals of their own by freshman Anthony Powers, senior captain Thomas Higgins, and another tally by Green to complete the hatrick.

Scoring on the day was no problem for the Stonehill with sound offensive efforts coming from a variety of players in their balanced offense. Additional scores came from Seniors Matt Colletti and Colin Lancey with a break out day from freshman Alex Arnott.

Senior captain Ben Hyder led a staunch Stonehill defense with seven ground balls and was the backbone all day. Freshman goalie Mike Phillips stood tall between the pipes for Stonehill only allowing 2 Georgia State goals with goalie Robert Mostertz coming in for the second half making seven saves on the day. 

At 1-1 the Stonehill men now look forward to the war of 24, when Stonehill will face their rivals Bridgewater State College at home Friday March 19th at 7:00pm at the W.B. Mason Stadium.

ATLANTA (March 10, 2010) – The third Prodigy poll of the MCLA season was just released. And the same two programs remain at the top of the rankings.

The two-time defending MCLA champion Michigan Wolverines have continued their winning ways with road victories over No. 3 Arizona State and No.  7 Brigham Young.  Michigan will battle No. 13 Simon Fraser this Saturday in Ann Arbor.

Michigan (3-0) is followed in the latest Div. I rankings by No. 2 Chapman (6-0), No. 3 Arizona State (3-1).  Breaking into the Top 5 with convincing wins over No. 13 Simon Fraser and No. 21 University of New Hampshire is Colorado State (5-0) at No. 4.  Minnesota-Duluth (5-0) rounds out the top 5 and will travel to No. 3 Arizona State for another top 5 showdown in Tempe.

In the Division II poll, St. Thomas retains the top slot. The Tommies (defending Div. II national champions), opened the season with a 16-1 victory over Wisconsin-Eau Claire, are followed in the poll by No. 2 Davenport (5-0) and No. 3 Utah Valley University (1-1).

Dayton (2-0) and St. John’s (3-0) round out the top five in the latest Div. II poll.

Entering its 12th year of existence, the Prodigy MCLA Top 25 polls will once again serve as the preeminent ranking system for the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). Multiple MCLA Coaches and MCLA Conference Administrators from all 10 MCLA conferences across the country will serve on this year’s voting panel.

Prodigy MCLA Division I Top 25 Poll (March 10, 2010)
1. Michigan
2. Chapman
3. Arizona State
4. Colorado State
5. Minnesota-Duluth
6. Florida State
7. Brigham Young
8. Oregon
9. Michigan State
10. Cal Poly
11. Colorado
12. Florida
13. Simon Fraser
14. Boston College
15. Texas
16. Virginia Tech
17. Arizona
18. UCSB
19. Texas State
20. Cal
21. New Hampshire
22. Loyola Marymount
23. Utah
24. Lindenwood
25. SUNY-Buffalo

Prodigy MCLA Division II Top 25 Poll (March 10, 2010)
1. St. Thomas
2. Davenport
3. Utah Valley
4. Dayton
5. St. John’s (MN)
6. Grove City College
7. Tennessee Wesleyan College
8. Northern Colorado
9. Grand Valley State
10. Westminster
11. Western Washington
12. UC, Santa Cruz
13. Elon
14. Emory
15. Kennesaw State
16. SCAD
17. Western Oregon
18. Fort Lewis
19. Missouri State
20. Hope
21. Northern Michigan
22. Cal State Fullerton
23. Concordia University Irvine
24. Southern Oregon
25. Northern Arizona

This week’s complete poll rankings can be found at http://www.collegelax.us/polls.php.

Poll Methodology and Process

The 2010 Prodigy MCLA Top 25 Poll is comprised of current MCLA coaches and MCLA conference administrators who have committed to submit rankings for the top 25 MCLA teams each week. These panelists were selected by CollegeLAX from multiple nominations submitted by all 10 MCLA conferences. The panel has been designed to be a statistically valid representation of all MCLA conferences and includes many of the top coaches across the country.

