Feb. 23, 2010
Center Valley, Pa.--Patriot League squads will take on two of the top four teams in the country this week, including top-ranked and defending national champion Syracuse. Army will venture to Syracuse to take on the Orange, while Navy will be at home against No. 4/3 North Carolina. Tuesday marked the first week of the Patriot League's weekly awards. High school teammates Jake Clarke and Kyle Feeney were named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week and Patriot League Rookie of the Week, respectively, giving Bucknell two of the four awards. Navy's RJ Wickham was tabbed Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week, while Lafayette's Steve Serling received Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Release -2.23.10 
Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week
Steve Serling, Lafayette Sr., M, Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Playing his first game since 2008, Serling tallied eight points in the Leopards’ 15-10 win over Fairfield. After missing 2009 due to injury, Serling returned to the field to register five goals and three assists against the Stags. It is the second time in his career that Serling has been named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week.
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week
Jake Clarke, Bucknell Jr., SSDM, Cos Cob, Conn.
In Bucknell’s first two games, Clarke won 62.9 percent of his faceoff draws and collected 17 ground balls. Against No. 2 Duke, Clarke was 12-for-21 at the X and picked up a game-high 10 ground balls. He added a game-high seven ground balls against Ohio State while going 10-for-14 on faceoffs against the Buckeyes. Clarke has now been named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week twice in his career.
Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week
RJ Wickham, Navy So., GK, Penn Yan, N.Y.
Wickham made 31 saves and stopped 70.5 percent of the shots he faced in Navy’s first two contests. Wickham recorded 12 saves while allowing just five goals in the Mids’ 16-5 season-opening victory over VMI. He tallied 19 saves in the Navy’s 8-7 overtime defeat against No. 15 Loyola. It is the second time Wickham has received a weekly award, as he was named Rookie of the Week once last season.
Patriot League Rookie of the Week
Kyle Feeney, Bucknell Fr., GK, Greenwich, Conn.
Feeney came on in relief in each of Bucknell’s first two games. Against No. 2 Duke, he made four fourth-quarter saves. Feeney played 38 minutes against Ohio State, picking up his first career victory. He made nine saves while allowing just two goals against the Buckeyes.
Honorable Mention Performances Last Week
Jeremy Boltus, Army
Jr., A, Baldwinsville, N.Y.
Scored three straight goals in just over four minutes, including the eventual game-winning tally in the fourth quater, leading Army to an 11-9 win over VMI. Also notched three assists.
Tim Brandau, Bucknell
Sr., A, Owings Mills, Md.
Finished one goal short of a career high, tallying four scores against No. 2/2 Duke. Added a man-down score against Ohio State on Saturday. Finished the week with five goals and five ground balls.
James Kennedy, Holy Cross
Fr., A, Summit, N.J.
Earned a point on four of Holy Cross’ eight goals. Registered three goals and one assist in his first collegiate outing, a 9-8 loss at St. John’s.
Adam Johnston, Lehigh
So., A, Street, Md.
Recorded five total goals in Lehigh’s first two games. Notched a hat trick, including the game-winning goal, in the Mountain Hawks’ 7-6 win at Saint Joseph’s. Added two goals at No. 4/4 North Carolina.
Patrick Moran, Navy
Sr., M, Annapolis, Md.
Recorded six total goals in Navy’s two games last week. Tallied three goals in the Mids’ win over VMI. Added another hat trick in Navy’s 8-7 overtime loss to No. 16/15 Loyola.
Patriot League Notebook
Patriot League Teams Chasing Fast Starts
Army and Lafayette are without a loss heading into the week. The Black Knights notched an 11-9 win over VMI on Saturday, while Lafayette recorded a 15-10 victory at Fairfield. Navy and Bucknell, which were picked as the top two teams in the Patriot League preseason poll, are both 1-1. Bucknell started the season with an overtime loss to Duke but rebounded for a convincing 11-5 win against Ohio State. Navy began the year with a win over VMI but dropped a an 8-7 decision in overtime against Loyola. Also 1-1 is Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks opened the season with a 7-6 win at Saint Joseph’s before falling at No. 4/4 North Carolina on Saturday. Colgate and Holy Cross both began their seasons with one-goal losses on Saturday. The Raiders dropped a 7-6 decision at Binghamton, while Holy Cross was dealt a 9-8 loss by St. John’s.
Full Speed Ahead
This week’s slate is full for Patriot League teams. Two squads have mid-week games on the schedule as Army hosts Bryant, and No. 16/14 Navy welcomes No. 4/3 North Carolina to Annapolis. In weekend play, Lehigh and Colgate will both be at home. The Mountain Hawks will host Villanova, while the Raiders will welcome Dartmouth to Hamilton. Also on Saturday, Holy Cross will be at Yale, No. 15/15 Bucknell will travel to Towson, and Lafayette will venture north to play at Binghamton. A date with the top-ranked team in the country awaits Army. The Black Knights will travel to Syracuse to take on the defending champion Orange.
