April 29, 2006

Top Seeded Mount Ida Downs Second Seeded Castleton State for Third Straight NAC Tournament Title, 16-3

NEWTON, Mass. -- The top seeded Mount Ida College men's lacrosse team won its third straight North Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship by defeating second seeded Castleton State College 16-3 this afternoon at the Mount Ida Athletic Stadium. The Mustangs, who have never fallen in 22 games versus league opponents in their history, improved their record to 14-3. Castleton State fell to 10-5 on the year.

In a dominant performance, Mount Ida took a 6-1 advantage into the intermission and outscored the Spartans 10-2 in the second half to seal things. Led by Tournament Most Valuable Player Tom Kennedy (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) the Mustangs defensive unit held Castleton State scoreless for a span of 40:06 between the first and fourth quarters. Meanwhile, the offense exploded for 12 consecutive goals over that span to open up an insurmountable cushion.

Mount Ida received a magnificent effort from freshman Brett Conley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield). The NAC Rookie and Player of the Year racked up season-highs of nine points, five goals and four helpers. Classmate Leo Shidler (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) found the net four times, and sophomore Johnathan Lighbown (Melrose, Mass./Malden Catholic) chipped in with three assists and a pair of tallies.

Freshmen Robbie Scanlon (Jericho, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union) and Matt Varney (Rutland, Vt./Rutland), along with junior Matt VanDerKar (Manchester, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) accounted for the three Spartan goals.

Mount Ida came out on top despite losing 15 of the games 23 face-offs. The Mustangs out-shot Castleton State 48-33 and picked up six more ground balls. They also converted on two of their 13 extra-man opportunities and succeeded on 31 of their 35 clear attempts.

Junior goaltender Kyle Bowler (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) stopped a season-high 16 shots to earn his ninth win of the year for the Mustangs. Castleton State junior netminder Avram Feld (Bridport, Vt./Middlebury Union) made 13 saves in a losing effort.           

North Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team

Tournament MVP: Tom Kennedy 
Kyle Bowler - Mount Ida
Leo Shidler - Mount Ida
Craig Heintzelman - Mount Ida
Steve DeLeon - Mount Ida
Robbie Scanlon - Castleton State
Matt VanDerKar - Castleton State
Avram Feld - Castleton State
Brandon Bell - Daniel Webster
Brian Abrahmson - Daniel Webster
Brandon Hamilton - Maine Maritime
John Coffey - Maine Maritime

Castleton State SCORING:
GOALS: Robbie Scanlon 1; Matt VanDerKar 1; Matt Varney 1.
ASSISTS: Steve Gerding 1; Robbie Scanlon 1.

Mount Ida College SCORING:
GOALS: Brett Conley 5; Leo Shidler 4; John Lightbown 2; Vince Pizzimenti 2; Alex Champagne 2; Matt Ramieor 1.
ASSISTS: Brett Conley 4; John Lightbown 3; Craig Heintzelman 1; Vince Pizzimenti 1; Matt Ramieor 1.

Castleton State GROUND BALLS: Matt VanDerKar 7; Alex Brown 5; Avram Feld 5; Jeffrey Seaver 4; Dan Myhre 3; Adam Rosati 3; Chad Quirion 2; Jimmy VanDerKar 2; Eli Willey 2; Kyle Bourgeois 1; Steve Gerding 1; Brett Quillia 1; Robbie Scanlon 1.

Mount Ida College GROUND BALLS: Craig Heintzelman 8; Steve DeLeon 5; Kyle Bowler 4; Alex Champagne 4; Tom Kennedy 4; Matt Gately 3; John Lightbown 3; Leo Shidler 3; Scott Eiseman 2; Vince Pizzimenti 2; Matt Ramieor 2; Luke Wilson 2; Trevor Bergeron 1.

SHOTS - Castleton State 33; Mount Ida College 48.

SHOTS ON GOAL - Castleton State 19; Mount Ida College 29.

PENALTIES - Castleton State 13/11:00; Mount Ida College 7/5:30.

MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Castleton State 0-6; Mount Ida College 2-13.

FACEOFFS - Castleton State 15-23; Mount Ida College 8-23.

CLEARS - Castleton State 20-31; Mount Ida College 31-35.

GOALIES -
CSC: Avram Feld (60:00 minutes, 29 shots-13 saves, 16 GA);
IDA: Kyle Bowler (60:00, 19-16, 3).

April 26, 2006

Top Seeded Mount Ida Rolls Past Fourth Seeded Daniel Webster, 21-5

Mustangs advance to Saturday's Conference Championship versus second seeded Castleton State

NEWTON, Mass. (April 26, 2006) - The top seeded Mount Ida College men's lacrosse team picked up a 21-5 victory over fourth seeded Daniel Webster College in North Atlantic Conference Tournament Semifinal action this afternoon at the Mount Ida Athletic Stadium. With the win, the Mustangs advanced to Saturday's Conference Championship. They will meet second seeded Castleton State College, which advanced to the title game by way of a dramatic 9-8 overtime triumph over the third seeded Maine Maritime Academy in today's other semifinal matchup.

Mount Ida has won the past three NAC regular season and tournament championships and has never fallen to a Conference opponent. It will carry its 21-game win streak into a rematch of last year?s league title game. The Mustangs captured an 11-6 victory in that game and also defeated Castleton State 10-5 when the two squads met earlier this season (4/14).

After jumping out to an 11-2 halftime advantage, Mount Ida outscored the Eagles 10-3 in the second half to secure the win.  

