April 18, 2011
Center Valley, Pa. -- The Patriot League announced its weekly awards for April 4-10 in men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse and outdoor track and field Monday.
Weekly awards for baseball and softball will be released Tuesday because inclement weather postponed weekend games to Monday.
MEN'S LACROSSE: With just one week of games left before the Patriot League Tournament, the field of four has been set. Now the only question left to be answered is who will host.
It all comes down to Saturday night, when No. Colgate hosts Bucknell at 7 p.m. at Andy Kerr Stadium on CBS Sports Network. The Bison opened the weekend with an exciting come-from-behind victory in Bethlehem. Down 7-1 early and trailing 11-7 in the fourth quarter, the Bison stampeded back with five unanswered tallies capped off by Billy Eisenreich's game-winner with 1:40 left to edge the Mountain Hawks 12-11. Bucknell improved to 5-0 in the League and is looking to cap off its second perfect League mark in the last three years.
The Raiders kept pace with the Bison with Saturday's 11-10 victory at Lafayette at a wet and windy Fisher Stadium. Andrew Mould scored four times, including the game-winner, to propel Colgate to 9-3 overall and 5-0 in the Patriot League. The Raiders were able to hang on despite four Leopards recording three-point games, including offensive juggernaut Tom Perini, who tallied three goals in the losing effort for Lafayette.
Colgate's win was watched very closely from nearby Bethlehem. After Army clinched its own berth in the League Tournament and eliminated Navy from the postseason with its 14-9 win in Annapolis, Lehigh knew a Lafayette loss would give it the fourth and final spot, despite Friday's loss to Bucknell. When the Raiders edged the Leopards, the Mountain Hawks were in.
The regular-season League slate ends this weekend. Army visits Holy Cross at noon Saturday, while Lafayette visits Lehigh at 7 p.m. in addition to the Bucknell-Colgate matchup at the same time. Navy concludes its regular season at Johns Hopkins Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
The Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media and USILA Coaches polls were updated Monday, with three Patriot League teams standing pat. Bucknell remained No. 12 in both, while Colgate held at 16th in each. Army remained 18th in the media and No. 17 in the coaches rankings.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE:. Navy, Colgate and Lehigh all won last week to clinch playoff spots, and as a result, American clinched the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, too. Navy, Colgate and Lehigh -- all 4-1 in the Patriot League -- will compete this weekend to decide the top three seeds. Navy controls its destiny and can host the tournament with a win over Lehigh on Saturday. The game will start at 3 and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. If Colgate loses to Bucknell -- the two faceoff at 1 p.m. Saturday -- the Navy-Lehigh game will become a contest for the No. 1 seed. If Colgate wins, the Raiders can host with a Lehigh win over Navy.
This scenario almost didn't come about, but a late rally by Navy against American helped the Mids stay in control of the top spot in the League. Caitlin Mandrin Hill, who tied the game and set up the game-winner against American, was named the Midfield Player of the Week, and Jill Coughlin, who scored the game-winner, was named the Rookie of the Week. Navy keeper Michelle Verbeeck was named the Defensive Player of the Week. Lehigh's Kelly Draper had outstanding offensive week, scored six goals and tallying seven assists to win the Offensive Player of the Week award.
OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD:.The weather did not cooperate with many events this weekend, but several Patriot League student-athletes managed to hit IC4A- and ECAC-qualifying marks.
Navy's Andrew Hanko led the way with his sub-14:00 performance in the 5,000, earning the Male Track Athlete of the Week award. American's Erin Koch was named the Female Track Athlete of the Week.
Bucknell swept the field awards, with Ted Heitzman winning his second Male Field Athlete of the Week award, and Laura Rycek winning her third Female Field Athlete of the Week award.
Navy's Zachary Duncavage also earned his second Male Rookie of the Week award and Lafayette's Elise Buffinton was named the Female Rookie of the Week.
Seven out of eight schools will be in action again this weekend with many competing at the Larry Ellis Invitational.
Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Weekly Awards
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BILLY EISENREICH, BUCKNELL Jr., M, Chatham, N.J.
