March 10, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Five of the Patriot League's seven teams have begun League competition, with Colgate, Holy Cross and Lafayette joining the fray over the weekend. Lehigh begins League play on Tuesday, while Army will become the last team to commence its League schedule. Early in the Patriot League season, Colgate and Bucknell find themselves tied atop the standings.

Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Release 3.10.09

Offensive Player of the Week (Mar. 2-Mar. 8)

Kevin Colleluori, Colgate Sr., A, Bethpage, N.Y. Colleluori registered two career-highs with seven goals and seven poiNTs in the Raiders' Patriot League opener, a 22-9 win against Holy Cross. He scored five of the first six goals, including the first four of the game, to help Colgate take a commanding 11-0 lead midway through the second period. He also also provided the 10th goal of the game, the eventual game-winner.

Defensive Player of the Week (Mar. 2-Mar. 8)

Bill Henderson, Army So., D, Tully, N.Y. Henderson anchored the Army defense, as the Black Knights scored a pair of victories. On Wednesday, he held Bryant's Zach Greer, the NCAA's all-time leader in goals, to just one goal in Army's 11-5 win. Greer entered the game averaging three goals per contests, but Henderson limited him to just three shots. In two games last week, Henderson recorded two caused turnovers and four ground balls.

Goalkeeper of the Week (Mar. 2-Mar. 8)

Tom Palesky, Army So., GK, Plano, Texas Palesky stopped 17 shots to help the Black Knights record an 11-5 win over a Bryant squad that had been averaging 18 goals per game in its previous three outings. He also recorded nine saves and picked up four ground balls in Army's 14-9 win against rival Air Force on Saturday.

Rookie of the Week (Mar. 2-Mar. 8)

RJ Wickham, Navy Fr., GK, Penn Yan, N.Y. Wickham helped Navy record a pair of wins by stopping 60.7 percent of the shots he faced last week. He made a career-high 14 saves against Patriot League foe Lafayette in the Mids' 14-9 triumph over the Leopards on Saturday. His 14 saves were the most by a Navy goalkeeper since Colin Finnegan recorded 14 saves against Georgetown on March 31, 2007. On Wednesday, Wickham earned the win while limiting Mount St. Mary's to just two goals.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Jason Peyer, Army Sr., A, Williston Park, N.Y. Registered 10 points in two Army victories. Scored a team-best four goals, while also notching an assist in the Black Knights' 11-5 win against Bryant. Added two goals and three assists in Army's 14-9 triumph over rival Air Force.

Conor Murphy, Lehigh Fr., GK, Wellesley, Mass. Earned his first career victory with an 11-9 win over Dartmouth. Shut the Big Green out int he fourth quarter, helping the Mountain Hawks rally back from an early 4-0 deficit. Tied his career high with 11 saves in the contest.

Patriot League Notebook

In Review Colgate and Bucknell are tied for the lead early in the Patriot League season. The Raiders dropped Holy Cross to gain a share of the lead with Bucknell. The Bison did not play a League game last week. Bucknell did play former Patriot League foe Hobart, which topped the Bison by a 7-2 margin. Navy snapped a two-game skid with a pair of victories. The Mids defeated Mount St. Mary's before notching their first League win of the season against Lafayette. Army and Lehigh recorded non-League victories. The Black Knights downed Bryant and Air Force, while Lehigh notched its first win of the season against Dartmouth.

Five Nominated For Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Five Patriot League men's lacrosse student-athletes are among 30 candidates for the candidates for the lacrosse division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition. Among the Patriot League candidates are Bucknell midfielder Doug Buckley, Colgate attackman Brandon Corp, Holy Cross goalkeeper Jimmy Harrison, Army defenseman Scott Rosenshein and Navy defenseman Andy Tormey.

Five Alive Of the Patriot League's seven teams, five have begun League play. Colgate, Lafayette and Holy Cross joined the fray over the weekend. With a win in its Patriot League opener, Colgate moved into a tie for first place with Bucknell. The last two teams to start Patriot League competition will be Lehigh and Army. Lehigh will begin League play Tuesday at home against Navy, while Army will open up against Lehigh on March 17.

