SAINTS PICK UP NINTH STRAIGHT WIN THANKS

TO EXPLOSIVE THIRD QUARTER

Apr. 26: The St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team scored five goals in the third period to break open a tight game with Potsdam State on Wednesday in Potsdam, NY. With the game tied at four at the half, the Saints exploded for five straight goals in the third quarter to grab a 9-4 lead and went on to their ninth straight victory with an 11-8 win over the Bears.

St. Lawrence (10-3, 5-0) has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2006 Liberty League tournament, and can win the Regular Season Title with a victory over Vassar on Saturday. However, head coach Mike Mahoney knew his team had to keep focused to get past a feisty Potsdam team that gave the visiting Saints all they could handle.

With the score tied at 2-2 late in the opening quarter, the home team pressed the Saints and scored

back-to-back goals at 11:59 and 13:19 to take a 4-2 lead. Harrison Rodgers scored on St. Lawrence goaltender Justin Demuth to give Potsdam a 3-2 lead. Scott Roes was right behind him, as he beat Demuth to extend the Bears' lead to 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.

St. Lawrence would again tighten down on defense after the opening quarter, however, as JJ Hearty, Brian Crowley, and Ben Buskey did their best to protect their goaltender and give their dynamic offense a chance to get started. The St. Lawrence attack did just that, as the Saints rattled off seven straight goals in the second and third quarters to grab a 9-4 lead heading to the final fifteen minutes.

Junior Willie Lapinski would get the Saints started, as he scored an unassisted goal early in the second to close the gap to 4-3. Junior Nick Mastine scored his second goal of the day nearly six minutes later, but the midfielder's goal would start a snowball effect for the Saints as they carried that momentum into the third quarter. The visitors came out determined to pick up their ninth straight victory, as Kevin Russell, Ben Prime, Mastine, Brendan Lynch, and Peter Carroll would all score in the third quarter to give the Saints a seemingly insurmountable cushion.

Potsdam wouldn't go away though, as the Bears pressed in the fourth quarter in an attempt to get back into the game. Dave Uzialko made the score 9-5 only 2:02 into the fourth quarter, and then Rogers and Matt Vaverchak scored to close the gap to 9-7 with over nine minutes to play in the game.

Again, Mahoney would turn to his defensive unit to settle his team down. They were able to keep Potsdam quiet for the rest of the game, and Mastine scored his fourth of the game with only 3:25 remaining, followed by a goal from junior Andy Centauro to make the score 11-7 with only 1:29 on the clock. Potsdam's Adam Wood scored with :35 seconds left to complete the scoring.

Mastine was the Saints' leading scorer on Wednesday, as he tallied five points on four goals and an assist. Prime netted a pair of goals for St. Lawrence, while Centauro closed the Saints' last non-conference game with three points (1g,2a). First year student PJ Santora continued to dominate on face-offs, as the Cos Cob, CT native went 18-21 on the day, giving the Saints plenty of chances and momentum. Between the pipes, Demuth stopped eight of sixteen shots on the day to pick up his ninth straight win in net.

The 2006 Liberty League Regular Season Championship will be on the line on Saturday when the Saints travel to Poughkeepsie, NY to take on Vassar College.

LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORS

TRIO OF SAINTS

Apr. 25: The Liberty League honored three St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse players on Monday for their exceptional performances versus Clarkson and Rensselaer last week.

Sophomore Kevin Russell was named the conference's Co-Offensive Performer of the Week, as he led the offensive corps on the attack versus the Golden Knights and Red Hawks. The Madison, CT native scored two goals against archrival Clarkson including the game-winner, then notched six assists against Rensselaer in the Saints' 12-4 win.

Fellow attack Peter Carroll earned the Liberty League's "Co-Rookie of the Week" honors, as he extended his active goal scoring streak to nine games. The Pennington, NJ native netted a pair of goals against the Knights in the Saints' 9-7 win, then came back with three more goals against RPI at North Country Field. Carroll currently leads the team in goals with 19, and has earned the league's "Rookie of the Week" award three times this season.

Junior goalie Justin Demuth was fantastic between the pipes for the Saints this week, as he extended his active winning streak to eight games the wins over Clarkson and RPI. Against Clarkson, Demuth stopped 13 shots and grabbed four ground balls. Then, in a battle for first place in the league, he made 12 stops against Rensselaer to help secure the Saints' victory. For the week he stopped 25 of the 36 shots he faced. For his efforts, the Liberty League named him the "Defensive Performer of the Week."

