Feb. 24, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Lafayette became the final Patriot League team to take the field in 2009 when the Leopards hosted Villanova on Saturday. All seven teams have now begun action, with Navy holding the top record through three weeks of play. The No. 12/10 Mids are currently 2-1. Navy will put its record on the line against Bucknell on Saturday in the first League game of the season. The Bison enter the game with an 0-2 record after two close losses to nationally ranked teams.

Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Weekly Release 2.24.09

Offensive Player of the Week

Chris Lubin, Lehigh Jr., A, Syosset, N.Y. Lubin netted a career-high five goals in the Mountain Hawks' 13-12 loss to No. 14/15 Brown. He scored all five of his goals in the final 15:46 of the contest to lead Lehigh back from a 9-4 deficit. He also added an assist and four groundballs.

Defensive Player of the Week

Geoff Leone, Navy Sr., DM, Massapequa, N.Y. A preseason All-American, Leone forced a pair of turnovers while helping Navy limit No. 6/5 North Carolina to a season-low nine goals. He was a member of the Mids' man-down unit that held North Carolina scoreless on extra-man opportunities. Leone and the Mids' man-down unit have held Navy's three opponents scoreless on six extra-man opportunities this season.

Goalkeeper of the Week

No nominations

Rookie of the Week

Charlie Streep, Bucknell Fr., M, New Canaan, Conn. Streep recorded the first three goals of his collegiate career in Bucknell's 10-9 overtime loss at No. 19 Ohio State. The last of Streep's three goals tied the game at 9-9 with 40 seconds left in regulation, sending the contest into overtime.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Kevin Colleluori, Colgate Sr., A, Chittenango, N.Y. Scored eight points in a pair of road games against nationally ranked Duke and North Carolina. Scored three goals and notched an assist against No. 5/7 Duke. Matched that effort with three goals and an assist against No. 6/5 North Carolina. Also recorded five groundballs on the weekend.

Edison Parzanese, Holy Cross Jr., A, Edgartown, Mass. Recorded four goals and three assists for a seven-point day against Yale. Also notched one groundball. Leads the team with five goals, four assists and nine points in two games.

Tim Paul, Navy Jr., A, Parkton, Md. Notched his third collegiate hat trick with three goals against No. 6/5 North Carolina. Added an assist for a career-tying four-point day. Has now scored two or more goals in 18 of his 34 career games.

Patriot League Notebook

Everybody's On The Field The last of the Patriot League's seven teams began competition over the weekend. Lafayette became the final team to commence its season when the Leopards hosted Villanova on Saturday. Six of the League's seven teams started on or before Feb. 14, including Navy, which began its season earlier than any other NCAA Division I team. The Mids opened up the season on Feb. 7.

Road Woes The road was unkind to Patriot League teams last week. Of the eight games played by Patriot League teams, five were played on the opposing team's field. All five games ended in losses.

Patriot League Teams In The Rankings Two Patriot League teams are currently in both the USILA Coaches Top 20 poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Top 20. Navy, which enters the week with a 2-1 mark, is ranked 12th in the coaches' poll and 10th in the media poll. Preseason favorite Colgate is 17th in the coaches' poll and 19th in the media poll. The Raiders are 1-2, but its two losses are by a combined three goals to top-10 foes Duke and North Carolina. Though not in the top 20, Army and Bucknell are receiving votes in both polls. The Black Knights are 25th in the coaches' rankings and 21st in the media poll. The Bison are 22nd in both polls.

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 this fall. 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 The Black Knights fell from both national polls after dropping a 17-6 decision to top-ranked Syracuse. Army jumped out to a 3-1 first-quarter lead against the defending national champions, but the Orange outscored the Black Knights 16-3 the rest of the way. Syracuse scored four straight goals in the second quarter and opened the third on a 7-1 run to seize control of the contest. Sophomore goalkeeper Tom Palesky was credited with 11 saves. Classmate Jeremy Boltus registered a goal and three assists. The Black Knights will host No. 4/6 Cornell on Saturday. The 5 p.m. game will be shown on ESPNU.

Bucknell The Bison fell to a ranked opponent for the second time this season, as Bucknell was edged by No. 19 Ohio State in overtime. Freshman Charlie Streep scored the first three goals of his collegiate career, the last of which tied the game at 9-9 with 40 seconds left in regulation and sent the game into overtime. It was not enough for the Bison, however, as Ohio State scored the decisive goal in the extra period. Bucknell will look for its first win of the season on Saturday when it opens Patriot League play against No. 12/10 Navy in Lewisburg.

Colgate The Raiders dropped back-to-back road games to top-10 teams over the weekend. Colgate fell to Duke and North Carolina by a combined three goals. Despite playing with a shoulder injury that limited his practice time, senior Brandon Corp registered four goals and an assist against Duke. Classmate Kevin Colleluori had a combined effort of six goals and two assists in the two losses. Freshman Chris Zielinski scored his first collegiate points. He notched an assist against Duke before registering two goals and two assists at North Carolina. The Raiders will look to snap their two-game skid at No. 7/9 UMBC on Saturday.

Holy Cross Junior Edison Parzanese contributed to seven of the Crusaders' eight goals in a 13-8 loss to Yale. Parzanese, who had four goals and three assists against the Bulldogs, leads Holy Cross with five goals, four assists and nine points in two games. He has recorded at least one point in 12 straight games and has 15 goals, 22 assists and 37 points during the streak. Freshman Colin McGeehin has a streak of his own. McGeehin has scored a goal in each of his first two college contests. Holy Cross will not play again until March 3, when it meets No. 10/12 Duke.

Lafayette Lafayette opened its season with a 12-4 home loss to Villanova. After the Leopards' Tom Perini tied the score with a behind-the-back goal with 7:13 left in the first half, Lafayette was outscored by a 9-1 margin the rest of the way. Pereni scored two of the Leopards' three goals. Villanova outshot the Leopards 38-20 and went 2-for-4 on man advantages. The Wildcats also held a 27-16 advantage in ground balls. Jeff Canfield finished with 11 saves in goal. Lafayette will travel to Wagner on Wednesday before hosting Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Lehigh Lehigh suffered its second consecutive one-goal loss in a 13-12 defeat at the hands of No. 14/15 Brown. Chris Lubin netted a career-high five goals, scoring all of them int he final 15:46 of the contest. Freshman Cameron Lao-Gosney added two goals and one assist in the loss. Lao-Gosney has registered three goals, an assist and five ground balls this season. He leads his classmates in goals and points. The Mountain Hawks will travel to Baltimore to battle No. 3/4 North Carolina on Saturday.

Navy Though Tim Paul notched his first career hat trick, Navy was edged by No. 3/4 North Carolina by a 9-8 count on Friday. It was the Mids' first loss of the season. Navy's starting attack has now acccounted for 15 of the Mids' 29 goals, including a team-high seven by Paul. Despite the loss, the No. 12/10 Mids remained in the national rankings for the 81st consecutive week. Navy will battle League foe Bucknell on Saturday in Lewisburg. Head coach Richie Meade will be chasing his 150th career win. He is 149-99 in 19 years of coaching, including a 122-76 mark at Navy.