Nick Hare

Peter Treichler

Tim Santye has 7 goals and 4 assists in the first 5 games helping Western New England to a 3-2 record.

Ruby Butler is 4-2 as a starter at Rutgers.

The Web site will update its top 25 list every three weeks throughout the lacrosse season. Butler was just one [...]]]> PISCATAWAY, N.J. (March 9, 2010) – Goalie Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J) of the Rutgers men’s lacrosse team was selected as one of the top-25 freshmen in the country by Inside Lacrosse, the media outlet announced Tuesday.

The Web site will update its top 25 list every three weeks throughout the lacrosse season. Butler was just one of three BIG EAST student-athletes to make the list along with Syracuse’s Brian Megill and Travis Comeau of Georgetown.

The accolade is Butler’s second of his rookie campaign as he was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll last Monday.

Butler has started all three games for the Scarlet Knights this season and has earned two victories. The RU rookie owns a 5.76 goals-against average and a .538 save percentage. Butler’s goals-against average is the best in the conference and ranks third in the country.

Butler’s strong start has helped Rutgers to the nation’s best scoring margin (9.33) and the third-best scoring defense (5.33) in the country.

The Scarlet Knights will be back in action this Saturday when they host Penn State on the RU Turf Field for a 1 p.m. game.

NCAA Lacrosse Freshman Rankings: March 9

Terry Foy March 9th, 2010

One of the inherent difficulties in doing these the last two years has been comparing the value of consistent and greater contributions on a smaller stage against less consistent, more pointed contributions on a greater stage. Throw in the added difficulty of the early season’s small sample size, and it’s nearly impossible to get that balance right. Granted there’s no magic formula, this year’s debut of the freshman rankings takes a little from Column A and a little from Column B from numbers 1-25.

As always, we’re trying to highlight the contributions of true freshmen, so let us know if we missed anybody or if any of these guys are redshirts/juco transfers. Also, check back every three weeks for updated freshman rankings throughout the season.

1. Jeff Froccaro, M, Princeton (7 goals, 10 groundballs in 2 games) The national leader in shooting percentage, Froccaro has been extremely efficient in the offesnsive end. Between the lines, he’s been a beast. Once he gets settled at the face-off X, he’ll be a beast for the Tigers.

2. Chris LaPierre, M, Virginia (3, 2, 15 GBs, 4 games) The defensive middie has provided offense to a Cavaliers’ squad that wasn’t asking for much. He impacts the game immediately upon stepping onto the field.

3. Ryan Serville, A, Jacksonville (13, 10, 6 games) While his point totals are clearly impressive, they’ve also been consistent — a huge plus for the first-year program. Additionally, he’s been the Dolphins go-to scorer in crunchtime and he’s run the offense.

4. Logan Schuss, A, Ohio State (7G, 8A, 4 games) Apparently taking the reins for the graduated Joel Dalgarno, Schuss has stepped in alongside classmate Jeff Tundo to lead the attack.

5. Tucker Durkin, D, Hopkins (7 GBs, 6 CTs, 5 games) Penciled in as the third starter early on, Durkin played well in limiting opponents’ third option, keeping Hopkins from sliding much to him. He’s also been physical when necessary.

6. Will Manny, A, Massachusetts (5, 5, 3 games) The Minutemen needed to replace a lot of offense, and the St. Anthony’s product stepped in and answered the call early.

7. Brian Megill, D, Syracuse (2 GBs, 3 games) Megill, in the running throughout the preseason for the Orange’s third close D spot, has been asked to take on a greater role to date due to injury. He’s helped keep the Cuse defense on an even keel.

8. Jesse Bernhardt, LSM, Maryland (1 g, 8 GBs, 3 games) His contribution has been surprising given the Terps’ depth at the position, but Bernhardt’s brought savvy play and a spark in Maryland’s win over Georgetown.

9. A.J. Fiore, G, Cornell (55.6%, 7.86 GAA, 3 games) A new starter in net for the Big Red, Fiore’s helped solidify an area of concern heading into the season. He’ll have a big test this weekend when Virginia comes to town.

10. Joel Matthews, Detroit (12, 3, 3 games) With six points in his last game, Matthews might be the answer to provide the scoring punch the Titans have needed since arriving in Division I.

11-25

11. Garret Thul, A, Army (11, 2, 4 games)?12. Kyle Feeney, G, Bucknell (59.1%, 7.46 GAA, 3 games)?13. Jared Franze, M, Hartford (9, 0, 3 games)?14. Adrian Sorichetti, M, Hofstra (3, 2, 2 games)?15. Marcus Holman, A, North Carolina (8, 1, 5 games)?16. Jeff Tundo, A, Ohio State (7, 3, 4 games)?17. Rory Nunamacher, M, Hartford (5, 2, 3 games)?18. Mike Chanenchuk, M, Princeton (2, 3, 2 games)?19. Billy Gribbin, A, Penn State (7, 2, 3 games)?20. Travis Comeau, A, Georgetown (5, 1, 3 games)?21. Cameron Flint, M, Denver (12, 0, 5 games)?22. Drew Philie, A, Vermont (7, 5, 4 games)?23. Connor Rice, A, Marist (6, 4, 3 games)?24. Sam Snow, A, Fairfield (6, 2, 3 games)?25. Rudy Butler, G, Rutgers (53.8%, 5.76 GAA, 3 games)

