McKEE AND HOLLINGSWORTH EARN

HONORS FOR IMPRESSIVE PLAY

April 22: Sophomore attackman Will McKee and junior goaltender Thomas Hollingsworth were honored by the Liberty League for their efforts against nationally-ranked Clarkson and Union last week. McKee was tagged the conference's "Co-Offensive Performer of the Week," as well as Nike/IL Men's Player of the Week honors for Division III lacrosse, while Hollingsworth was named the Liberty League's "Co-Defensive Performer."

McKee totaled 11 goals, two assists and eight ground balls this week in St. Lawrence's wins against No. 18 Clarkson and No. 20 Union. The Old Greenwich, CT native had four goals against the Golden Knights before erupting for nine points (7g,2a) against the Dutchmen. The reigning Liberty League rookie of the year, McKee leads St. Lawrence (8-2) in both goals (30) and points (44) on the season.

Meanwhile, Hollingsworth was solid between the pipes for St. Lawrence this week in the team's wins. He had six stops against the Golden Knights and nine against the Dutchmen, finishing the week with 15 saves and 11 goals against for a .577 save percentage.

"Will (McKee) is having another solid season for us offensively, and we'll need him to continue to contribute as we head into post-season play," said Saints head coach Mike Mahoney, whose team clinched the league's No. 1 seed for the third straight year. "Thomas (Hollingsworth) has come up big for us several times this season and he's another player who we'll need a sound effort from over the next few weeks."

St. Lawrence will complete the 2008 regular season on Saturday in Saratoga Springs, NY against Skidmore College. The Saints will then await the No. 4 seed in the Liberty League Tournament, which begins at North Country Field on Friday, May 2.

SAINTS EARN THIRD STRAIGHT REGULAR

SEASON CROWN WITH 17-3 WIN

April 19: The No. 12 St. Lawrence University men’s lacrosse team’s Class of 2008 played their final regular season contest on Saturday afternoon against Union College. The Saints made it a memorable “Senior Day” with a 17-3 rout of the Dutchmen, clinching the Liberty League regular season title and the No. 1 seed for the third consecutive year.

The Scarlet and Brown (8-2, 5-0) won their 19 th straight regular season conference game with meticulous play on both ends of the field. The Saints dominated in shots, 42-19, and ground balls, 45-24, to win their eighth straight game. Union (9-3, 3-2) saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt, as the Dutchmen simply couldn’t get their offense on track against St. Lawrence’s swarming defensive unit.

Senior attackman Kevin Russell opened the scoring with an assist going to junior Peter Carroll, while Union tied it at 1-1 30 seconds later on a man-up goal by Jon Miller.

The Saints would use a seven-goal run to establish a solid cushion, with the charge led by sophomore Will McKee. The Old Greenwich, CT native scored four goals, while Russell added his second of the day and junior midfielder Kyle Benton chipped in two tallies for an 8-1 lead. With his team being out-shot 24-8 in the opening half, Union netminder Chris Keinath did all he could with 10 first half saves.

The Dutchmen would pull to within six goals at 9-3 by the end of the opening half, as Miller scored twice in the final 5:07 of the second quarter to complete the visiting team’s scoring. McKee scored St. Lawrence’s ninth goal with an assist going to junior midfielder P.J. Santora.

The second half would prove to be all St. Lawrence, though, as the Saints scored all eight goals in the half to earn the No. 1 seed in the 2008 Liberty League Tournament. McKee scored a man-up goal at 5:28 of the third quarter, and was followed by junior Alex Slauson (2) and Russell for a 13-3 lead after 45:00 minutes of action.

McKee would put the finishing touches on a nine-point outing with his seventh goal, second on the University’s all-time list for goals in a game, and second assist in a four-goal fourth quarter for the home team. Benton added his third goal of the contest in the fourth as well, while senior Derek Hansen and junior Collin Moon got into the goal-scoring as well to bring the game to its final of 17-3.

Carroll finished with five assists for St. Lawrence, while Russell closed with three goals and two assists. Junior goaltender Thomas Hollingsworth had his best career Liberty League outing with a nine-save performance including four in the second and third quarters to ensure the Saints of the win.

