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 DEMUTH MAKES 14 SAVES AS SAINTS WIN SECOND STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TOURNEY
The No. 6 Saints (above) celebrate their second consecutive Liberty League title after a 16-3 victory over Skidmore College on Sunday afternoon. (Tara Freeman photo)
May 6: The No. 6 St. Lawrence University men’s lacrosse team routed Skidmore College in the Liberty League Championship game by the score of 16-3 on Sunday afternoon. Senior goaltender Justin Demuth, who was named the 2007 Liberty League “Player of the Year” on Thursday, made 14 saves and led the Scarlet and Brown (14-1, 6-0) to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. For their efforts, Nick Mastine was named the Liberty League's "Offensive Player of the Week," Demuth the "Defensive Player of the Week," and first year student Will McKee the "Rookie of the Week"
The Saints continued their balance attack on both offense and defense, as fifteen different players collected at least one point for St. Lawrence as the team won their 18 th straight game at North Country Field.
“I am very proud of these guys and what they have done so far this season,” said Saints head coach Mike Mahoney. “We’ve gotten great leadership from our seniors and we’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. Getting off to a quick lead really got us jump-started.”
The lead Coach Mahoney was the 5-0 lead his team compiled less than a minute into the second quarter. The Saints, who hosted the Liberty League Tournament after going 6-0 in conference play in the regular season, scored four goals in the opening quarter while Demuth kept the Thoroughbreds off the board.
Senior midfielder Brendan Lynch scored his first of four goals 2:53 into the game when he picked up a turnover from Skidmore goalie John Capitani in the offensive zone and, with the netminder out of his cage, fired the ball into the open net for the 1-0 lead.
Senior Willie Lapinski and junior Kevin Russell would complete the first quarter scoring with three goals in a span of 3:26 to bring the lead to 4-0. Lapinski, a native of Canton , NY , made a great move to the middle of the field after taking a pass from junior Brian Chamberlain and ripped a shot into the upper-left portion of the goal.
Russell would then follow with back-to-back goals only 24 seconds apart to complete the first quarter scoring. The Madison , CT native put St. Lawrence ahead 3-0 when Demuth fired a long pass down field that bounced between Skidmore’s defenders and to Russell, who was all alone for a one-on-one with Capitani. Though the goaltender tried to challenge, Russell’s shot found the net and gave his team a 3-0 edge. He would then take a pass from junior Ben Prime only seconds later and beat Capitani again for the 4-0 cushion.
Skidmore had several chances in the opening quarter to get on the board, but Demuth and his defensive unit in front of him were too much for the Thoroughbreds. Their constant pressuring of the ball created six turnovers, and Demuth added five key saves to keep his opponents off the scoreboard.
The Saints only took 18 seconds into the second to extend their lead to 5-0 when Prime scored his lone goal of the day after Chamberlain found him wide open to Capitani’s right in transition off the face-off.
Skidmore’s Rob Lutin would finally get the visitors on the board at 2:23 of the second frame after taking a pass from Joe Tynan and beating Demuth from the right side. The Thoroughbreds then had another great chance to cut into the deficit less than a minute later when Nick Coppola had a breakaway chance on the Saints goalie. However, the Jordan, NY native held his ground and turned back Skidmore’s sophomore attack to keep the score at 5-1.
The rest of the quarter belonged to the Saints, as they ran off three consecutive goals to re-assert themselves before the end of the half. Senior Nick Mastine got into the scoring at 4:47 with an unassisted tally, and his goal was followed by sophomore Alex Slauson’s only goal of the afternoon. Finally, the Liberty League’s “Co-Rookie of the Year” Will McKee scored on his fellow award winner Capitani to end the first half scoring at 8-1 when he rifled a shot into the goal with only 54 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Saints defensive efforts were outstanding, as the combination of seniors JJ Hearty and Brian Crowley, junior Ben Buskey and sophomore Carl Festa used double teams to wreak havoc when Skidmore had the ball in the offensive zone. They did well to allow Demuth to see the Thoroughbreds’ shots on goal, as he finished with nine saves in the first half.