3/13/2010 3:37:25 PM

Game Statistics SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior attacker Tim Santye (Skillman, NJ) scored three goals with an assist and sophomore midfielder Patrick White (Milton, MA) added a goal and four assists to lead the No. 17 Western New England College [...]]]> Tim Santye and Patrick White lead Western New England College past Gordon in TCCC contest

3/13/2010 3:37:25 PM

Game Statistics SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior attacker Tim Santye (Skillman, NJ) scored three goals with an assist and sophomore midfielder Patrick White (Milton, MA) added a goal and four assists to lead the No. 17 Western New England College men’s lacrosse team to a 13-5 victory over Gordon College Saturday afternoon (March 13).

The Golden Bears evened their record at 2-2 overall and stayed unbeaten in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) at 2-0. The Fighting Scots fell to 2-2 after dropping their conference opener.

Santye scored all his goals in the opening period and White dished out three of his assists as Western New England College took a 7-1 lead. Senior defender Nick Zaleski (Somers, CT) contributed a pair of assists in the opening 15 minutes.

Junior midfielder Colin Houlihan (Yorktown Heights, NY) tallied the first of his two goals on a man-up situation at 13:44 of the second quarter with an assist from Santye, and White fired in a shot at the 0:51 mark as the Golden Bears took a 9-1 advantage at halftime.

Junior midfielder Mike Santare (South Salem, NY) also scored twice for WNEC while junior attacker Joe O’Keefe (Branford, CT), junior midfielder Marty O’Brien (West Springfield, MA), sophomore attackers Andrew Mariani (East Brunswick, NJ) and Curtis Serafini (Westford, MA), and freshman midfielder Corey Johnson (Maybrook, NY) notched the other goals.??Sophomore goalie Brewster Knowlton (Somers, CT) allowed three goals with eight saves in 51 minutes, 31 seconds of action. Freshman defenseman Brian Leisikow (Fort Collins, CO) picked-up a team high four ground balls while Zaleski and Houlihan each had three.

Gordon scored the final four goals in the final stanza with two coming from senior attacker Andrew Kirkaldy (Red Deer, Canada). Junior midfielder Dan Utz (Rochester, NY) added a goal and assist. ??Senior attacker Joel Derechinsky (Annapolis, MD) and junior attacker Zac Blue (Monticello, MN) tallied the only goals while senior midfielder Danny Mack (Columbus, OH) chipped-in with an assist. Junior defender Stuart Knechtle (New Canaan, CT) compiled a game-high 15 ground balls. ??Freshman goalie Houston Zemanski (Annapolis, MD) finished with eight saves.

DENVER - The Penn men’s lacrosse completed a weekend sweep at the DU Face-Off Classic, defeating Air Force 8-7 Sunday at the University of Denver’s Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

Junior Corey Winkoff, who had three assists in the game, capped off the scoring with 2:51 left, finishing a feed from sophomore John Conneely. That goal came just 32 [...]]]> Box Score (PDF)

DENVER - The Penn men’s lacrosse completed a weekend sweep at the DU Face-Off Classic, defeating Air Force 8-7 Sunday at the University of Denver’s Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

Junior Corey Winkoff, who had three assists in the game, capped off the scoring with 2:51 left, finishing a feed from sophomore John Conneely. That goal came just 32 seconds after Air Force’s Zack Carroll had tied things with his third goal of the day.

Conneely added two goals and another assist with his winning dish, for four points total. Rob McMullen also scored twice for the Quakers (2-2).

Air Force (0-3) got on the board just 49 seconds into the game on Carroll’s first, but Morgan Griff provided the only other goal of the quarter to tie things at 1-1. The Falcons reeled off the only four goals of the second quarter, however, all of them unassisted. Ridge Flick got things started with 11:53 left, and then just 49 seconds later Tristan Newkirk notched his third of the season. Two minutes after that, Carroll netted his second of the day, and then more than seven minutes went by before Vinny Sandtorv scored unassisted.

Penn gradually got back, eventually tying the game early in the fourth quarter. The Quakers used three man-up opportunities in the third to get within one. The first goal came with 11:20 left, when Conneely finished a Winkoff feed, and then four minutes later McMullen was the recipient of a Winkoff pass that he finished. Five minutes after that, Conneely scored his second to make it 5-4 AFA heading into the final quarter. Al Kohartthen tied things up 3:13 into the stanza off a Conneely feed.

Newkirk put Air Force back up off a Flick feed with 9:45 left in the game, but Penn grabbed its first lead of the day with McMullen finished a Winkoff feed with 5:36 to play and then Will Amling scored off a Greg Ives feed exactly two minutes later. Carroll scored just 13 seconds after Amling’s goal, but that set the stage for Winkoff’s winner.

Chris Casey and Joe Hegener again split time in the goal, with Hegener getting credit for the win as he played the second half when the Quakers made their move. The duo combined for seven saves. On the face-off X,Justin Lynch won 14 of his 19 draws and had 12 ground balls.