Saturday’s game was the last regular season home game for ten St. Lawrence seniors, including Ben Prime, Frank Maguire, Mike Long, Hansen, Russell, Rob Kopp, Ben Buskey, Cory Yawger, Brian Chamberlain and James Merrill. As a class, they have a combined record of 45-14 and have won two Liberty League Tournaments thus far.

The Scarlet and Brown will complete the 2008 regular season with a road game in Saratoga Springs, NY against Skidmore College next Saturday, April 26 at 1:00pm. The Saints will then host the No. 4 seed in the Liberty League Semifinals on Friday, May 2.

NO. 12 SAINTS HOLD OFF NO. 18 CLARKSON FOR

TOP SPOT IN THE LIBERTY LEAGUE

April 16: The North Country’s biggest rivalry took to the lacrosse field on Wednesday afternoon, as No. 12 St. Lawrence University hosted No. 18 Clarkson with sole possession of first place in the Liberty League standings on the line. In the first meeting since 2002 with both teams ranked in the national polls, the Saints jumped out to an 11-1 lead and held on for an 11-8 victory over the Golden Knights to improve to 7-2 overall and a perfect 4-0 in conference play.

Clarkson simply couldn’t dig out of the 10-goal deficit despite outplaying the Scarlet and Brown in the fourth quarter, falling to 7-3 (3-1) in 2008. The visitors received gritty performances from goaltender Greg Lamb, who made 11 stops to keep his team in the game in the second half, and Greg Gibbons who tallied a game-high six points.

St. Lawrence wasted little time in asserting itself early in the first quarter, as sophomore Will McKee took a pass from junior Peter Carroll and beat Lamb for a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game. Junior Alex Slauson would make it 2-0 only 1:51 later on an unassisted goal, while McKee and Carroll would hook up again at 6:17 for a 3-0 cushion.

After Clarkson’s Jon Cathcart solved St. Lawrence junior goalie Thomas Hollingsworth to make it a 3-1 game, Slauson and Carroll would score consecutive unassisted goals only 1:32 apart to close the first quarter scoring and give the home team a 5-1 lead.

St. Lawrence continued to tack on to their lead, though much of the credit would go to their defensive unit, which caused 10 first half turnovers and allowed only four shots on Hollingsworth in the opening 30 minutes of action. Their outstanding effort allowed the offense to go to work, building an 8-1 halftime lead.

Second quarter goals came from senior Ben Prime, who used a quick turn move to shake a defender in front of the cage and beat Lamb, McKee and Carroll. The Saints boasted a 20-4 lead in shots at the half and scooped up 24 ground balls to Clarkson’s seven.

St. Lawrence continued to cruise early in the third quarter, picking up three goals to take an 11-1 advantage. Carroll scored 1:10 into the quarter, while McKee added his fourth of the game on a man-down goal at 3:29. Prime would complete his team’s scoring with 8:39 remaining in the third on an unassisted goal, his eighth of the season.

Clarkson’s began to chip away at the Saints’ lead late in the third quarter thanks to hard work on the offensive end of the field and great play between the pipes from Lamb. Tom Ross scored back-to-back goals only 36 seconds apart to make it an 11-3 game, and Gibbons picked up his first goal to close the quarter to make it 11-4.

The visitors continued to pounce on St. Lawrence’s mistakes, and made a run at the lead in the fourth quarter. Brian Hoey took a pass from Matt Opar and scored at 3:58 of the final quarter, while Gibbons added a man-up goal with 8:53 left in regulation.

Though Gibbons would tack on two more goals in the final four minutes, the Golden Knights’ deficit was simply too big to climb out of, as the Saints held on for an 11-8 victory.

“Clarkson is a very talented team, and though we got the better of them in the first half, we knew they would make a run,” said Saints’ head coach Mike Mahoney. “I’m proud of the way we responded after a tight game with Rensselaer, and we’ll start preparing for another tough conference game on Saturday against Union.”

St. Lawrence received a solid performance from midfielder P.J. Santora, who won 15-of-21 face-offs and scooped up a team-high nine ground balls. The Saints closed with a 31-17 advantage in shots and a 38-18 lead in ground balls. Hollingsworth improved to 7-2 on the season with a six-save performance, while Lamb fell to 7-3 despite making 11 stops.

The Saints will play their final regular season home game on Saturday, April 19 against Union College at 12:00pm. With a victory against the Dutchmen, the Scarlet and Brown will clinch the top seed in the 2008 Liberty League Tournament.