Feb. 17, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Six of the Patriot League's seven teams have opened competition. Navy is one of four Patriot League teams without a loss. The Midshipmen are the only squad with two wins thus far. Patriot League teams have already played two ranked foes, and they will add to that total this weekend. No. 15/17 Colgate will travel to No. 5/7 Duke, No. 18/20 Army will go to No. 1/2 Syracuse, and No,. 9/9 Navy will battle No. 6/5 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Weekly Release 2.17.09

Offensive Player of the Week

Brandon Corp, Colgate Sr., A, Chittenango, N.Y. Corp extended his scoring streak to 34 games with five goals and three assists in the Raiders' season-opening win over Canisius. Of his five goals, two tied the score, while another gave the Raiders the lead. One of his three assists tied the score early in the game. In addition to his eight points, Corp also had six groundballs. It is the second time in Corp's career that he has been named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week.

Defensive Player of the Week

Sean Reppard, Army Sr., M, Gaithersburg, Md. Reppard won nine of 11 faceoffs, including five straight to start the game, as the Black Knights jumped out to a quick 6-0 first half lead in a 17-3 victory over VMI. Reppard also had seven groundballs. It is the first time in his career that Reppard has been named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week.

Goalkeeper of the Week

Matt Coughlin, Navy Sr., GK, Brightwaters, N.Y. Coughlin earned a pair of wins, including a triumph over No. 19 Ohio State. Coughlin made six saves against the Buckeyes. In Navy's season-opening win against VMI, Coughlin made seven saves, including four in the second half. He held the Keydets scoreless in the final two quarters. It is the second time in his career that Coughlin has received Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors.

Rookie of the Week

Colin McGeehin Fr., A, Newtown Square, Pa. McGeehin scored his first career goal in the Crusaders' season-opener against St. John's. McGeehin also added two groundballs. He is the first Patriot League Rookie of the Week honoree from Holy Cross since Matt Moran took home the award on Feb. 26, 2008.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Jason Peyer, Army Sr., A, Williston Park, N.Y. Tallied six first-half goals to lead Army to a 17-3 season-opening victory against VMI. Also recorded three groundballs.

Joe Mele, Bucknell Sr., A, Westbury, N.Y. Equaled a career-high with five goals at No. 5/7 Duke. Scored four times in the third quarter alone to keep the Bison within two goals heading into the final period.

Tim Harrington, Colgate Jr., A, Lutherville, Md. Picked up his first win of the season by making nine saves against 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifier Canisius.

Jimmy Harrison, Holy Cross Jr., GK, East Williston, N.Y. Made 20 saves while stopping 67 percent of the shots he faced in the Crusaders' season-opener against St. John's.

Evan Guerrero, Lehigh Jr., D, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Totaled a career-best nine caused turnovers versus Saint Joseph's. Also added five groundballs.

Patriot League Notebook

Early Start Navy's Feb. 7 game against VMI not only was the earliest in program history, but it was the earliest in Division I lacrosse history. As a whole the Patriot League is tied with the ACC and the MAAC for the most games played so far. Each league has seven games in the books. The Patriot League owns the second-best winning percentage at .571, only behind the ACC (1.000).

And They're Off! Six of the Patriot League's seven schools have started the 2008 season. Navy began on Feb. 7 and has two games under its belt. Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross and Lehigh all kicked off the 2009 campaign last Saturday. Lafayette will be the last team to commence its season, doing so on Saturday against Villanova.

Patriot League Teams In The Rankings Four Patriot League teams are currently in the USILA Coaches Top 20 poll, while three are ranked in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Top 20. Navy, which has started the year 2-0, is ranked ninth in both polls. Preseason favorite Colgate is 15th in the coaches poll and 17th in the media poll. Army is ranked in both polls, coming in at 18th in the coaches poll and 20th in the media rankings. Bucknell finds itself ranked 19th by the coaches, while it is the first team outside of the rankings in the media poll.

2009 Men's Lacrosse Championship The 2009 Patriot League Tournament will take place on Friday, April 24 and Sunday, April 26 at the site of the highest seed. The top four teams in the regular-season standings will advance to the Patriot League tourney. The championship game on Sunday will be broadcast on CBS College Sports. Third-seeded Colgate won last year's championship in West Point, N.Y.