What a way to come back from injury. After having missed several games, the junior middie returned to the Bison lineup and posted a career-high eight points on four goals and four assists to lead Bucknell to a thrilling 12-11 victory at Lehigh Friday night. Bucknell fell behind 7-1 in the first half but chipped away to make it an 11-9 game with 5:25 remaining in the contest. Eisenreich scored three straight unassisted goals, including the game-winner on a tremendous individual effort with 1:40 left, to lift his team to the come-from-behind victory. The win moved Bucknell to 11-2 overall and 5-0 in the Patriot League, and kept it in a first-place tie with Colgate. The Bison visit the Raiders Saturday at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network, with the winner earning the No. 1 seed and hosting responsibilities for the Patriot League Tournament.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
TIM HENDERSON, ARMY Jr., DM, Tully, N.Y.
While teammates Garrett Thul and Jeremy Boltus bore the bulk of the offensive responsibilities, Henderson was arguably the best player on the field for the Black Knights, especially in the second half as they erased a 7-4 halftime deficit and rallied for a 14-9 victory over rival Navy in Annapolis to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Henderson was charged with marking Navy's Andy Warner, and held him to no goals and two assists in the game. He also contributed offensively as well, posting a goal and an assist along with four ground balls and a caused turnover. Henderson's tally came during Army's four-goal outburst in the third, as his strike from 16 yards out tied the game at 7-7 at the 11:30 mark.
GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK
TOM PALESKY, ARMY Sr., GK, Plano, Texas
Palesky recorded his fourth game with double-digit saves on Saturday as Army clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament with its 14-9 win at Navy. The senior from Plano, Texas faced 40 shots from the Mids and finished the game with 11 saves. Nine of his stops came in the second half, including six during the third quarter in which the Black Knights outscored Navy 6-1. After a tough first half in which he allowed seven goals and made only two saves, he yielded just a pair of Midshipmen tallies in the game's final 30 minutes. Palesky also collected a team-high four ground balls in the win.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
MATT SMITH, HOLY CROSS Fr., M, North Bethesda, Md.
Smith scored a goal in the Crusaders' 14-5 victory over Mercer Saturday in Worcester and collected a career-best three ground balls. His marker came at the 1:22 mark of the first quarter, giving Holy Cross a 2-0 lead. He recorded four shots in the contest.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
JEREMY BOLTUS, ARMY Sr., A, Baldwinsville, N.Y.
Boltus tied his season best with seven points on four goals and three assists to lead the Black Knights' second-half offensive explosion in Saturday's 14-9 win over Navy. With 114 career assists, Boltus is tied for second all-time at Army and fifth in League history with Jeff Bryan, who played from 2001-04.
ANDREW MOULD, COLGATE Sr., A, Wyomissing, Pa.
Mould scored four goals, including the game-winner with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter, to lift Colgate to an 11-10 win at Lafayette at a soggy Fisher Stadium in Easton.
JAKE CLARKE, BUCKNELL Sr., DM, Cos Cob, Conn.
Clarke scooped up nine ground balls and recorded a pair of caused turnovers to steady Bucknell's defense to aid in his team's 12-11 come-from-behind win at Lehigh Friday night. He won 14 of 25 faceoffs for the game, including four critical wins late that helped the Bison collect possession to set up their scores.
DOUGLAS BROUSSARD, HOLY CROSS Sr., D, Floral Park, N.Y.
Broussard averaged 7.0 ground balls and 2.5 caused turnovers per game last week for the Crusaders, who lost 13-8 to Bryant and rebounded with a 14-5 win Saturday over Mercer.
TOM PERINI, LAFAYETTE Sr., A, Huntington, N.Y.
Perini scored three goals for the Leopards Saturday against Colgate, setting the all-time career mark at Lafayette with 124. That places him sixth all-time in Patriot League history.
Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Weekly Awards
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
KELLY DRAPER, LEHIGH Jr., Attack, Ocean Port, N.J.
Draper scored six goals and had seven assists as the Mountain Hawks went 1-1 last week. She scored four goals in a 12-11 loss to No. 15 Penn State Tuesday, and had two goals and six assists in a 15-4 win over Holy Cross Saturday. Draper also recorded three draw controls and two caused turnovers.
MIDFIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CAITLIN MANDRIN HILL, NAVY Sr., Midfielder, Annapolis, Md.
Hill had three goals, two assists and 12 draw controls last week, including nine draw controls in a comeback win at American that clinched a playoff spot for the Mids and kept them in line for the No. 1 seed. Hill scored the game-tying goal against American with 2:42 left and she won the ensuing draw control and had the assist on the game-winner with 18.4 second left. She scored twice against Longwood.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MICHELLE VERBEECK, NAVY So., Goalkeeper, Wading River, N.Y.