Patriot League Teams In The Rankings Two Patriot League teams are currently in this week's rankings. Navy is in both the USILA Coaches Top 20 poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Top 20, while Army enters this week's media poll. Navy, which enters the week with a 4-2 mark, is ranked 15th in both polls. Army is 20th in the media rankings and receiving votes in the coaches' poll. Colgate and Bucknell are both receiving votes in the media poll. The Bison are also receiving votes in the coaches' rankings.

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 two semifinals on Friday and 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.

Patriot League, Inside Lacrosse Sign Agreement The Patriot League has come to a multiple-year agreement with Inside Lacrosse. Inside Lacrosse will market and showcase Patriot League men 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 and women's lacrosse championships.

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights halted a two-game skid by winning a pair of home contests last week. The Army defense limited Bryant's Zach Greer, the NCAA's all-time leader in goals, to one goal and three shots in the Black Knights' 11-5 win over the Bulldogs. Army then topped rival Air Force , 14-9, on Saturday. Senior Jason Peyer contributed to 10 of the Black Knights' 25 goals last week. Peyer scored six goals and assisted four others. Army will be the final team to open Patriot League play, doing so on March 17 against Lehigh. The Black Knights will next play on Saturday at Rutgers.

Bucknell The Bison were dealt a 7-2 defeat by former Patriot League foe Hobart on Saturday. Though Hobart was Bucknell's first unranked foe, the Bison were held to a season-low two goals. Bucknell fired off 38 shots against the unbeaten Statesmen, but only 16 of the Bison's shots were on goal. Doug Buckley and Tim Brandau scored Bucknell's only goals. The Bison, which share the Patriot League lead with Colgate, will battle No. 5/4 Notre Dame in non-League action in South Bend, Ind. on Thursday.

Colgate The Raiders opened Patriot League play with a 22-9 victory over Holy Cross. Senior Kevin Colleluori scored a career-high seven goals, including the first four of the game. The Raiders netted the first 11 goals of the contest and never trailed. Colgate's win snapped a three-game losing streak by the Raiders. Colgate will play non-League foe Fairfield on Saturday afternoon.

Holy Cross After taking a week off, the Crusaders were handed a pair of losses. Holy Cross was dealt a 16-7 defeat by No. 13/13 Duke on Tuesday. The Crusaders then fell to Colgate on Saturday in their Patriot League opener. Freshman Colin McGeehin scored in both contests. He notched a goal, an assist and two ground balls against Duke. He followed with a career-best two goals against Colgate. In his first four collegiate games, McGeehin has scored at least one goal in each contest. Holy Cross will seek its first win of the season when it hosts No. 15/15 Navy in Patriot League action on Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards fell to Navy, 14-9, in their Patriot League opener on Saturday. Lafayette scored three of the final four goals in the third quarter, pulling within two goals at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Leopards were outscored by a 4-1 margin in the final period. Senior Jeff Canfield led the Leopards in goal, totaling 13 saves and picking up six ground balls. Lafayette forced Navy keeper RJ Wickham to make 14 saves on the afternoon. Kevin Dunbar registered a career-high four goals while Matt Mersky led the Leopards with two assists. The Leopards will pursue their first League win of the season at home against Bucknell on Saturday.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks won their first game of the season, as they went 1-1 last week. Lehigh dropped a 16-6 decision at Stony Brook on Wednesday before claiming an 11-9 win against Dartmouth on Saturday. Freshman goalkeeper Conor Murphy recorded a career-high 11 saves to pick up his first career victory. Murphy held the Big Green scoreless over the final quarter, helping Lehigh erase an early four-goal deficit. Lehigh will begin Patriot League action at home on Tuesday against No. 15/15 Navy.

Navy The Mids gave Navy head coach Richie Meade his 150th career victory with a 6-2 triumph over Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday. Six different Mids scored in the win. Navy followed with a 14-9 win against League foe Lafayette on Saturday, putting Navy in sole possession of third place in the Patriot League standings. Navy's two wins last week snapped a two-game slide. Sophomore Andy Watner turned in his first collegiate hat trick with a three-goal, one-assist effort against Lafayette. Navy is now 20-0 in Patriot League competition at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Three of Navy's last four games were played on the road, while three of its next four are also on the road, including both games this week. Navy will open the week at League foe Lehigh on Tuesday.