Laxers Name Captains for 2010

By
Collegian Staff
on September 5, 2009 10:47 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Brian Shea, Joe Britt and Chris Hogan will be the captains for the 2010 Nittany Lion lacrosse team, according to a press release from the athletic department on Saturday.

The trio was named captains after a team vote, the release said. Britt and Shea are seniors and Hogan is a redshirt junior.

"We are very pleased with the selection of Brian, Joe, and Chris to lead the 2010 squad," Lion coach GlennThiel said in the statement.  "They are intense, emotional, and outstanding contributors to the program.  Each man will do a great job of motivating the squad to do what it takes to wade through the Colonial Athletic Association schedule as we look to secure an NCAA bid this spring."

Hogan led the team in goals last season with 29, and also tallied five assists. The Wyckoff, NJ native was also the post-season unanimous selection for Offensive MVP by the Crosse Check blog.

Britt is one of the vocal leaders for the Lions so that's not a surprise pick at all.

Shea started more than half of the games for the Lions last season and scored ten goals and also put together seven assists for the squad.

The Lions begin their Colonial Conference regime this season after a long stint in the ECAC. A schedule is not yet available on the team's website.

 

--Hen

 

One More Award For Adams

By
Collegian Staff
on May 21, 2009 5:39 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Penn State super-goalie Drew Adams gets one more honor to put on his mantelpiece.

The Springfield native received his third career All-America honorable mention nod. He was also named to the honorable mention squad in his freshman and junior years.

While he definitely would have liked to make a different All-America team in his final season at Penn State, at least he gets some more well-deserved recognition one more time.

Here's the full list of accolades Adams garnered in his four years minding the cage for the Nittany Lions:

Freshman Year (2006)

ECAC Rookie of the Week (March 13)
ECAC Defensive Player of the Week (April 11)
ECAC Rookie of the Year
ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year
All-ECAC First Team
All-America Honorable Mention

Sophomore Year (2007)

Pre-season All-ECAC Team
Tewaaraton Award Watch List
ECAC Defensive Player of the Week (March 28)
ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year
All-ECAC First Team

Junior Year (2008)

Pre-season All-ECAC Team (coaches' and media teams)
Tewaaraton Award Watch List
ECAC Defensive Player of the Week (March 17, May 6)
ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year
All-ECAC First Team
All-America Honorable Mention

Senior Year (2009)

Pre-season All-ECAC Team
Pre-season Defensive Player of the Year
Tewaaraton Award Watch List
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate
ECAC Defensive Player of the Week (April 7, May 5)
All-ECAC Second Team
USILA All-Star
All-America Honorable Mention

Quite the list. Adams will be missed next season.

Three Seniors To Play in All-Star Game

By
Collegian Staff
on May 20, 2009 3:33 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Drew Adams, Rob Forster and John Stuckey get to play one more game in their collegiate careers.

The trio was named to the USILA North/South All-Star team. The game will be played at 4 p.m. Friday at Harvard Stadium, sandwiched between the Division III All-Star Game and Major League Lacrosse game between the Denver Outlaws and the Boston Cannons.

The seniors didn't get the chance to play in the NCAA tournament, but at least this will be a good send-off.

Final Four In Place

By
Collegian Staff
on May 17, 2009 5:24 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
This Duke-North Carolina rivalry just gets better and better.

The Blue Devils were the last team into the NCAA semifinals, and they did it by hanging on to their bootstraps as a last-second shot by UNC sailed wide, preserving a 12-11 win and a trip to Foxboro, Mass., next weekend.

Duke had a three-goal lead at halftime, but the Tar Heels hung around long enough to make it a one-goal game with 6:10 to go. But Carolina only put up one shot after narrowing the lead, and it came with two seconds remaining.

Ned Crotty led the way for the Dukies with eight points (two goals and six assists), while Zach Howell's hat trick and Rob Schroeder's 11 saves assisted in the win. For the Tar Heels, Sean Delaney, Jimmy Dunster and Bart Wagner contributed three points apiece, but it wasn't enough to end Duke's reign over its arch-rival.

