Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Release - 4.20.09

April 20, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--The final weekend of Patriot League play answered many questions. Bucknell clinched the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time in Patriot League history with a 19-11 win over Colgate. Joining Bucknell, Colgate and Navy in the tournament field is Army, which secured the final spot in the tournament on Saturday, thanks to Lafayette's one-goal win over Lehigh.

Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Release - 4.20.09

Offensive Player of the Week (Apr. 13-19)

Jason Peyer, Army Sr., A, Williston Park, N.Y. Peyer was Army's leading scorer in both games last week. He tallied four points in the Black Knights' 13-12 win over Lafayette, helping vault Army into the Patriot League Tournament. He notched two goals and an assist during a 7-0 Army run, helping the Black Knights erase a five-goal deficit against the Leopards. He also contributed three goals and an assist in Army's 10-6 loss at No. 8/8 Duke. It is the first time this season and the second time in Peyer's career that he has been named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week.

Defensive Player of the Week (Apr. 13-19)

Bill Henderson, Army So., D, Tully, N.Y. Henderson was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season after holding No. 8/8 Duke's Ned Crotty without a goal or an assist on Saturday. Crotty entered the week leading the nation in assists. Henderson also helped keep the Lafayette attack at bay during Army's fourth-quarter comeback on Tuesday night. The Black Knights' comeback win pushed Army into the Patriot League Tournament field.

Goalkeeper of the Week (Apr. 13-19)

Nick Sciubba, Bucknell Sr., GK, Sea Cliff, N.Y. Sciubba was named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week for the third time this season and the eighth time in his career after picking up the victory against No. 13/13 Colgate on Saturday. He made 13 saves, including eight in the first half, helping Bucknell build an early lead and eventually clinch the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament. He made saves on three of Colgate's six third-quater shots, as Bucknell outscored the Raiders by a 6-1 margin in the third quarter.

Rookie of the Week (Apr. 13-19)

Charlie Streep, Bucknell Fr., M, New Canaan, Conn. Streep racked up a career-high five goals, helping the Bison clinch the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a 19-11 win over No. 13/13 Colgate. He scored three times in the first quarter alone, including twice in a span of 1:15 after Bucknell fell behind 2-0 early in the game. He also scored with one second left in the first half to give the Bison a 9-7 advantage heading into the locker room. It is the fifth time Streep has been named Patriot League Rookie of the Week.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Joe Mele, Bucknell Sr., A, Westbury, N.Y. Registered two goals and two assists in the Bison's 19-11 win over No. 13/13 Colgate. Second goal of the day was the 100th of his career, making him the fourth player in school history to reach the milestone.

Kevin Colleluori, Colgate Sr., A, Bethpage, N.Y. Racked up four goals and an assist in the Raiders' 19-11 loss to No. 17/20 Bucknell. Scored four first-half goals, three of which tied the game or gave Colgate the lead.

Chris Smirti, Holy Cross Jr., A, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. Scored five goals in two games last week. Notched four goals in the Crusaders' Saturday loss to No. 17/17 Harvard.

Jeff Canfield, Lafayette Sr., GK, Kennelon, N.Y. Stopped 58 percent of the shots he faced in two games last week. Made 25 saves, including 14 against Army. Held rival Lehigh to seven goals on Saturday.

Patriot League Notebook

In Review The 2009 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Tournament field came into focus on the final day of the regular season. For the first time in program history, Bucknell will serve as the No. 1 seed for the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Tournament. The Bison defeated Colgate by a 19-11 margin on Saturday to finish with a 6-0 Patriot League mark. As a result, the Bison will host the 2009 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Championship. Colgate, which suffered its first Patriot League loss, will serve as the No. 2 seed. Navy, which will be the No. 3 seed, fell to Johns Hopkins in non-League action. At 2-4, Army won a three-way tie with Lafayette and Lehigh for the final spot in the tournament. To reach the tournament, the Black Knights needed the Leopards to defeat the Mountain Hawks in Saturday's final game, but by no more than one goal. Lafayette complied, edging its rival by a 9-8 count. Also in action on Saturday was Holy Cross, which fell to No. 17/17 Harvard.

2009 Men's Lacrosse Championship The 2009 Patriot League Tournament will take place on Friday, April 24 and Sunday, April 26 at Bucknell's Christy Mathewson Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa. As the top seed, Bucknell will host No. 4 Army in the first semifinal on Friday at 3 p.m. No. 2 Colgate will battle No. 3 Navy in the other semifinal at 5:45 p.m. Friday's winners will advance to Sunday's championship contest. The championship game on Sunday and Friday's semifinals will be broadcast on CBS College Sports. Colgate won last year's championship as the No. 3 seed in West Point, N.Y.

Traveling Around The League Bucknell became the third team in the last three years to earn the Patriot League's top seed and the right to host the Patriot League Championship. Starting in 2004, Navy hosted the first four Patriot League Championships. Army broke the Mids' stranglehold, becoming the first team besides Navy to host the tournament last season.