Junior Mike Long and Lynch would open the second half scoring to take St. Lawrence’s lead to 10-1 with 8:30 to play in the third quarter. Though Coppola and Cory Barkoff scored goals only 37 seconds apart to make the score 10-3 at the 5:23 mark, sophomore midfielder PJ Santora won a face-off, cut through Skidmore’s defense and found fellow classmate Nick Stefans who buried a shot to complete the scoring in the quarter with St. Lawrence comfortably ahead, 11-3.
The Saints relentless attack continued in the fourth quarter, as they out-scored Skidmore 5-0 in the final fifteen minutes to run the table in the Liberty League and earn the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. McKee, Lynch (2) and junior Derek Hansen (2) collected the five goals in the quarter with assists coming from Slauson, sophomores Peter Carroll and Collin Moon, and rookie John Manning.
“I think our discipline on both sides of the ball was very important today,” added Coach Mahoney. “Because we only took two penalties, we were able to keep them from gaining momentum. Our home crowd was great and we’re excited to play in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.”
Demuth finished with 14 saves in 55:13 minutes of action, while Capitani closed with 10 saves for Skidmore. St. Lawrence held a 43-25 advantage in shots and scooped up 33 ground balls to the Thoroughbreds’ 22.
St. Lawrence will host the defending national champions, the Cortland State Red Dragons, in an NCAA Tournament Second round game on Saturday, May 12th at North Country Field, where the Saints have not lost since April 16th, 2005. Game time is set for 1:00pm.
MASTINE'S HAT TRICK AND SAINTS DEFENSE OUST RPI FROM CONFERENCE TOURNEY May 4: The St. Lawrence University men’s lacrosse team ended a nineteen year hiatus from the NCAA Tournament last year when they won the Liberty League Championship. After capturing their eleventh straight victory on Friday afternoon, the Saints (13-1, 6-0) are only one win away from returning. Senior midfielder Nick Mastine scored three goals and fellow classmate Justin Demuth made seven saves as the Scarlet and Brown ousted Rensselaer (11-4, 3-3) from the Liberty League Tournament with a 10-4 victory at North Country Field. St. Lawrence, the top seed in the tournament, will square off with No. 2 Skidmore in the championship game on Sunday, as the Thoroughbreds defeated Clarkson, 9-6.
The Saints and Red Hawks engaged in a very physical battle for the right to play for the Liberty League’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid, with the two teams combining for a total of 16 penalties. The home team would open the scoring at 4:40 of the first period, as senior midfielder Willie Lapinski made a great pass to sophomore Kyle Benton, who showed great patience by maneuvering around Rensselaer ’s goalie Ryan Michels and giving his team a 1-0 lead.
Michels would settle in, though, and kept St. Lawrence from extending their lead while his offense went to work on the far end of the field. Though Rensselaer had two extra man chances in the first quarter, the Saints stingy defensive unit kept their opponents from evening the score. Senior JJ Hearty, who had the strenuous task of guarding the league’s top scorer PJ McComb, was very physical and caused several key turnovers to give his team the momentum.
The Saints offense would feed off of their defense’s play, and built a 3-0 lead after one quarter. Mastine scored his first of the game with 4:20 remaining after junior Kevin Russell hustled to the midfield line and allowed rookie attack Will McKee to get open in the offensive zone. McKee took a pass, found some real estate and made a slick pass to Mastine who finished the play to put St. Lawrence ahead 2-0.
A mere 34 seconds later, the Scarlet and Brown were celebrating again, this time on junior Ben Prime’s goal to give the home team a 3-0 cushion. Prime took a pass from junior Mike Long behind the net, made a nice up-and-under move to elude his defender and beat Michels to continue the offensive rush.
The Saints penalty killing was a major factor in the first quarter, as junior Brian Chamberlain and Hearty were outstanding in protecting their cage and keeping Rensselaer ’s offensive from getting jump started.
The Red Hawks would gain some momentum early in the second quarter, though, as they killed off an important one minute penalty and followed with their first goal of the game from Mike Sampson only 2:59 into the quarter. Briggs Thompson found Sampson to Demuth’s left, and he rifled a hard shot past the Liberty League’s “Player of the Year” to bring RPI to within two goals at 3-1.