The win extends Duke's win streak over UNC to 11 games, including three wins this season.

Duke joins the following three teams Saturday in Foxboro:

(1) Virginia 19, (8) Johns Hopkins 8: The Cavaliers' offense is really good, in case you didn't know. Hopkins scored just over a minute in, but Virginia rolled off the next six goals in the first period. Shamel Bratton led the way with five goals, while Garrett Billings and Steele Stanwick each notched seven points. The win was also Virginia coach Dom Starsia's 300th career victory, tying him for third place all-time with Massachusetts' former coach Dick Garber.

(2) Syracuse 11, (10) Maryland 6: The Orange sealed their 26th semifinal appearance using a 4-1 advantage in the third quarter. Backup goaltender Al Cavalieri made 14 saves in the stead of starter John Galloway, who missed the game because of the flu. Maryland also had to use its backup goalie when starter Brian Phipps injured his knee arguing a no-call in the second period.

(5) Cornell 6, (4) Princeton 4: The Big Red shut down Princeton's offense for the second time this season, riding out to a 5-1 lead at halftime. No Tiger recorded more than two points, while Rob Pannell notched three assists and Rocco Romero scored two goals. Princeton only managed 28 shots and went just 1-for-7 in man-up situations.

The stage is now set for the NCAA championships. Here's how things will go down Saturday in Gillette Stadium. All games can be seen on ESPN2.

12 p.m.: (2) Syracuse vs. (3) Duke
2 p.m.: (1) Virginia vs. (5) Cornell

Syracuse and Duke haven't played each other this season, but the other two have. Virginia beat the Big Red 14-10 in Charlottesville on March 8. Whether or not it can repeat this result closer to Cornell's home turf will be seen this weekend.

NCAA 1st Round Roundup

By
Collegian Staff
on May 10, 2009 9:55 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Only one upset in the Round of 16: previously unbeaten Notre Dame falling to No. 10 Maryland.

The seventh-ranked Fighting Irish lost 7-3 on their home field, their first loss after a 15-0 regular season. The Terrapins of the ACC shut down the Notre Dame attack, allowing no more than one goal per period.

Maryland held the Irish scoreless for 36 and a half minutes from their first goal of the game to their second, which came with just less than four minutes to go in the third quarter. Only one player recorded multiple goals in the game, and that was Maryland's Dan Groot.

With the win, the Terps move on to face No. 2 Syracuse on Saturday. The Orange easily handled first-round opponent Siena, winning 11-4. Here's a quick recap of the rest of the first round.

(1) Virginia 18, Villanova 6: Villanova scored all its goals in the fourth quarter. Virginia scored all its goals in the first three, leading 9-0 after the first period and 15-0 at halftime. Four Cavaliers recorded hat tricks, led by Brian Carroll and his five goals.

(8) Johns Hopkins 12, Brown 11 (OT): The Blue Jays had to take their first-round opponents to overtime, where Brian Christopher notched his third game-winner of the year a minute, 36 seconds in. Chris Boland recorded seven points in this one off five goals and two assists.

(5) Cornell 11, Hofstra 8: This game was tied at halftime, but the Big Red came out of the break firing, gaining a 5-1 advantage in the third period. Rob Pannell led the way with five points off a hat trick and two assists.

(4) Princeton 10, Massachusetts 7: The ECAC's only tournament team dropped its opening-round game, largely because of a 6-1 first-half deficit. The Tigers rode a five-goal performance by Mark Kovler to victory. At least UMass got four goals out of Jim Connolly.

(3) Duke 14, Navy 5: The Dukies got out to a 10-0 lead by halftime. Five Blue Devils had two goals, while Zach Howell led all scorers with five points.

(6) North Carolina 15, UMBC 13: ... And who better to face Duke in the quarterfinals than arch-rival North Carolina? The Tar Heels trailed at the half, but a 6-3 advantage in the third quarter helped propel them to victory. Billy Bitter had one stellar performance, notching a jaw-dropping eight goals, tied for a school record.