Sophomore Johnathan Lightbown (Melrose, Mass./Malden Catholic) led the offensive charge for the Mustangs, scoring five goals and assisting on another. Mount Ida also received a boost from freshman Brett Conley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield), who found the net four times. Sophomore Alex Champagne (East Greenwich, R.I./Rocky Hill/Ohio Wesleyan) notched a hat trick, and senior Matt Ramieor (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) dished out three helpers to round things out for the hosts.

Daniel Webster sophomore Brandon Bell (Loudon, N.H.) scored three of his team's five markers. Freshman Brian Abrahmson (Dedham, Mass.) totaled one goal and two assists, and senior Mike Patrick (Gardiner, Maine) tallied the final goal for the Eagles.

The Mustangs out-shot Daniel Webster 49-19 and claimed 20 of the contest's 29 face-offs. They also took advantage of two power play opportunities and gathered 60 ground balls.

Junior goaltender Kyle Bowler (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) got the start in net for the home team. He made three saves and earned the victory before giving way to classmate Bryan Smith (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian), who stopped four shots over the final 18:27.

Freshman Caleb Keay (Exto, Pa.) took the loss for the Eagles despite finishing with ten saves.

Daniel Webster concludes its season with an overall record of 7-5 and a league mark of 5-3.

April 26, 2006

Scanlon propels Castleton State to overtime win over Maine Maritime, 9-8

Castleton, VT-Robbie Scanlon (Jericho, VT) was held scoreless for the first 33 minutes of the game. From the 12 minute mark on the freshman midfielder tallied 3 goals, including the game winner one minute into overtime. The win sends Castleton to their second consecutive North Atlantic Conference finals appearance at the expense of Maine Maritime. The Spartans also took out the Mariners last season in the semifinals.

For much of the game both teams were content to play at a deliberate pace, taking their opportunities only when they were presented. Castleton's Adam Rosati (Guilford, VT) opened the scoring 3:16 into the first quarter on a nice feed from Stevan Geiger (Woodstock, VT). One minute later John O'Malley (Eliot, ME) would answer for the Mariners unassisted. Maine Maritime would score two unanswered goals to close out the first period, taking control on strikes from Brandon Hamilton (Skowhegan, ME) and Luke McPartlin (Belgrade, ME). Castleton would battle back, scoring just 26 seconds into the second quarter on a Matt Varney (Rutland, VT) goal that was set up perfectly by Matt VanDerKar (Manchester, VT). With just 13 seconds remaining in the first half Castleton?s Ian Scaglione (Kent, CT) scored, playing a man down. The freshman attackman drew a penalty, and with one second remaining assisted Chad Quirion (South Glens Falls, NY) to give Castleton a 4-3 halftime lead. The Mariners would score the third period's only two goals to take the lead into the final frame. Hamilton would open the fourth period with an unassisted goal to increase their lead to two. Scanlon would score the first of his three fourth period goals with 12:12 remaining, but the Mariners answered right back when Nate Bolduc (Farmington, ME) found the net at 10:09. The Spartans struggled to gain control of the ball for the next five minutes, as Maine Maritime did an excellent job of controlling play. With 4:18 to go Geiger got the large Castleton crowd going on a nifty goal set up by Quirion, cutting the deficit to 1. Much to the dismay of that same crowd, Maritime's McPartlin scored just 14 seconds later to push the lead back to 2. With 3:24 remaining in regulation, Adam Rosati scooped up a ground ball close to midfield and raced toward the goal. The speedy midfielder would beat the entire defense and score unassisted at 3:04. With 2:23 remaining Steve Gerding (Jericho, VT) found Scanlon for the game tying goal. After a shot attempt by Hamilton and one each by Rosati and Geiger the game would head to overtime. The Mariners would win the initial face off, but a turnover caused by Scanlon, and a groundball by Scanlon would swing the momentum. Castleton?s Gerding shot at the goal but was turned away beautifully by Rosco Bishop (West Bath, ME). Again Bishop was up to the task as Matt Varney was turned away at 3:01, Scanlon would be the man on the spot as he picked up the rebound and beat Bishop for the win.

Bishop finished the game with 9 saves on 31 Spartan shots. Castleton's Avram Feld (Bridport, VT) was excellent in goal making 13 saves on 31 shots. Feld turned away 5 shots alone in the fourth period. The win sends Castleton to 10-4, and advances them to the NAC finals on Saturday at 1:00 PM. The Spartans will face off at Mount Ida College for the second consecutive year. Mount Ida is in by virtue of a 21-5 win over Daniel Webster. Maine Maritime's season comes to a close at 6-4.

April 24, 2006

Mount Ida Earns Top Seed in NAC Men's Lacrosse Championship

Two-time defending champion Mount Ida College secured the top seed in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse tournament. The Mustangs (7-0 NAC, 12-3 overall), who have yet to lose a NAC contest in three seasons, will host fourth seed Daniel Webster (4-3 NAC, 7-4 overall) in a semifinal game on Wednesday, April 26th at 3:30 p.m. Mount Ida defeated the Eagles 11-3 when the two teams met in late March.

For the second consecutive season Castleton State (6-1 NAC, 9-4 overall) will host Maine Maritime (5-2 NAC, 6-3 overall) in the other semifinal at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Spartans, who fell 11-6 in last season's title game to Mount Ida, defeated the Mariners 14-6 when they faced off last Saturday.

The top four teams qualify for the NAC Championship. Semifinal games will be played on Wednesday, April 26 at the higher seed. Semifinal winners will meet Saturday, April 29 at the highest remaining seed. Game times are subject to change.

NAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament - Bracket