The goal only seemed to motivate St. Lawrence, though, as they answered with three straight goals to close out the half and take a 6-1 lead into the locker room. Junior Ben Buskey made a great play to cause a turnover behind Demuth’s goal. The Saints quickly went the other way, as senior defenseman Brian Crowley led the charge in transition. The Acton , MA native, who was named to the Liberty League’s First Team on Thursday, made a quick pass to an open Peter Carroll, and the sophomore laced a high shot past Michels’ stick for the 4-1 lead.
After sophomore Alex Slauson gave St. Lawrence a 5-1 lead on a hard, bouncing shot with 4:18 to play in the second quarter, Mastine scored a man-up goal with 1:55 remaining to complete the first half scoring and put SLU ahead 6-1. With the extra man on, Rensselaer seemed to catch a break as the ball bounced to the midfield line on an errant pass. However, Crowley made a heads-up play and kicked the ball back to senior Brendan Lynch. Lynch gained the offensive zone, cut through the defense, and fed Mastine on the doorstep, whose low shot beat Michels again for his second goal of the day.
The Saints held a 22-10 shot advantage through the first half, as well as a 20-9 edge in ground balls. Demuth, who made a fantastic save with 20 seconds remaining in the half on Thompson to keep the score 6-1, finished with five saves in the half as did his counterpart Michels.
Penalties doomed RPI early in the third quarter, as the Red Hawks took five straight penalties in a span of 6:07 . The Saints would out-score their opponents 3-0 in the third quarter to all but seal their eleventh straight win. McKee, the Liberty League’s “Co-Rookie of the Year,” scored the first goal of the second half with 3:44 to play with an assist going to Russell.
Russell, a First Team All-Conference attack, continued to hurt the Red Hawks as he found a seam in the defense where Lapinski was waiting to fire on net. The Canton , NY native did just that, letting a hard shot loose that Michels couldn’t handle to put St. Lawrence on top 8-1. Russell would collect his third assist of the quarter on his team’s final goal of the period, when he hit Mastine with a pass and the Erin , Ontario native did the rest, beating his defender and giving St. Lawrence a 9-1 advantage heading to the fourth.
Rensselaer managed to notch three consecutive man-up goals in the fourth quarter to keep their slim hopes of a comeback alive. Alex MacDiarmid scored only 23 seconds into the quarter, and Thompson followed just over seven minutes later to make the score 9-3. Paul Cerone would complete the Red Hawks’ scoring at 10:51 , when he took a pass from McComb and scored on Demuth for his team’s fourth goal.
However, the Saints lead was too much to overcome for the Red Hawks, and Russell put the finishing touches on another important win when the Madison, CT native received a pass from Lynch and smoked a hard shot into the upper-right part of the goal to cap the scoring and move St. Lawrence into the Liberty League championship game with a 10-4 win over Rensselaer.
“I thought it was a very physical game, and each team had their chances to get some momentum on man-up chances,” said Saints head coach Mike Mahoney. “We scored some timely goals, our defense made some big stops and Justin (Demuth) came up with a few important saves. It was a solid team win against a very talented opponent. Now, we need to keep our focus and get prepared for Skidmore on Sunday.”
Sophomore PJ Santora won 11-of-16 face-offs for the Saints on Friday, while Demuth finished with seven stops to improve to 11-1 overall this season. Michels closed with 12 saves including five in the fourth quarter.
St. Lawrence protected their home field advantage with the win and will welcome Skidmore to Canton, NY on Sunday, May 6th for a spot in the 2007 NCAA Tournament Field. The game will begin at 12:00pm, with the NCAA Tournament field being announced later that evening.
ELEVEN SAINTS EARN 2007 ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS May 3: Senior goaltender Justin Demuth, who has anchored the St. Lawrence University men’s lacrosse team to the No. 6 spot in the national polls, has been named the Liberty League’s “Player of the Year” for 2007. First year student Will McKee joined Demuth as a major award winner, as he was voted “Co-Rookie of the Year” along with Skidmore’s John Capitani. Meanwhile, a total of eleven Saints earned All-Conference honors, including six on the First Team.
McKee has made an immediate impact in his rookie season with the Scarlet and Brown, totaling 20 goals, which was second-most on the roster. The Old Greenwich, CT added yet another weapon to the Saints arsenal, as McKee (right) was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Week twice.