So here's how Round 2 will look this weekend:

Saturday -- Hempstead, N.Y.
Maryland vs. Syracuse -- 12 p.m.
Cornell vs. Princeton -- 2 p.m.

Sunday -- Annapolis
Johns Hopkins vs. Virginia -- 12 p.m.
North Carolina vs. Duke -- 2 p.m.

First (Hopefully) Annual Crosse Check Awards

By
Collegian Staff
on May 8, 2009 4:45 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
With the 2009 season in the books, we here at Crosse Check want to honor the best the Penn State men's lacrosse team had to offer. So two of our writers decided to dole out the Crosse Check Awards to certain players for their efforts in this 9-5 season.

For senior goalie Drew Adams' own personal awards, check out the podcast we did April 30. Now without further ado ... 

Rookie of the Year

Steve: Matt Mackrides
It's hard to pick between Mackrides and Jack Forster, but Mackrides' presence on offense was vital to its success. While he was out in the beginning of the season, the offense lacked the speed necessary to generate goals in settled situations. Mackrides opened the offense back up and was key down the stretch -- even when he didn't earn points, his play was key to many of the Nittany Lion goals scored.

Dan: Jack Forster
I'll go the other way on this, though it's kind of unfair since the younger Forster brother is technically in his second year at Penn State. Jack was the team's playmaker behind the cage all year long until he got injured against St. John's -- and let's not forget he netted six goals in that game. If he had played all season, he would've probably led the entire team in points.

 

Paul: Jack Forster

I have to go with Forster on this one, even though either Forster or Mackrides could have taken it. Forster's six-goal performance against St. John's is what sealed the deal for me. Seeing a performance like that from a first-year player was truly amazing. Just to make it interesting, though, Mackrides did end up scoring the game-winner in OT of that game, so like I said, it could have been either guy in this category.
Offensive MVP

Steve: Chris Hogan
Hogan was feared by each opposing defense. He's significantly taller and bigger than most of the defenders he went up against and thus had an advantage from a leverage standpoint. With the athleticism that led him to succeed as a wide receiver at Ramapo High School, Hogan went on memorable offensive spurts this year that earn him the offensive MVP honors.

Dan: Chris Hogan
No argument here, although I would give an "honorable mention" to Rob Forster, who really came on strong at the end of the year and hit some big goals late in games. Hogan was Penn State's lone representative on the all-conference team and was fourth in the ECAC in goals. The sophomore also made his presence felt on the defensive end, literally. His bone-crushing hits made him a force to be reckoned with.

 

Paul: Chris Hogan
Make it a clean sweep for Hogan. It seemed like Hogan was the one weapon that was always there for Penn State. EVen though Rob Forster came on strong at the end of the year like Dan mentioned, Hogan was the one player Penn State could lean on all year. In games where the offense wasn't working, the strategy turned into getting the ball to Hogan and let him shoot from the outside. He was able to snipe enough goals to keep the Lions in some games and get them wins when he was really the only thing going for them offensively.

 


Defensive MVP (not named Drew Adams)

Steve: Billy Davis
The defense was solid all around during the latter part of this season, but Bill Davis was a key for the unit's success. Like Hogan, Davis' athletic frame proved to be one of his best assets as he kept offenders out of the crease. He should continue to develop into a more skilled defender in years to come.

Dan: John Stuckey
Davis definitely found his niche midway through the season, but here's a guy who was doing his job all year long. In all fairness, the hands-down best player on the defense had to be Adams, who only led the league in saves with 212. But I'll give credit to Stuckey, whose senior leadership was felt throughout the season's entirety.

 

Paul: John Stuckey
I have to go with Stuckey for this one, if not just for his durability. Stuckey started every game as a true-freshman and a junior and missed only one game as a sophomore because of an injury. Not surprisingly he played, and started, every game again this season. This team, especially, knows how important it is to stay healthy and have the same guys in the lineup (something it hasn't had for the past couple years now), and that's exactly what Stuckey has brought them. Consistancy and leadership.