Patriot League Teams in the Polls
Bucknell and Navy both find themselves among the nation’s elite, as each team is ranked in the top 20 nationally. Bucknell, which has a win over Ohio State and a narrow loss to perennial power Duke, is ranked 15th in both the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and the USILA coaches’ poll. Navy holds the 14th spot in the media rankings, while the Midshipmen are ranked 16th in the coaches’ poll.
Don’t Lose Your Hats
Three hat tricks have been recorded in Navy’s first two games. Patrick Moran has accomplished the feat in both of the Midshipmen’s games, getting three goals against VMI and another three tallies against Loyola. Andy Warner also recorded a hat trick against VMI. Dating back to last season, at least one Navy player has recorded a hat trick in eight of the Mids’ last nine games. The lone contest in which Navy did not get a hat trick was during the Mids’ NCAA contest against Duke.
Patriot League Announces TV Schedule
Twelve games involving Patriot League teams are currently scheduled to air on television. As part of the Patriot League’s package with CBS College Sports, two regular season games will be televised. The network will carry the Mar. 6 game between Bucknell and Navy and the Apr. 10 contest featuring Lehigh and Colgate. In addition, CBS College Sports will broadcast Navy’s games against North Carolina, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins. As part of the Smartlink Day of Rivals, the Army-Navy game will be televised by ESPNU. Army will meet Syracuse on Time Warner on Feb. 28, while Colgate will meet Lafayette on Time Warner on Apr. 16. In addition, CBS College Sports will broadcast the Patriot League Tournament for the second consecutive season.
Team Notebooks
Army The Black Knights began the season with an 11-9 home win over VMI on Saturday. Tom Palesky made 11 saves, while Jeremy Boltus scored three straight goals to help Army pick up the victory. Boltus also notched three assists, giving him a game-high six points. Tyler Seymour also notched three goals. Leading 4-2 at halftime, Army forged a 10-5 lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to Boltus’ goals. Four unanswered goals by the Keydets pulled VMI within one at 10-9 with 5:51 remaining, but an unassisted tally by freshman attackman Garrett Thul with 1:27 remaining sealed the win for Army. After hosting Bryant on Tuesday, the Black Knights will travel to top-ranked Syracuse on Sunday.
Bucknell The Bison rebounded from their season-opening loss against Duke to record a resounding 11-5 win over Ohio State on Saturday in Lewisburg. Charlie Streep scored three goals and assisted on another in the victory. Freshman goalkeeper Kyle Feeney made nine saves while allowing just two goals in 38 minutes of action to pick up his first collegiate win. Bucknell outscored the Buckeyes by a 9-1 margin over the final 37 minutes of play. The Bison will resume action on Saturday against Towson.
Colgate Freshman Peter Baum scored his first three collegiate goals and junior Ben McCabe added two in the Raiders’ 7-6 loss at Binghamton on Saturday. With the Raiders trailing by a 6-4 count in the fourth quarter, Baum recorded back-to-back goals in a three-minute span to tie the game with 9:23 remaining. Binghamton responded with the eventual game winning goal at the 8:08 mark to take a 7-6 the lead. Colgate will resume play on Saturday when the Raiders host Dartmouth.
Holy Cross Despite three goals and an assist by freshman James Kennedy, the Crusaders dropped a 9-8 decision at St. John’s on Saturday. Holy Cross faced a 9-5 deficit with 14:07 remaining in the contest. The Crusaders rattled off three straight goals but could not muster the tying tally. Senior goalkeeper Conor Sweeney made nine saves in the loss as Holy Cross was outshot by a 41-32 margin. The Crusaders will return to action on Saturday when they will play at Yale.
Lafayette The Leopards got the 2010 season started on a winning note, picking up a 15-10 win at Fairfield on Saturday. After sitting out all of 2009 due to an injury, senior Steve Serling registered a game-high eight points. Serling exploded for five goals and three assists against the Stags. The Leopards scored the first four goals of the game before Fairfield rallied to take an 8-7 lead early in the third period. Lafayette then scored six of the next seven goals to re-gain momentum and seize control of the contest. The Leopards will attempt to move to 2-0 when they take on Binghamton on Saturday.
Lehigh After opening the season with a 7-6 win at Saint Joseph’s, the Mountain Hawks were dealt a 17-5 defeat by No. 4/4 North Carolina. All five of the Mountain Hawks’ goals were scored by freshmen or sophomores with Adam Johnston leading the way with two scores. Johnston now has a team-best five goals on the season. North Carolina unleashed 45 shots on the afternoon compared to 17 by Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks will attempt to regroup with a home contest against Villanova on Saturday.
Navy The Midshipmen are 1-1 after two games in 2010. After opening the season with a home triumph over VMI, the Mids dropped an 8-7 decision to No. 16/15 Loyola on Saturday. It was the first meeting between the two programs since the 1993 NCAA Tournament. Joe Lennon fed Patrick Moran for the game-tying goal with 3:03 left in regulation, but Cooper MacDonnell’s sixth goal of the afternoon gave the Greyhounds the win in overtime. Moran finished with three goals, giving him six scores for the season. The Midshipmen will be at home on Thursday when they take on No. 4/3 North Carolina.
