Feb. 18, 2009

Garden City, NY -

Adelphi Men's Lacrosse will begin their 2009 season on Friday, February 20, when they go up against St. Leo University.

The 2009 men's lacrosse season, under the direction of former player and second year head coach, Gordon Purdie, look to improve upon their 7-5, 3-3 ECC record from a year ago. Due to construction, the Panthers did not have a home turf as they hosted visiting teams at Hofstra University. Posting a 4-1 record at the Pride’s athletic complex, the team looks to fair just as well, if not better on Competition Field, the new home of the Panther lacrosse team.

“As a former Panther, I know how much it means to be able to play in front of family, friends, and the effect it has on the team,” according to Purdie, 2008 ECC Coach of the year. “Competition Field is one of the best facilities in the northeast and we are fortunate to be able to call it our new home.”

Back in 2007, the Panthers got off to a great start by winning five of their first eight games, but faltered down the back end of the season dropping their last five. The 2008 season proved a similar beginning fate as they kicked off the year winning five of their first seven games, and dropping the first two of the final five. However, avoiding the path they went down in ’07, they rebounded to win the final two out of three contests. “With close games last year against ECC rivals, C.W. Post and NYIT, we hope to be on the other side of score sheet. Our one goal losses kept us out of the playoff picture; however, losing to the national champions by a single goal clearly showed we were competitive.”

The East Coast Conference is one of the nation’s strongest conference in division II lacrosse as over half (seven of eleven) of the First Team All-Americans were from ECC teams, while the same trend followed on the second team (eight of thirteen). Despite a fifth place conference finish, the men still managed to finish with a final national ranking of eighth along with four other conference teams in the top seven. With such a deep conference, the Panthers will have to continue to play at a high level in order to compete with their rival schools and maintain a top-10 national ranking.

The Panthers return and lose 16 letterwinners a piece which include bringing back seven starters while losing just three. Former attackman, Chad Henry (30G, 7A, 37 points) was the 52nd overall pick in the National Lacrosse League draft to the

Eddie Ege returns as an 2008 Division II Attackman of the Year

Boston Blazers. He is just the third player in three years to be drafted behind Wes Green (2006) and Mike Gongas (2007). Fellow teammate, also at attack, Marc Burton (19G, 13A, 32 points) also entered into the professional ranks. Burton earned his spot on the New York Titans roster after an impressive three goal performance in preseason with the team. Midfielder Jesse Corben graduated on a high note as the nation’s statistical leader in face off winning percentage (.716) as well as garnering a spot on the ECC All-Conference team and USILA All-American Honors. He also made a mark in the Adelphi history books as his 94 ground balls placed him second on the single season list which tallies his career total to 186; good enough to stand at third all-time.

Attack
Returning for the Panthers at attack is senior Edward Ege, junior Ian Kuchta, and sophomore Dan Gaudet while joining the team will be new comers Joe Vitale, Danny Blau, Andrew Alderman and Paul Benedetto. “Our attack will be a vital part of our team with Ege and Kuchta leading the way while our freshman lend the needed support.”

Ege, a First Team All-Conference selection and the lone returning USILA 1st team All-American will look to lead the team to the top of the ECC and a higher national ranking. Last season, he was honored as the ECC Player of the Year, as well as the statistical leader in Division II in assists per game (4.33) and points per game (6.17).

Kuchta returns after post 36 points in 2008

Kuchta, now in his third season in a Panther uniform, will be valuable on the offensive as he led the team in goals last season with 32.

Vitale (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook), Blau (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale), and Benedetto (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) join the cagemen and have the challenge to catch on to the Panther offense in order to compete on the collegiate level of competition.

Purdie says of his offense, “We had good shots on the cage last season and created oportunities for each other. Our shooting percentage was one of the highest in all of collegiate lacrosse because we believed in making that extra pass.”

Midfield
Returning to the midfield will be juniors Christian Colantuoni and Sean Greene who have worked hard over the summer. Additionally, sophomore Rich Picciano who saw limited time in a handful games last season, should see some action as a year of collegiate experience will benefit him when playing against top ranked opponents.

“Losing our five top midfielders from last year has made this fall a time to teach and bring the new midfielders up to speed on both our offensive and defensive strategies.”

Joining the Panther team is a handful of guys already with collegiate experience under their belt; All-Region selection from Nassau Community College, Matthew Sagistano, Francis Tufariello from Quinnipiac University, Matthew Zaffuto from Hofstra University, two-time All-Region and Midfielder of the Year from Herkimer Community College, Kevin Kemp, and Edmund Jules from Byrant University. These five players will not only add depth to the midfield line, but also bring some valuable experience.

Face-Off
Andrew Ashkenazy, who did not play in 2008 due to injury, along with freshman Thomas Carlson, and Edmund Jules will look to fill some big shoes with the departure of Corben. Purdie will have an extremely tough spot to fill in the face-off position. Losing the NCAA leader in face-off winning percentage, he is hoping that one of the upperclassmen will be able to step up and fill in the gap that Corben left behind. “With the loss of Corben, we hope that Ashkenazy and Carlson will be able to step in and pick up where he left off.”