Team MVP

Steve: Rob Forster
Forster's desire fueled Penn State and many points during the year -- his four game-winning goals are only the highlights. He took the team's losses in the beginning of the season personally, and used the losses as motivation to improve himself as a player. That he did. His offensive production was crucial for the Lions and his will to win can be felt by just talking to Forster. Forster is my team MVP.

Dan: Drew Adams
As I said before, the guy made save after save all season long. His 24-save game against Hobart was not even one of his best games of the season, as Adams said afterward. When the team was struggling to get out of the gate, there was one thing keeping it alive: Adams' brick wall in front of the cage. Statistically this wasn't Adams' best season, but if not for the brilliant play by UMass' Doc Schneider, Adams would have the ECAC goalie of the year all four of his years at Penn State.

Paul: Jack Forster
I'm going to make a little bit of a reach on this one and go with a freshman. Forster may not have led the team in goals or assists, but he was near the top of both -- and he missed three games. Playing in only 22 games, Forster still finished with 22 goals and 12 assists, tied for second on the team in points with 34, which is only one behind brother Rob Forster's 35. So surely Jack would have led the team in points had he played in the same amount of games as Hogan and Rob, and he was more than just a scorer, which is evident with his 12 assists, good for second on the team. Forster got the job done taking a lot less shots too, shooting nearly 30% compared to Hogan's 22%. Had he stayed healthy the last few weeks, Forster would have led the team in both goals and assists, and even without staying healthy he was still pretty close to doing just that.

 

Biggest Win

Steve: Ohio State (March 7)
This win really got the ball rolling for the Lions. The players took last year's loss to the Buckeyes personally and came out on a mission against their rival. The confidence and momentum built by this victory led the Lions to close the year out with a 9-2 record (including this win).

Dan: Ohio State (March 7)
Penn State started the season with a rough loss to Robert Morris and four straight ranked opponents. If the Lions had opened the season 0-4, the campaign would have been over before it started. Luckily, Penn State got three man-up goals while holding the Buckeyes 0-for-5 in similar situations, and the Forster Bros. combined for seven points to propel the Lions back to .500.

Paul: Georgetown (May 2)
This win was big for a number of reasons. First, even though it didn't end up happening, it kept Penn State's hopes for an at-large bid alive. Second, it's always a big win if the Lions can beat rival Georgetown. Especially in the last ECAC showdown between the two teams and especially on Georgetown's home turf. Third, and most importantly, however, is what this win means for next season. With guys like Hogan, Mackrides and Jack Forster coming back, this team already has the talent for next season, but now it has the momentum, as well. With this win, Penn State not only ended the season on a six-game winning streak, but it proved it can still win the big game.

 

Biggest Loss

Steve: Fairfield (March 21)
Penn State never should have lost this game to the Stags. The players looked flat during this home game and had opportunities to take the game in the overtime period but failed to capitalize and let Fairfield celebrate on their home field.

Dan: Massachusetts (March 28)
That overtime loss was demoralizing, but let's not forget the almost-upset of the eventual conference champion. The Lions lost this one with 55 seconds to go, even though they went 2-for-2 in man-ups and let in only one goal in five man-down situations and won 11 of 21 faceoffs. Who knows; if they would have beaten the Minutemen in Amherst, would the Lions have been invited to the NCAA tournament?

Paul: Robert Morris (Feb 14)
I don't think there is even a contest here, and I'll have to have a little chat with Steve and Dan. This was supposed to be a cakewalk. A warmup game, if you will. Penn State didn't schedule any scrimmages this year to avoid risking preseason injuries. THIS was supposed to be their scrimmage. Penn State beat this team 18-2 last year, and went into the game with the mindset of doing the same this year. Not only was the game close, but the Lions somehow lost. That got the ball rolling on their 0-3 start to the season and brought up a lot of questions that took a few weeks to get answered.