About CollegeLAX (www.CollegeLAX.us)

CollegeLAX, a product of SONNYLAX, LLC, is a private lacrosse web site that exists to promote and primarily cover the MCLA, affectionally called the largest lacrosse league in the world. The site previously existed as USLIA.com and it has existed in one form or another since the spring of 1998. CollegeLAX continues to offers timely information including MCLA scores, Top 25 polls, statistics, schedules, team press releases, selected game photographs and active message forums. Thousands of players, coaches, parents, alumni and fans from across the country visit the CollegeLAX web site each week. For more information, please visit www.collegelax.us.

About Prodigy Network

Prodigy Network, Inc. was founded in July 2006 with a vision of connecting the world of amateur athletics. Using an innovative business model and continuous implementation of the steady advances in media and network technologies, we provide amateur athletes, coaches, and teams media based, exposure solutions never before possible. Our services are steadily revolutionizing the exposure of athletics nationwide by providing coaches, teams, athletes and recruiters the media services and network resources to maximize their potential and achieve their goals. For more information, please visit www.prodigy-network.com/.

By Pete Stevenson

Friday’s loss was horrible. It was unexpected. Until the game was over, I didn’t think that it would happen. Looking back, we just didn’t play the way we had practiced and we met up with a pretty good goalie that had a great night and kept us reeling all night. Losing isn’t always bad. There are things to be gained from losing. They are never easy lessons and they are never easy emotionally.

But when you do learn those lessons, great things can come of it. Until this run by Michigan, no team had won a championship without a loss (although Sonoma won without losing to an MCLA team in 2002). Losing often bolsters the troops and makes them work harder. I would say that Michigan had that happen to them in the ‘07 tournament. The loss to Northeastern in the first round and not by a small margin I think changed the way they prepared for a season. They learned and grew from it.

And I believe that is what happened to us Friday night—maybe not to the same effect of giving us a winning streak that is as long as…well, let’s just say it’s long. But it did make us realize that we weren’t the best team we could be; that we could get better. And I think that is what happened on Sunday night. We fought for every ground ball. We took one step closer to the goal on every shot and we played harder on every possession. It was a step in the right direction. We still have a long way to go, and I hope that we don’t have to learn by losing again. I don’t think we need to.

We know that we can play with anyone, and this upcoming weekend will be a chance to prove that we can play hard on every possession. Can we work hard no matter what the score is, whether down by one, up by one or down by 10? That will be the deciding factor for a successful weekend, even more than whatever the scores end up being.

Pete Stevenson hails from Orem (pronounced ARM), Utah and is now the head coach of the University of Colorado Buffaloes. He was an assistant at Brigham Young, where he learned the value of a good ride, and great hair.  You can read more of his ponderings on his very non-lacrosse related blog.

Ethan Ritz, executive producer of the 2010 MCLA Championships on Fox College Sports, writes an open letter to all followers of the MCLA and those interested in this year’s telecast of the season-ending tournament in Denver.

Fans of the MCLA,

Once again this year, I have the privilege of being the executive producer for the 2010 MCLA Championships’ television broadcast to air live on Fox College Sports May 14-15. While I have the chance to work sporting events from golf to the Super Bowl, lacrosse is where my passion lies. I played in college at Tennessee and coached Division II Augustana College (IL) to the 2006 GRLC Division II championship. I know what the players and coaches sacrifice to be successful and appreciate the commitment that each individual on each team must undertake.

Television is part of the future of the MCLA. I see us doing several regular season national games as early as next season that showcase the best teams the MCLA has to offer. Television offers a tremendous platform to showcase the MCLA’s brand of lacrosse and expand the MCLA’s reach even farther.

Sonny Pieper, founder of CollegeLAX.us, was nice enough to set up a forum for me to keep you abreast of what goes into putting together the tournament broadcast. I’d also like to solicit ideas from you, the MCLA fan base, as to what you want to see in the broadcast. What did you like/not like about last year’s broadcast? What graphic information would enhance the broadcast? I’m also looking for story ideas to add to the broadcast.

You can reach me on Twitter @EthanRitz or over in the CollegeLAX Forums.  I look forward to your input and conversing with you.

Best, Ethan Ritz