St. Lawrence has clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2006 Liberty League Tournament along with at least a share of the Regular Season championship. With the two victories over Clarkson and RPI, head coach Mike Mahoney's team cracked the top-25, earning the No. 19 seed in the National Rankings. The Saints will square off with the Potsdam State Bears on Wednesday, April 26th in Potsdam, NY. The non-conference game is set to start at 4:00pm.

SAINTS CLINCH NO. 1 SEED IN LIBERTY LEAGUE

TOURNEY WITH 12-4 WIN

Apr. 22: The St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team, using both speed and heads-up passing, jumped out to an overwhelming 12-1 lead against the previously-unbeaten Rensselaer Red Hawks on Saturday afternoon at North Country Field. Although the Saints (9-3, 5-0) were held in check offensively in the second half, they still cruised to a 12-4 victory and clinched at least a share of the 2006 Liberty League Regular Season Championship.

St. Lawrence wasted very little time in setting the tempo for Saturday's Senior Day showdown between the top two teams in the conference. Junior Brendan Lynch scored just 45 seconds into regulation to give the home team the early edge that they would never relinquish.

Sophomore Mike Long and first year student Peter Carroll joined the scoring in the early going as well, as each netted a goal in the opening five minutes. Long took a pass from freshman Alex Slauson and fired a shot that beat RPI goaltender Ryan Michels at 3:36 of the first quarter, then Carroll scored his first of the game only 38 seconds later on an unassisted goal at 4:14.

After a Rensselaer timeout, the Red Hawks looked to settle things down and close the gap on the Saints. They would do just that with 7:57 remaining in the opening quarter, as Briggs Thompson scored on Saints' goalie Justin Demuth to make the score 3-1 in favor of St. Lawrence.

From there on out, however, it was all St. Lawrence. The home team scored five straight goals to end the opening quarter, then netted the only four goals of the second quarter to grab a 12-1 lead heading into halftime. Sophomores Cory Yawger and Ben Prime, junior Nick Mastine, and Carroll (2) tallied goals in the first quarter to make the score 8-1 after one. In the second, it was junior Andy Centauro, Prime, sophomore Derek Hansen, and Lynch that would extend St. Lawrence's lead to 12-1 at the half.

Rensselaer attempted to get back into the game early in the third quarter as they jumped out of the gate in the second half to score three quick goals to make the score 12-4 and force Saints' head coach Mike Mahoney to use a timeout and settle his team down. The Red Hawks' goals in the third quarter came from Mike Sampson (00:19) and Josh Secora (2:50 and 3:58).

The Saints tightened down their defense after the timeout, forcing turnovers and getting outstanding play from Demuth between the pipes. Sophomore midfielder Ben Buskey helped motivate the defensive corps with some big-time hits along the sidelines. However, RPI's defense was also unflappable in the second half, as Michels stopped all of the Saints' shots that he faced. The outstanding defensive efforts were noticed on the scoreboard, as neither team scored a goal in the final 26:02 of the game.

Carroll scored three goals on the afternoon for St. Lawrence, while Prime and Lynch netted a pair of goals each. Though he was unable to find the net, sophomore Kevin Russell notched six assists in the game to lead all scorers. Freshman PJ Santora won 16-of-19 faceoffs for the Saints, giving his team control and momentum early in the game. Between the pipes, Demuth finished with 12 saves on 16 shots.

For the Red Hawks, Secora finished as the leading scorer with two points (2g), while Sampson, Thompson, and Brandon Recchia each had one point. Michels finished with 14 saves in goal for Rensselaer on 26 shots.

Before the start of Saturday's game, St. Lawrence's two senior defensemen Tripp Bartlett and Bo McDougall were honored for their contributions to the Saints' program over the past four seasons.

However, the game versus RPI will not be the last at North Country Field for the seniors, as the Saints have wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Liberty League Tournament, and will host the No. 4 seed on Friday, May 5th. St. Lawrence will not be looking that far ahead, though, as they have a non-conference game with Potsdam State on Wednesday, April 26th and their final league game against Vassar College on April 29th. The game versus the Bears is set to begin in Potsdam, NY at 4:00pm.