 


Performance of the Year

Steve: Drew Adams (back-to-back 20-save games versus Hobart and Bucknell)
Adams solidified his place in PSU history as its best goalie with a real impressive situation, highlighted by back-to-back 20 save games. Adams' impeccable instincts and presence in the cage were key for the Lions. Hopefully Drew Adams' successor has picked his brain enough this season and is ready to lead the Lions next season. Needless to say, Adams will be missed dearly.

Dan: Penn State attack (17 goals on senior night versus St. Joseph's)
Because Drew Adams' career-high saves day was already mentioned, how about the time the Lions exploded in their last home game of the season? The 17 goals scored that day were the most in 25 games for Penn State. Chris Hogan blasted five goals, and senior Mike Toner had himself a Senior Night, tallying six points. Four Lions recorded their first goals of the season, and two netted their first of their careers: freshman Ricky Robinson and junior Joe Britt, who gave the crowd quite a show after winning a faceoff and sticking one in the cage.

Paul: Drew Adams (back-to-back 20-save games versus Hobart and Bucknell)
I'll have to agree with Steve on this one. Adams' performances in these two games (coming only three days apart) were huge not only individually, but for the team. Throughout his stellar career, even Adams had never had a day like he had against Hobart. Making a career-best 24 saves, Adams led the Lions to the 10-8 victory, which turned out to be the first of the team's six straight wins. Three days later he made 20 saves, and the team needed every last one of them in its 9-8 win over Bucknell. Those 44 saves over those two games were the difference between two Penn State wins and two Penn State losses. Oh, and they look pretty good on Adams' career resume, too.

Hogan Makes First Team, But Adams Doesn't

By
Collegian Staff
on May 5, 2009 9:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
The ECAC all-conference teams were announced today, with a twist from years past.

Drew Adams, the league's goalie of the year in each of his first three seasons, was not the 2009 ECAC goalie of the year. That distinction went to Massachusetts' Doc Schneider, who recorded league highs in goals against average (7.31) and save percentage (.658).

Adams did make the ECAC second team, so it's not all bad. Plus, Penn State did get one player in the first-team list.

Sophomore midfielder Chris Hogan received first-team honors for his stellar offensive season. Hogan was never afraid to let the shots fly -- he led the league with 9.50 shots per game -- and his productivity made him the No. 1 threat on the Nittany Lions offense this season. The middie from Wyckoff, N.J., was fourth in the ECAC with 29 goals this season.

Here's the complete rundown of the first and second all-conference teams. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of times each player has received an all-ECAC nod.

First Team

A Tim Balise, UMass, Sr. (2)
A Jim Connolly, UMass, Sr. (2)
A Shane Koppens, Loyola, Sr. (3)
M Chris Hogan, Penn State, Soph.
M Scott Kocis, Georgetown, Jr.
M Justin Pennington, Rutgers, Jr. (2)
D Diogo Godoi, UMass, Jr. (2)
D Chris O'Dougherty, Rutgers, Sr. (3)
D P.T. Ricci, Loyola, Sr. (2)
Dom DeNapoli, St. John's, Sr.
G Doc Schneider, UMass, Sr. (2)

Second Team

A Jeff Colburn, Hobart, Sr.
A Craig Dowd, Georgetown, Jr.
A Cooper MacDonnell, Loyola, Jr. (2)
M Brent Adams, Fairfield, Fr.
M Tyler Cassell, Hobart, Jr.
M Bob Hayes, UMass, Jr.
M Mike Sawyer, Loyola, Fr.
D Steve Bauer, Georgetown, Sr.
D Barney Ehrmann, Georgetown, Jr. (3)
D Steve Layne, Loyola, Jr.
John Schiavone, Loyola, Jr.
G Drew Adams, Penn State, Sr. (4)

Offensive Player of the Year: Jim Connolly, UMass

Defensive Player of the Year: P.T. Ricci, Loyola

Goalkeeper of the Year: Doc Schneider, UMass

Rookie of the Year: Mike Sawyer, Loyola

Coach of the Year: Greg Cannella, UMass

Three Laxers Grab Weekly Honors

By
Collegian Staff
on May 5, 2009 2:09 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Three Nittany Lions received ECAC player-of-the-week honors for the team's season-ending win over Georgetown.

