September 2, 2008

Center Valley, Pa.- Holy Cross and Lafayette both started the season by knocking off a Top-15 opponent over the weekend. The Crusaders posted a 1-0 win over No. 13 Massachusetts, while the Leopards defeated No. 15 West Virginia by an identical score. Student-athletes from Bucknell, Holy Cross, Colgate and American all won BRINE Player of the Week honors.

Patriot League Men's Soccer Release 9.2.08

BRINE  Offensive Player of the Week, 8.25-8.31
Chris Hennings, Bucknell Jr., F, West Chester, Pa.
Hennings enjoyed a record-matching afternoon on Sunday, tying the Bucknell and Patriot League marks for goals in a game with four in a wild 5-4 win at Canisius. Hennings scored the team's final four goals of the day, including the game-winner from the top of the box with 4:28 remaining in regulation.

BRINE Defensive Player of the Week, 8.25-8.31
Alejandro Melean, Holy Cross Sr., D, Miami, Fl.
Melean scored the game-winning goal in an upset victory over No. 13 Massachusetts, who advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season. Melean scored his seventh career goal and made his 36th career start.

BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week, 8.25-8.31
David Cappuccio, Colgate Sr., Pittsford, N.Y.
Cappuccio shut out La Salle 2-0 at home, good for his 17th career shutout and placing him second on Colgate's all-time shutout list. Cappuccio had seven saves in the win.

BRINE Rookie of the Week, 8.25-8.31
Matt Makowski, American Fr., Quakertown, Pa.
Makowski led the Eagles defense to 185 scoreless minutes to open the season before George Mason tallied in overtime on Sunday. Makowski made five saves this weekend and posted a shutout and .833 save percentage in his first collegiate games.

Patriot League Notebook

2008 Patriot League Preseason Poll

The Colgate Raiders have been chosen to win the Patriot League Championship in a vote by head coaches and sports information directors in the Men's Preseason Soccer Poll. Colgate received 94 overall points and thirteen first-place votes. Following closely behind the Raiders is Holy Cross with one first-place vote and 76 overall points. Bucknell also received one first-place vote and 62 overall points, while Lafayette trailed the Bison slightly at 61 overall points. Lehigh (59), American (46), Army (29 overall, one first-place vote), and Navy (21) round out the poll.

Evans, Cappuccio Receive Preseason Awards

Coaches and sports information directors also voted for Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year for the first time. Lehigh's Kyle Evans was tabbed Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Colgate's David Cappuccio was selected Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Hermann Trophy Watch List

Bucknell junior midfielder Conor O'Brien and Lehigh junior forward Kyle Evans are among the 48 standouts from Division I soccer named to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. O'Brien was a Second-Team All-Patriot League selection last season and led Bucknell with seven goals and 19 points in the 2007 campaign. Evans was a First-Team All-Patriot League player last season after leading the conference in goals and points. He is the first player in Lehigh history named to the Watch List. The Hermann Trophy is considered one of the highest individual honors in intercollegiate soccer. Trophy winners are selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The winner will be announced January 9, 2009 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

2008 Patriot League Tournament

The 2008 Patriot League Tournament will take place Friday and Sunday, November 14 and 16 at the site of the highest seed. The top four teams as determined by the regular-season standings will participate in the Patriot League tourney.

Team Notebooks

American

The Eagles hosted the D.C. College Cup this weekend, beating Howard 5-0 Friday but losing to George Mason in overtime on Sunday. Karsten Smith and Cameron Petty were named to the D.C. College Cup All-Tournament Team. American travels to Raleigh next weekend for the Duke/Nike Classic.

Army

Army's Bryan Connolly scored his first collegiate goal in a 3-2 Army loss to St. Bonaventure on the road on Saturday. The Black Knights look to rebound against Philadelphia in their home opener on Tuesday.

Bucknell

Prior to the thrilling win over Canisius, Bucknell dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker on Friday at Buffalo on a game-winning corner kick by the Bulls with 3:13 left in regulation. Freshman goalkeeper Tommy Cason made seven saves in his collegiate debut.

Colgate

Goalkeeper David Cappuccio made his 17th career shutout against La Salle Saturday, while the Raiders played upstate New York rival Syracuse to a 1-1 tie Monday evening. Colgate welcomes Binghamton and Rider for the Raiders Fall Classic next weekend.

Holy Cross

The Crusaders started the season with an upset 1-0 victory over No. 13 Massachusetts Friday night. Defender Alejandro Melean led the team in shots and scored the game-winning goal.

Lafayette

The Leopards opened the season with a big victory on the road against No. 15 West Virginia on Friday. Goalkeeper Andrew Pianko shut out the Mountaineers, dealing West Virginia their fourth home loss in the last two seasons.

Lehigh

Lehigh started the season with an offensive explosion, defeating visiting Richmond 6-1 in the Mountain Hawks' home opener. Lehigh's defense had a 0.50 goals-against average for the weekend, allowing just one goal in two games.

Navy

Sophomore Sam Lepley and junior Chris Marino tallied their first career goals in the loss to St. Mary's. The loss snapped Navy's seven-game non-conference unbeaten streak (5-0-2), dating back to Sept. 9, 2007.