Seniors Brendan Lynch, Brian Crowley, JJ Hearty, and Demuth joined junior Kevin Russell and sophomore PJ Santora as six of the eleven members on the Liberty League’s First Team. Lynch's 22 goals was tops for the Saints this season, as were his six game-winning tallies. The Medfield, MA native finished tied for 2nd in the league in goals per game (2.33), seventh in points per game (2.83), and led the conference in game-winning goals (in league) with three.
Crowley and Hearty have made St. Lawrence’s defensive corps one of the best in the country this season,
Russell and Santora have been keys to the Saints offensive attack this season, with Russell using his creative style of play to forge chances for his teammates to score and Santora earning extra possessions for the Scarlet and Brown with his face-off abilities. Russell's 45 points led the Saints in the regular season, and he carries an active ten-game multi-point scoring streak into the Liberty League tournament. He finished second in the conference in assists per game (3.00) and third in points per game (3.67).
Santora continued to serve the Saints as their go-to player on face-offs in 2007. The Cos Cob, CT native won 157-of-235 draws (.668 win-percentage) and led the league in ground balls per game (8.17). Santora won 66% of his face-offs in league games as well, going 75-of-114 on draws in conference play.
Earning All-Conference Second Team honors were sophomore attack Peter Carroll and senior midfielder Andy Centauro, who both add balance to the Saints offensive scheme. Carroll's efficient play makes him one of the team's most dangerous weapons, as he Pennington, NJ native often controls the Saints possessions. He finished the regular season tied for 7th in assists per game (1.00) and tied for 8th in points per game (2.67) in the conference ranks. Centauro remained one of St. Lawrence's most dangerous offensive players this season, totaling 26 points and notching the game-winning goal versus Union. The Sudbury, MA native finished tied for 9th in assists per game (0.83) in the conference.
Rounding out the 2007 Liberty League All-Conference recipients were junior defenseman Ben Buskey, sophomore midfielder Alex Slauson and McKee, who earned Honorable Mention status.
Slauson had a great run down the stretch for St. Lawrence, including seven goals in the last three games to lock up the top-seed in the Liberty League Tournament. The Shelburne, VT native had 12 goals in conference play, which was second-most for the Saints in 2007. Slauson's 2.00 goals per game average placed him 6th in the ranks in the Liberty League.
The Saints will host Rensselaer in the Liberty League Tournament semifinals tomorrow, Friday, May 4th at 4:00pm at North Country Field. The winner will advance to the championship game which will be played at the highest remaining seed on Sunday, May 6th at noon.
TOP-SEEDED SAINTS PREPARED TO DEFEND THEIR LIBERTY LEAGUE TITLE May 2: The nationally-ranked St. Lawrence University men’s lacrosse team is set to host the Rensselaer Red Hawks in the opening round of the 2007 Liberty League Tournament on Friday as the Saints look to win the conference championship and return the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Scarlet and Brown have a tough road ahead, though, as RPI dropped the meeting between the two teams on April 14th by a narrow 8-7 margin in Troy, NY and look to avenge that loss.
The winner of the semifinal battle at North Country Field will then square off with the victor of the second semifinal game between Skidmore College and Clarkson University, which will be played in Saratoga Springs, NY on Friday as well.
“We’re obviously excited to be hosting the first round game versus Rensselaer” said Saints head coach Mike Mahoney. “They (the Red Hawks) played us very tough the first time around and we were fortunate to come away with a win. I think being in front of our fans at home will set a great atmosphere for an exciting game.”
The Saints, who are ranked No. 6 in the national coaches poll and landed the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a thorough 14-6 win over Skidmore last weekend, are riding a ten-game win streak that dates back to March 22 nd. The squad’s balanced offensive attack coupled with a stingy, swarming defense has made the Scarlet and Brown the toughest team to score on in the Liberty League.
St. Lawrence also hopes to lean on experience as they begin the tournament, as they are led by a corps of ten seniors and nine juniors that were part of the 2006 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 19 seasons. The team’s tri-captains, senior goaltender Justin Demuth, senior defenseman Brian Crowley, and junior attack Kevin Russell have each had outstanding seasons and are one of the primary reasons the team has had success again in 2007.