Drew Adams was named defensive player of the week, Rob Forster got offensive player of the week and Matt Mackrides earned rookie of the week. Each contributed to Penn State's 12-11 double-overtime victory at No. 16 Georgetown.

Adams made 19 saves against a 54-shot frenzy by the Hoyas. Forster and Mackrides combined for the game-winning goal and combined for eight points. The senior attackman notched four goals and an assist, while the freshman scored a goal and had two assists.

The award was Forster's first of the season and Adams and Mackrides' second. For his career, the Lion goalie has collected seven ECAC player-of-the-week awards.

ECAC Season Wrap-Up: Individual Statistics Leaders

By
Collegian Staff
on May 5, 2009 2:02 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
On Monday we ran down the best conference teams in every statistical category. Today we check out the winners of individual accolades in the ECAC.

Until the all-league team is announced later this week, these bits of notoriety will have to do. As before, we'll show how Penn State's players did in each category.

Best Scorer: Jim Connolly (UMass)

The Minutemen finished with the two top goal-scorers in the ECAC with Connolly and Tim Balise. Connolly wrapped up his collegiate career with a league-best 35 goals for an average of 2.50 per game.

Penn State's trio of Chris Hogan and Jack and Rob Forster went four though six in the league rankings. Hogan led the way for Penn State with 29 goals, averaging 2.07 per game.

Best Passer: Shane Koppens (Loyola)

The Greyhound's attack went through Koppens a lot this year, as the senior distributed an average of 1.58 assists per game. His 19 assists were second-best, though, to Georgetown's Craig Dowd and his 22 helpers. Koppens gets the nod here, largely because he was also the ECAC's overall points leader this season at 3.42 points per game.

Freshman Matt Mackrides finished fourth in the league with 1.17 assists per game. Not to be forgotten is Jack Forster, who even in an injury-shortened season produced 3.09 points per game, good for second-best in the ECAC.

Best Clutch Scorer: Rob Forster (Penn State)

Jack's elder brother wins this category by notching four game-winning goals this season. Forster's most recent contribution came in the season finale May 1 at Georgetown, when he scored with a minute to go in double-overtime. The senior's other game-winners came against Bucknell, Hobart and Vermont.

Best Man-Up Scorer: Kory Kelly (Rutgers)

The sophomore tallied nine goals when Rutgers had an extra man this year. Penn State's leader in this category was Chris Hogan, whose five man-up goals tied him for fifth in the league.

Special props go to St. John's freshman midfielder Carl Iacona, who was the only player in the ECAC to record two man-down goals.

Best Scooper: Dom DeNapoli (St. John's)

The senior defenseman was all over the ball this year, notching 119 ground balls. That averages out to 8.50 ground balls per game. In comparison, Penn State's biggest ground-ball scooper was goalie Drew Adams, who grabbed 46 this season.

Best Faceoff Man: Chris Mattes (Rutgers)

This one might not be fair since Mattes only played in nine games this year. But the sophomore did win 60 percent of his faceoffs this season, and that's pretty darn good. The top percentage of someone who played the whole season was .587 by Loyola's John Schiavone. The junior Greyhound won 149 of his 254 faceoffs this year. Now that's a workman.

The Lions' top faceoff guy was Charley Henneghan, whose .571 percentage placed him just behind Schiavone at third in the league. Also making the Top-10 was senior Jordan Kolb and his .553 percentage at No. 5.

Best Goalie: Doc Schneider (UMass)

As always, this one was tough, but Schneider posted better numbers this year than Penn State's Drew Adams. He allowed 100 goals this year with a league-best 7.31 goals against average. The senior also collected 192 saves and had a save percentage of .658, also an ECAC-best.

Adams did beat Schneider in total saves this season with a league-high 212. His 15.14 saves per game rate was also tops in the conference. Adams' 7.96 goals against average was good for fourth, while his .652 save percentage was second.

ECAC Season Wrap-Up: Team Statistics Leaders

By
Collegian Staff
on May 4, 2009 6:58 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Well, that's that for this season, Penn State's last as a member of the ECAC.