Preseason All-America Status The Patriot League landed seven student-athletes on the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Division I Preseason All-Americans list. Two student-athletes, Colgate's Brandon Corp and Navy's Geoff Leone, were selected to the first team. Others included on the All-American list were: Bucknell's Austin Winter (honorable mention) and Billy Haire (honorable mention), Andy Tormey (second team), Tim Paul (honorable mention) and Jaren Woeppel (honorable mention).

Patriot League, Inside Lacrosse Sign Agreement The Patriot League has come to a multiple-year agreement with Inside Lacrosse, it was announced Monday. Inside Lacrosse will market and showcase Patriot League men's and women's lacrosse programs, coaches, student-athletes and institutions. The agreement will come over a variety of platforms including Inside Lacrosse magazine, Inside Lacrosse's Face-Off Yearbook as well as insidelacrosse.com. It will also include promotion of the Patriot League's men's and women's lacrosse championships.

Team Notebooks

Army Army opened the 2009 season in convincing fashion, disposing of VMI, 17-3. Prior to last season, Army had not allowed fewer than four goals in a season-opener since 1988. They have now done so in consecutive seasons. Senior Jason Peyer scored a career-high six goals, all in the first half. Fellow-senior Sean Reppard won nine of 11 faceoffs, including five straight to start the game. Army scored the game's first 15 goals. No. 18/20 Army will battle defending national champion Syracuse on Friday. Syracuse is ranked first and second in the country.

Bucknell No. 19 Bucknell dropped its season opener to No. 5/7 Duke on Saturday. The Bison out-shot the Blue Devils by a 37-27 margin. Senior Joe Mele equaled his career-high with five goals. It was the third five-goal game of his career. He scored four times in the third quarter alone to pull the Bison within two at 8-6. Duke answered with three insurance goals to put the game away. Austin Winter assisted on four of Mele's goals and scored once himself for a five-point day. Winter moved into sixth place on Bucknell's career assists list with 66. Bucknell was 3-for-5 with a man advantage. The Bison will play their second ranked opponent in as many games when they meet Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday.

Colgate No. 15/17 Colgate opened the season with a 15-11 win over 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifier Canisius in Hamilton. Preseason Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Corp scored five goals and assisted on three others. Junior goalkeeper Tim Harrington faced 20 shots and made nine saves to pick up his first victory of the season. Colgate will become the second Patriot League team to play No. 5/7 Duke this season when the Raiders meet the Blue Devils in Durham on Friday.

Holy Cross Holy Cross was dealt a 10-5 loss by St. John's in the Crusaders' 2009 season-opener on Saturday in Worcester. Freshman Colin McGeehin scored his first collegiate goal, while senior goalkeeper Jimmy Harrison made 20 saves. Harrison stopped two-thirds of the 30 shots he faced. The Crusaders trailed 4-3 at halftime, but St. John's broke away by outscoring Holy Cross, 6-0, in the third period. Five different players scored for thd Crusaders. Holy Cross will remain at home for a Saturday showdown with Yale.

Lafayette Lafayette will begin the 2009 season on Saturday afternoon at home against Villanova. The Leopards closed last season with a 4-9 record. They were beaten by the Wildcats in Philadelphia last season, 9-6.

Lehigh Lehigh suffered a heartbreaking 9-8 home defeat at the hands of Saint Joseph's to open the 2009 campaign. Junior defender Evan Guerrero logged five groundballs and forced a career-best nine turnovers against the Hawks. Lehigh led, 8-6, with 11:17 remaining, but Saint Joseph's scored the final three goals, including the game-winner with 34 seconds remaining. Ricky Cornetta, Brian Bienemann, and Chris Lubin each scored twice for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh will return to action on Saturday against No. 14/15 Brown.

Navy Navy has started off the year 2-0 with wins over VMI and Ohio State. Eight different players have accounted for Navy's 21 goals this spring, including six who have scored multiple goals. Brendan Connors, Bruce Nenchanicky and Tim Paul have each recorded four goals. Paul has added two assists to give him a team-leading six points. Nenchanicky, who scored two goals in each of Navy's two wins, has returned to the Navy lineup for the first time since tearing his ACL twice in 2007. Junior midfielder Evan Sullivan recorded three goals and an assist against VMI. Not only was it Sullivan's first hat trick, it marked the first three goals of his career. Navy will look to extend its season-opening winning streak to three games when it travels to North Carolina on Friday.