Kohart was named the tournament’s MVP, and was joined on the all-tournament team by Lynch, Dan Savageand Brendan Saxon.

Penn returns to action twice at home this weekend, hosting Saint Joseph’s Wednesday night and Villanova Saturday afternoon.

Junior attackman Kory Kelly (Princeton, N.J.), senior midfielder Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) and sophomore attackman Kevin Hover (Belle Mead, [...]]]> PISCATAWAY, N.J. (March 6, 2010) – The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team (2-1) avenged its stunning loss to St. Joseph’s (0-5) last season with a dominating 15-6 victory over the Hawks Saturday afternoon at the RU Turf Field.

Junior attackman Kory Kelly (Princeton, N.J.), senior midfielder Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) and sophomore attackman Kevin Hover (Belle Mead, N.J.) each posted four points. Kelly and Pennington tallied three goals and an assist apiece and Hover scored two goals and dished out a pair of assists. Additionally, Pennington helped keep RU’s offensive attack rolling with four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Senior co-captains midfielder Gerhard Buehning (Essex Fells, N.J.) and attackman Tad Stanwick (Baltimore, Md.) each posted two goals and Stanwick added an assist.

Most of Saturday’s action took place in Rutgers’ attack area as RU outshot SJU by a 41-20 margin and a Scarlet Knight claimed 14 of the 22 faceoffs.

Junior midfielder Chris Mattes (Westfield, N.J.) spearheaded numerous offensives opportunities for the Scarlet Knights by winning 12 of his 18 faceoffs.

Freshman goalie Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J.) earned his second victory of the season and earned two saves and a groundball.

With the win, the Scarlet Knights lead the all-time series against the Hawks by a 6-1 margin.

“There was a lot of emotion going into today’s game because it was very important to our guys to get this win,” said ninth-year Rutgers head coach Jim Stagnitta. “They wanted to make up for last year because they felt they let that game get away and they thought it was a real black mark on our record. We focused on making sure we took control of the game early. I thought we played with a lot of intensity and emotion.”

Heading into the St. Joseph’s contest, Stagnitta stressed the importance of getting an early lead on the Hawks and the Scarlet Knights answered their coach’s call with by posting a 6-1 advantage after the first 15 minutes of play. Senior midfielder Brendan Porter (Maplewood, N.J.) highlighted the scoring showcase by taking an assist from junior midfielder Steven Watson (Belle Mead, N.J.) and firing a shot that cut the goal’s net with 19 seconds left in the first quarter. The score was Porter’s first of the season and fifth of his RU career.

The Scarlet Knights catapulted their lead by posting four goals in the second quarter and went into halftime with a commanding 10-2 lead.

Rutgers did not let up in the second half as Pennington earned his hat trick 44 seconds into the second stanza. Pennington has scored six goals this season and 63 over his four years as a Scarlet Knight.

“Pennington played terrific today,” commented Stagnitta.”He proved once again why many people consider him one of the best midfielders in the country.”

Butler was replaced by senior Billy Olin (Horseheads, N.Y.) five minutes into the second half. Olin snatched four saves to put his career total at 346. Olin is one save away from tying former Scarlet Knight Billy Fisher (1978-80) for 10th on RU’s career saves list.

Stanwick put Rutgers’ lead at double-digits for good off an assist from Hover at the 9:10 mark. Rutgers cruised the rest of the way with Kelly and sophomores Nicholas Zerrillo (Brewerton, N.Y.) and Jonathan Lefferts (Moorestown, N.J.) each getting on the scoreboard.

Stagnitta has been impressed with the improvements Kelly has shown in the first three games of the season.

“Kelly was able to carry the ball and create some opportunities today,” said Stagnitta. “He is not just standing there and shooting 15 yards away. He had a couple of opportunities today to have assists. I think he has shown the progress he has made as an offensive player.”

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Rutgers will continue its four-game homestand when it hosts Penn State on Saturday, March 13 at 1 p.m.

It marks the second straight week RU was represented in the conference’s weekly honors as senior midfielder [...]]]> PISCATAWAY, N.J. (March 1, 2010) –Senior midfielder Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) and freshman goalie Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J) of the Rutgers men’s lacrosse team were selected to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league office announced Monday.

It marks the second straight week RU was represented in the conference’s weekly honors as senior midfielder Gerhard Buehning (Essex Fells, N.J.) was named the first ever BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week last Monday.

Pennington Scored a RU-high two goals and scooped up a ground ball in Rutgers’ heartbreaking 6-5 home loss against No. 19/20 UMBC last Sunday. He took a game-high 11 shots with three on goal. Pennington tied the game at 2-2 in the third quarter and put RU within one at 6-5 with 2:06 remaining in the game.

Butler snatched a game-high nine saves and an RU-best four ground balls against the Retrievers. The RU rookie  limited the high-powered UMBC offense that averaged 12 goals a game last year and posted 10 in its season opener to just six on Sunday.

Butler, Pennington and the rest of the Scarlet Knights will be back in action this Saturday when they host St. Joseph’s on the RU Turf Field for a 1 p.m. game.