Corp A Finalist For Tewaaraton Trophy Colgate University senior attacker Brandon Corp has been named as a finalist for the 2009 Tewaaraton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top male and female player in collegiate lacrosse. Corp is one of 21 finalists for the award. He is the first Colgate player to be nominated for the honor. The winner will be announced May 28. Corp currently leads the nation in points with 53. He ranks in the top three in the Patriot League in goals (30) and assists (23). Corp has served as a co-captain for the No. 13/13 Raiders.

Patriot League Teams In The Rankings Navy remains the highest-ranked Patriot League team, despite dropping two spots to 13th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The Mids are 11th in the USILA Coaches Poll. Bucknell moved up two spots to 15th in the coaches rankings. The Bison climbed four spots to 16th in the media poll. Colgate is ranked 17th in both polls. The Raiders dropped four spots in both sets of rankings.

Team Notebooks

Army Thanks to Lafayette's one-goal win over Lehigh, Army claimed the final spot in the Patriot League Tournament. At 2-4, the Black Knights finished the Patriot League regular season in a three-way tie with Lafayette and Lehigh. The tie was broken by overall goal differential in Patriot League games. Army closed the Patriot League portion of its schedule with a 13-12 win over Lafaytte in which the Black Knights scored seven straight goals to rally back from a five-goal deficit. Army closed the regular season with a 10-6 non-League loss at No. 8/8 Duke on Saturday. The Black Knights will meet top-seeded Bucknell in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament on Friday.

Bucknell The Bison went on the road to defeat No. 13/13 Colgate on Saturday. Bucknell's 19-11 secured an undefeated Patriot League season for the Bison. It is the third time in program history that the Bison have finished undefeated in Patriot League play. Bucknell went 6-0 in 2001 and 5-0 in 1996. As a result of claiming the Patriot League's top seed, the Bison will host the Patriot League Tournament for the first time in school history. Bucknell's win on Saturday marked the 35th for the Bison's senior class. Bucknell's 19 goals were the most in program history against a ranked foe. Also on Saturday, sophomore Jake Clarke picked up 10 ground balls, giving him the school's single-season record. Bucknell will now shift its focus to the Patriot League Tournament, where it will open up against fourth-seeded Army.

Colgate The Raiders were handed their first home loss of the season on Saturday, a 19-11 defeat at the hands of Bucknell. It was the Raiders' first Patriot League loss of the season. The loss also snapped an eight-game Colgate winning streak. Senior Kevin Colleluori scored four goals and notched an assist in the loss. He leads the team with 36 goals and has 12 assists for a career-high 48 points this season. He now has 101 career goals, which is sixth in Colgate history. It is the third-highest career total since Colgate became an NCAA Division I member. The second-seeded Raiders will begin pursuit of their second consecutive Patriot League title when they meet third-seeded Navy on Friday.

Holy Cross After winning two consecutive games, the Crusaders have now lost two straight contests. Holy Cross fell to No. 17/17 Harvard on Saturday, despite a four-goal performance by junior Chris Smirti. Earlier in the week, the Crusaders dropped their final Patriot League game of a the year, a 7-5 defeat to Lehigh. Holy Cross will wrap up the regular season on Tuesday. The Crusaders will travel to Rhode Island to take on Bryant at 7 p.m.

Lafayette Despite knocking off rival Lehigh for the first time in nine years, the Leopards were denied their first trip to the Patriot League Tournament. Lafayette needed to beat the Mountain Hawks by two or more goals to emerge from a three-way tie with Lehigh and Army. The Leopards built a 7-2 lead late in the first half, but a 6-2 run by Lehigh to close the game ended Lafayette's postseason hopes. Goalkeeper Jeff Canfield made 11 saves while surrendering just seven goals in his final collegiate outing. Junior Matt Mersky contributed three goals and one assist. After scoring the game's first goal 50 seconds into the game, Lafayette led for the remainder of the contest.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks were eliminated from postseason contention with a 9-8 loss to rival Lafayette on Saturday. The loss snapped the Mountain Hawks' eight-game winning streak against the Leopards. Brian Bienemann and Max Dahlem led Lehigh with two goals apiece, while Adam Johnston provided a goal and two assists. After trailing by as many as five goals, Dahlem's second goal pulled Lehigh with one with 3:50 left to play. Despite out-shooting the Leopards by a 10-7 count in the final period, Lehigh was unable to tie the game.

Navy The Mids lost for the first time in nearly a month, dropping a 15-7 decision to Johns Hopkins. Midfielder Patrick Moran paced Navy with three goals, while attackman Andy Warner turned in a career-high four assists. Not only did the Hopkins win snap Navy's three-game winning streak, the Blue Jays extended their strong hold over the Mids, winning their 36th in a row in the series. Navy, which has won four Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Championships since 2004, will look for its fifth title this weekend. The third-seeded Mids will open tournament play on Friday against second-seeded Colgate.