College   Prep   H.S.   Pro Lax NE   Cannons   Blazers   ::   Recruiting   Equipment   Conditioning   ::   Camps   Tournaments  

• Contact Us
• Advertise
• Subscribe
• News Archives

February 1, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Men's D3: Williams set to challenge Middlebury

by Mike Zhe/

Last year, notes Williams coach George McCormack, was last year. Filed away. In the past.

But what a year.

The Ephmen rose from the sixth seed to win their first NESCAC tournament championship. They finished 10-6, ending their run with a second-round NCAA loss to eventual national semifinalist Ithaca.

With most of those players returning, Williams is seeing its name grace the national preseason polls. Two of its players — goalie Michael Gerbush and long-stick middie Brian Morrissey (Winchester, Mass.) — earned preseason All-America honors.

“Any time you’re recognized as a program it’s a positive — as long as you’re recognized for the right reasons,” McCormack said. “For all the hard work we’ve put in, it’s a nice reward. But the poll we care most about is the last poll.”

Morrissey collected 41 ground balls as the top cop of the midfield. Gerbush stopped 61 percent of the shots he faced and posted a 7.74 goals-against average.

Another player returning is sophomore attack David Hawley (New Canaan, Conn.), who earned ECAC Rookie of the Year honors after scoring a team-high 40 goals.

“We want him to continue his ways,” McCormack said. “More than just scoring, this year we want him to help out with assists because he’ll be drawing lots of attention.”

McCormack knows repeating won’t be easy — not in the deep NESCAC where the No. 6 seed has been good enough to walk off with the tournament title the past two springs.

And, as in most years, the first road block is Middlebury.

The Panthers are led by midfielder Mike Stone, the reigning Player of the Year in the NESCAC. He’s coming off a season in which he scored 29 goals and dished out 22 assists, and he plays in-your-face defense as well as anyone in the league.

Few teams in the league can match Middlebury’s firepower up front. Tom Petty (Newburyport, Mass.), Pete Smith (Wilton, Conn.) and Matt Ferrer (Darien, Conn.) combined for 59 goals, with Smith setting up 26 on his own.

The Panthers (13-3) were upset by Williams in the NESCAC semifinals but garnered an at-large bid to the NCAAs before exiting with an 11-10 second-round loss to eventual national runner-up Cortland. This year, the veterans are aiming for more.

“One year left and I want to make sure to get the most out of it,” Stone said.

Two years removed from an appearance in the Division 3 final four, Wesleyan (10-5) heads into battle with Spike Malangone, arguably the league’s strongest defender, and attacker Russ Follansbee (Deerfield, Mass.), who had more points per game a year ago (3.57) than anyone in the league. Both players were honored as preseason All-Americans.

Colby (6-8) has a new coach in Jon Thompson (Freeport, Maine), a former standout and assistant coach at Division 1 Brown. One aim will be playing well in April — the White Mules opened 5-0 a year ago before stumbling.

Bowdoin (12-7) was the other NESCAC team to get an NCAA invite and is aiming to return. Trinity (6-9), led by senior defender Connor Wells (Haddam, Conn.), eyes an improvement. Tufts (9-6), Connecticut College (10-6) and Amherst (8-7) also bear watching, while Bates (3-10) looks to climb out of the cellar.

Commonwealth Coast

Endicott would seem to be in great shape, losing just two starters off an 18-3 team that lost in the CCC final. But one of those losses was faceoff specialist John Ortolani (Billerica, Mass.), who made the training camp roster with MLL’s Boston Cannons.

Still, there’s plenty to be upbeat about.

Attacker Nick Cosco (Londonderry, N.H.) was the Offensive Player of the Year in the CCC after piling up 58 goals and a league-best 87 points. Goalie Eric Hagarty (Sudbury, Mass.) stopped 68 percent of the shots he faced and allowed fewer than six goals a game. Midfielder Eddie O’Reilly (Beverly, Mass.) was a second-team ECAC All-Star after tallying 49 goals and 15 assists.

“Where we’ve gotten stronger is with a really strong recruiting class,” coach Sean Quirk said. “I think we have a chance to be a little bit deeper.”

The Gulls’ loss to Western New England in the conference tournament final cost them a sixth straight trip to the NCAAs. They held out hope for an at-large bid, weren’t selected, and went on to win the ECAC Division 3 title.

Western New England (15-5) took some hits from graduation, losing four All-Americans, but should mount a good title defense after winning the title in its first year in the league and reaching the Division 3 quarterfinals for the second time in a row.

Attacker Brody Savoie (Wilbraham, Mass.) and defender Jared Pabis (Wilbraham, Mass.) are two of the best at their positions in the league, and WNEC fans are wondering what Rookie of the Year Joe O’Keefe (Branford, Conn.) will do for an encore. Savoie and O’Keefe both are coming off 33-goal seasons.

Roger Williams (9-8) is led by superb midfielder Joe Healy and attack David Hurley, who put up 34 goals and 61 points in 2008. Gordon (8-7) is looking to improve around a strong young nucleus.

Wentworth (7-8), Salve Regina (7-9), New England College (4-12), Nichols (1-14) and the University of New England (4-12) all are battling to stay out of the league’s second division.

Little East

Keene State is looking to return to the top and get back to the NCAAs after going 9-3 a year ago. Optimism starts with attack Tony Santa Fe (Derry, N.H.), the league’s top offensive player, who racked up 32 goals and 56 points last season.

Salem State, which played as an independent last year after four years at the club level, could be a factor. The Vikings are coming off an eight-win season and an appearance in the ECAC tournament, and they return junior attackman Justin Jones (Danvers, Mass.) who led the team with 29 goals and 23 assists.

Tournament champion Western Connecticut (13-7) boasts one of the region’s top snipers in 56-goal man Adam Lanehart (Redding, Conn.), while Eastern Connecticut (10-7), UMass-Dartmouth (10-5) and Plymouth State (12-7) should all offer challenges. UMass-Boston (4-11) and Southern Maine (4-12) look to improve upon last season’s lower-echelon finishes.

North Atlantic

Mount Ida (13-6) looks to repeat its undefeated league season, which was followed by its fifth straight NAC tournament title, and the Mustangs return a bunch of talent. Leading the way is senior Brett Conley (Fairfield, Conn.), who led the offense with 42 goals and 36 assists.

Castleton State (13-7) has been league tournament runner-up to Mount Ida in each of the past five seasons and hopes to break through in 2009, led by junior midfielder Jake Rick. Thomas (7-6) loses NAC Player of the Year Mike Ross but returns the Rookie of the Year in goalie Josh Collelo. Johnson State (7-4), Becker (7-6) and Maine Maritime (5-7) are looking to separate from the middle of the pack, while Emerson (4-12) and Daniel Webster (3-8) hope to avoid another finish at the bottom of the pile.

Expect the going to be tough for St. Joseph’s (2-9), Lyndon State (1-9) and Green Mountain (1-9), who join the NAC after playing last year as independents.

Pilgrim

Armed with a national preseason ranking, Springfield (11-7) again should be the class of the Pilgrim. Attack Jake Beebe (Sudbury, Mass.) is coming off a 30-goal, 65-point season and has plenty of surrounding talent to lighten his load. Sam Burrell (Cumberland, Maine) will anchor the back.

Babson (6-10), Wheaton (8-9) and Lasell (10-7) will jockey for the other top positions in the league. Mass. Maritime (4-8), MIT (4-9), Clark (4-11) and Norwich (3-8) are battling to climb out of the second division.