Verbeeck went 2-0 with 19 saves on 35 shots (.543 save percentage), allowing an 8.00 goals against average last week. Her seven saves against American helped the Mids clinch a playoff spot and she stopped 12-of-18 shots in a win over Longwood Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
JILL COUGHLIN, NAVY Fr., Attack, Annapolis, Md.
Coughlin scored the clutch game-winner against American Wednesday, sealing the 11-10 come-from-behind win with 18.4 seconds left. She also had the game-winning goal in Navy's 9-6 win over Longwood Saturday. Coughlin added three draw controls, three caused turnovers and a groundball in the two wins.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
MADISON HURWITZ, BUCKNELL So., Attack, Holland, Pa.
Hurwitz scored six goals and had a groundball in Bucknell's 17-11 win over Manhattan Tuesday.
COLLEEN BUBNACK, COLGATE Sr., Midfielder, Syracuse, N.Y.
Bubnack scored four goals and had four groundballs in Colgate's win over Lafayette Saturday. She also had three caused turnovers.
COURTNEY MILLER, COLGATE Jr., Midfielder, Chappaqua, N.Y.
Miller scored three goals and had seven groundballs in a 13-9 win over Lafayette Saturday. She also had three draw controls and two caused turnovers.
KATHY YOUNG, NAVY So., Midfielder, Berwyn, Pa.
Young scored eight goals in two wins last week, including five in a come-from-behind win over American Wednesday. She also scored three against Longwood Saturday.
LAUREN DYKSTRA, LEHIGH Sr., Midfielder, Mendham, N.J.
Dykstra had six goals, an assist, four groundballs and three caused turnovers for the Mountain Hawks, who went 1-1 last week. She scored twice against No. 15 Penn State and four times in a 15-4 win over Holy Cross Saturday.
Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Weekly Awards
MALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
ANDREW HANKO, NAVY Sr., Montville, N.J.
Hanko finished third and qualified for the IC4A Championships in the 5,000 at the Auburn War Eagle Invitational, posting the school's third fastest outdoor time (13:56.93). Hanko owns the indoor record.
FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
ERIN KOCH, AMERICAN Sr., Perkasie, Pa.
Koch finished 12th in the 1,500 at the 53rd Annual Mt. SAC Relays with an ECAC-qualifying time of 4:22.56. She broke her own school record in the race.
MALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
TED HEITZMAN, BUCKNELL Jr., Elysburg, Pa.
Heitzman wins his second Field Athlete of the Week award with his IC4A Championship throw of 72.45 meters in the javelin, placing first at the Bison Outdoor Classic.
FEMALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LAURA RYCEK, BUCKNELL Sr., Northampton, Pa.
Rycek wins her third Field Athlete of the Week award placing first in the javelin (46.40) and 11th in the shot put (11.51) at the Bison Outdoor Classic. Her mark in the javelin qualified her for the ECAC Championships.
MALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
ZACHARY DUNCAVAGE, NAVY Fr., League City, Texas
Duncavage met an IC4A-qualifying mark in the javelin with a toss of 49.11 meters at the Tom Jones Memorial. He placed ninth in a field that included athletes from No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 10 Nebraska. This is his second Rookie of the Week award.
FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
ELISE BUFFINTON, LAFAYETTE Fr., Lewisburg, Pa.
Buffinton fell just 0.1 meters short of an ECAC-qualifying standard in the pole vault with her mark of 3.60 at the Greyhound Invitational. She finished second in the event. She did, however, break Lafayette's outdoor record.
HONORABLE MENTION
LAUREN KELLY, LAFAYETTE Jr., Philadelphia, Pa.
Kelly ran the 10,000 in 36:50.81 at the Bison Outdoor Classic, placing 14th and qualifying for the ECAC Championships.
EVANS KOSGEI, LEHIGH Sr., Moiben, Kenya
Kosgei finished eighth in the 10,000 at the Bison Outdoor Classic with an IC4A time of 30:09.79.
KEVIN STEIMLE, LEHIGH So., Mawah, N.J.
Steimle finished fourth in the javelin at the Greyhound Invitational with an IC4A toss of 60.82 meters.