“I think our captains have been leaders for us both on and off the field,” said Coach Mahoney, who has an overall record of 106-44 (.707) in ten years at St. Lawrence. “Justin (Demuth) has made the key saves when we’ve needed him, while Brian ( Crowley) has worked hard with his fellow defenseman to protect their goalie. Meanwhile, Kevin (Russell) makes so many things happen offensively. His creativity and unselfish play has allowed his teammates to flourish and make plays for us.”
Demuth comes into the Liberty League Tournament having led the conference in goals against average, allowing just over 4.00 goals per game. The Jordan, NY native also boasts the second-best save percentage (.561) in the league.
Crowley has also had a fantastic season for the Saints, as he and fellow defensemen JJ Hearty, Ben Buskey, and Carl Festa have allowed the least number of shots on cage in the Liberty League this season. The quartet has been able to neutralize some of the most dynamic forwards the region this season, and will look to continue their success against Rensselaer.
Finally, Russell has notched 45 points this season which leads St. Lawrence, and his 3.00 assist average per game is second in the conference. The Madison, CT native’s fiery personality serves as a spark to the Saints offensive unit, which enters the conference tournament second in goals per game (12.33).
Perhaps what has made St. Lawrence so tough to beat this season has been their diversity on offense, as seven different players have totaled over 20 points. Coach Mahoney credits much of their success to their depth, and believes if they are to advance in the tournament, it will be because of their consistent playmaking ability.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have guys like Ben Prime, Alex Slauson, Brendan Lynch, Andy Centauro, and Will McKee as consistent offensive threats,” added Mahoney. “We’ve worked hard as a team, and our goals are within our sights.”
Though St. Lawrence is the top-ranked team in the conference tournament, their draw on Friday shows just how deep the Liberty League has gotten in recent years. Rensselaer, with an overall mark of 10-4, is the No. 4 seed and will travel to Canton, NY for a rematch of last year’s Liberty League Championship game.
The Red Hawks are led offensively by PJ McComb, who is the league leader in assists (3.33) and points per game (5.00). The team is also first in ground balls per game, man-up goals, and penalty killing (86%).
If Rensselaer is to upset St. Lawrence in the opening round on Friday afternoon, much of the burden may fall squarely on the shoulders of goaltender Ryan Michaels. The senior from Wilmington, DE is fourth in the Liberty League in goals against average (8.58) and fifth in save percentage (.552).
Meanwhile, in the second semifinal pits two of the conference’s top offensive weapons against one another, as Skidmore’s Micah Hawes-Sivitz meets Clarkson’s Greg Gibbons in a battle of the top-two goal scorers in the league. Hawes-Sivitz averages 2.67 goals per contest, while Gibbons is just behind, averaging 2.33 per game.
The Thoroughbreds finished with a 5-1 record in conference play, and thus host the Golden Knights on Friday afternoon. Skidmore finished the regular season atop the league in goals per game (12.5) and man-up tallies. Clarkson will need to stay at full strength throughout the game, as they are the most penalized group in the Liberty League. The Golden Knights may also rely on goaltender Eric Wolery to have a big day, as he boasted the best save percentage in the league this season (.614)
“That’s going to be a very good game between two very skilled teams,” said Coach Mahoney. “Though neither team can look that far ahead, both St. Lawrence and Rensselaer know they’d have their hands full on Sunday afternoon with an NCAA bid on the line.”
Both semifinal contests are slated to begin at 4:00pm, while the Championship game, which will be played at the highest remaining seed on Sunday, May 6th, will start at noon.
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Demuth (left) has once again been the backbone of the Saints defensive corps, allowing Liberty League-best 4.05 goals per game. The Jordan, NY native was also third in the conference in save percentage, and he served as a captain for the second straight season. Demuth, who was also named the First Team All-Conference goaltender, allowed only 18 goals in five conference games this season.
using their quickness, strength, and consistent play. Crowley scored his first career goal versus Oswego on March 27th, and was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week on March 19th. Hearty was often assigned to the opponent's top offensive scorer, and helped the Saints keep a goals-against average under 5.00. The Weston, MA native was named the league's Defensive Performer of the Week on April 9th for his play against Potsdam and Hamilton.