Ashkenazy is no stranger to the faceoff position. Back in 2006, he won 70 of 109 faceoffs while winning 32 of 56 in 2007. Andrew will look to use his experience and knowledge of the game to be his team’s go-to faceoff man.

Long Stick Midfield/Defensive Midfield
Highlighting the defensive midfield unit will be graduate student James O’Sullivan and seniors Don Moss, Matt Giordiano and David Campbell. O’Sullivan, after a missed season due to knee surgery, is anxious to jump back into the game and will likely see a good amount of playing time. Moss will look to use his size and a speed to be a very effective unit as Giordano, in his final year, will be a critical part of the team.

“Our defensive midfield looks solid on paper. We have a great group of upper classmen who should be solid and reliable.”

Sophomores Josh Swan and Bobby Henaghan will add versatility to the defensive midfield. Swan saw time in each game last season while Henaghan was limited in action; however, both will be contributors. Carroll Kennedy, a junior transfer from Monroe Community College and second team All-Region selection should also add depth to an already experienced position while Carlson, will also look to mix it up in the midfield.

A two year member of the Adelphi Lacrosse team, Joe Benson decided to forego his junior year of playing lacrosse to, instead, serve his country in Iraq. After his last game on April 30, 2008, a 22-5 rout over Dominican College, the Lance Corporal of the 2nd battalion 25th Regiment out of Garden City, New York resumed his active duty status and spent three years of desert training before departing to Iraq. ““I am not afraid to go. I signed a contract and I will be doing my job. I knew when I joined the infantry that we were at war. Nobody really wants to go, but I can’t let my friends go without me. The worst part is leaving behind my family, my girlfriend and my studies.” Benson plans on returning to Adelphi to finish up his lacrosse career when he returns.

“We are proud of all Joe has done. His decision to serve our country demonstrates his loalty and pasion for life,” Purdie said.

Kelly earned ECC Second Team kudos

Defense
Each stickman at the defensive position returns for the 2009 season. Leading the Panther defense is senior Ryan Kelly and juniors Chris O’Donnell and Stephen Etts. The trio combined for 15 caused turnovers last year and will be the backbone of Adelphi’s main defense. Kelly and O’Donnell spent a season down under in Australia to play lacrosse. “The experience those two players gained will be great for our ‘back line’ and will make us tougher.” Sophomore Rory Duddy, who started in ten games last year as a freshman, will also be a key to the Panther success with his hustle and speed. Newcomers include a duo of freshmen; Michael Pataky and Angel Diaz. Both will compete for playing time as Diaz’s 6-4 frame could prove to be extremely valuable on the defensive line.

“All the players are looking to improve on our 10.1 goals allowed per game average last season. This year’s squad features the right guys to improve that statistic which will make us a better team.”

Goaltender
The Panther’s depth at the goaltender position is extremely strong as each of the four cagemen are more than capable of stopping shots. Returning juniors Devin Schneiderbauer and Sean Quinlan will be joined by first team All-American, junior transfer student, Zachary Bates and standout freshman Eric Janssen from Hicksville, N.Y.

Schneiderbauer logged the most minutes (386:19), saves 88, and posted the best record (4-4) on the team with Quinlan seeing action in two games. While the two have valuable experience that will carry them through the season, each of the newcomers have exceptional skill that will make it extremely tough for other teams to find the back of the cage.

Schedule
Once again, the Panthers will travel down a tough road facing some of the nation’s top teams. The first three games will be against opponents the team has never seen. After that, the rest of the games will be against teams that Adelphi knows well as they are either conference, regional or national rivals. Five of the last seven games will be against top-10 teams while the last four are conference match ups. How the Panthers handle the back end of their intense schedule will largely determine a postseason berth. “The schedule format we planned will allow us to play a number of times before heading into tough conference play.”

Kicking of the season, the team will head down south to Florida for matches against Saint Leo and the University of Central Florida Club team on February 20 and 22 respectively. “The opportunity to play down in Florida will enable us to hopefully get off to a great start and allow us to get a good look at our team depth.”

Once the Panthers return, they will have their home opener on February 27th as they host the DIII Tigers of Rochester Institute of Technology. The remaining nine games will be against teams all within the region. The stickmen will make the trip up to New Hampshire to take on the Hawks of Saint Anselm, and then return home for two games against Northeast-10 school, Bentley, and PSAC opponent, Mercyhurst, who was ranked just one spot higher than the Panthers ending the 2008 season. On the road for the next two games, the Warriors of Merrimack will be the second straight top-10 team they face while they’ll take on the Chargers of Dominican College the following week.

“The ECC portion of our schedule will not only be a true test for our squad but it will enable us to see just how we stand up against the toughest competion in Division II.” The final four games are all against ECC teams beginning with the Lions of Molloy College. Concluding their home stand will be a hot match up against cross town rivals, C.W. Post. Perhaps the toughest opponent of the year will be NYIT, the defending national champions in which Adelphi must play at the Bear’s home turf. Closing out the schedule, the Panthers will travel to Oakdale, New York for a final game against the Golden Lions of Dowling College.

“We have 18 new recruits that will join our team this year. With more new players than returning, the challenge will be to blend and unify the strength of each player into a championship team.”