With the season in the books, it's take to look back and check out just what the year was like in the ECAC. We'll take a look at the team statistics leaders first, then check out who led every individual statistical category. We'll also compare Penn State's standings with the leaders.

Best Scoring Offense: Loyola

The Greyhounds led the league this year in goals per game, putting up an average of 10.43, the only ECAC team to average double-digit goals this season. Loyola also led the conference with 15.64 points per game, meaning the Greyhounds not only scored a lot, they did so by effectively running their offense.

The 'Hounds had the highest shooting percentage in the ECAC as well, recording a .283 mark for the 2009 season.

Penn State ranked near the top in most offensive categories this season. It tied with Georgetown for third in goals per game (9.64), placed second in points per game (15.07) and finished first in assists per game (5.43).

Best Scoring Defense: UMass

The tournament-bound Minutemen had Doc Schneider anchoring their defense in the cage, and that combined with a stalwart defensive unit led to their league-best 7.77 goals against average. UMass edged out Max Silberlicht and Hobart by one goal this season.

The Nittany Lions and goalie Drew Adams finished a close third with a GAA of 7.90. They ended the year leading the league with 15.29 saves per game and a .654 save percentage.

Best Man-Up Offense: Hobart

For the better part of the season, Penn State and Hobart went back and forth for the lead in this category. The Statesmen eventually won the battle, notching 20 power play goals and converting on 37.7 percent of man-up opportunities.

The Lions' .314 man-up scoring percentage was good for fifth in the ECAC, just ahead of Georgetown's .312 rate.

Interestingly enough, only one Hobart player -- Tyler Cassell -- finished in the Top-10 in individual man-up goals this season.

Best Man-Down Defense: UMass

Another sign of the ECAC champs' stout defense this year. UMass allowed only 10 man-down goals this season, with opponents going just .200 this year with an extra man. Penn State's second-best man-down defense pales in comparison, even though a .290 percentage isn't too shabby at all.

Best Ground Ball Squad: Loyola

Led by P.T. Ricci and John Schiavone -- Nos. 2 and 3 in the ECAC in ground balls per game -- the Greyhounds scooped up an average of 38.29 ground balls per game. Penn State finished third in the league with 33.71 per game, with Drew Adams leading the way with 46 this season (an average of 3.29).

Best Penalty Squad: Loyola

Only senior defenseman Eddie Graham committed five penalties this season for Loyola. Otherwise the Greyhounds were pretty clean, averaging just 2.36 penalties per game and 1.93 penalty minutes per game.

Penn State, on the other hand, was the most penalized team this season in the ECAC. The Lions averaged 4.57 infractions per game and 3.68 penalty minutes per game. Chris Hogan led the team with 10 penalties, while defenseman Matt Bernier's seven penalty minutes were the most on the team.

Best Faceoff Squad: Loyola

Notice a pattern yet? The 'Hounds seemed to do all the little things right, leading the conference with a faceoff percentage of .566. They just edged out Rutgers, which had an average of .565 this season.

The Lions placed right behind these two teams, winning 55 percent of their faceoffs this season.

Archives

The Roster

Mug

Paul Casella is a sophomore from Rochester, N.Y. majoring in journalism. He previously covered the Icers and track and field teams for the Collegian. Paul played three sports throughout high school, but never cradled any balls for his lacrosse team. If he put his mind to it, he thinks he could have; but now he is left to live vicariously through the Nittany Lions.


Mug

Stephen Hennessey is a sophomore from North Jersey majoring in journalism and was a Collegian wrestling, field hockey and women's tennis writer. Steve has tried to craddle a lacrosse ball a couple times in his life, usually resulting in the ball flying at someone's dome. He'll stick to writing.


Mug

Dan Rorabaugh is a junior majoring in print journalism. He has covered the women's soccer and women's basketball teams this year. Dan has garnered interest in lacrosse ever since his fiancee, who played lacrosse in high school, beat him incessantly with a deBeer last spring.

Monthly Archives