June 13, 2006

For the second straight year, a strong season ended in disappointment for the Mount St. Mary's men's lacrosse team.  The Mount saw Providence rally for an 8-6 victory in the championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.  It was the second-straight year that the Mount saw its NCAA Tournament hopes dashed in the MAAC title tilt.

Despite the heart-breaking loss to the Friars, the Mount continues to be one of the top programs in the conference.  The Mount tied for the regular season title this year, its fourth regular season championship since joining the league in 1996.  In addition, the Mount has compiled an impressive 71-16 (.816) all-time record in MAAC regular season games while advancing to the MAAC title game in five of the seven years the tournament has been held.

The 2006 season marked the return of head coach Tom Gravante, who missed last year to concentrate on his health.  Gravante quickly established the Mount as one of the top defensive teams in the MAAC.  The Mount allowed just 6.25 goals per game in MAAC regular season play, holding each of the final eight opponents to under 10 goals.  It was the first time the Mount has done that since the school moved to NCAA Division I in 1989.

The Mount opened the season with a difficult stretch of non-conference games.  In the season opener, the Mount lost to Bucknell, 16-9.  Not only did the Mount lose the game, but face-off specialist Kyle Daddio was also lost for the season with an injury.  The Mount followed with losses to #11 Delaware, Lehigh and #2 Virginia, all on the road, in the next three games.

The Mount then opened MAAC play when Siena visited Alumni Field for the team's first home game of the season.  The  Mount led 9-6 in the fourth quarter, but suffered a heart-breaking defeat when the Saints rallied for a 10-9 triple-overtime victory.  The Mount rebounded with a convincing 10-3 win over Manhattan behind three goals from senior Matt Warner.

The Mount closed out its non-conference schedule with losses at #5 Georgetown and #7 Johns Hopkins.  The Mount's tough non-conference schedule helped prepare the team for the rigors of MAAC play as the team rattled off five straight wins, all in MAAC play, to set up a showdown at Providence for the top seed in the MAAC Tournament.

Included in the five-game win streak was a 14-5 win at defending MAAC champion Marist and a 7-6 victory over Canisius in a driving rain storm at home.  The Mount held off St. Joseph's, 7-5, to cap the streak to head into the game at Providence with a 6-1 MAAC record.  The Friars knocked off the Mount, 8-3, in the regular season finale, meaning the Mount would share the MAAC regular season crown with Providence and Canisius.

In the MAAC Tournament, Jason Werner scored four times to lead the Mount to a 13-9 victory over Canisius in the semifinals.  With the win, the Mount advanced to the championship game of the MAAC Tournament for the second straight year and the fifth time in the seven seasons the tournament has been held.

In the title game, the Mount jumped to a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter and held a 6-4 edge with 10:28 remaining after a goal by Eric Seifert.  The Friars, however, scored the final four goals of the game to rally for the conference title and the MAAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Warner led the Mount offense once again, pacing the team with 29 goals and 15 assists for 44 points.  Warner's goal in the MAAC championship game against Providence gave him 138 for his career, breaking the Mount's all-time record for career goals.  Warner, a First Team All-MAAC selection, finished his career at the Mount with 138 goals, 54 assists and 192 points in 64 games.  He leaves as the all-time leader in goals and is sixth all-time in points.

Fellow senior attack Werner also leaves his named etched in the Mount record books.  Werner tallied 19 goals and dished out seven assists for 26 points this year.  Werner became the 19^th person in Mount history to reach 100 career points and leaves the school 17^th on the all-time scoring list with 113 points (70g, 43a).  Werner scored four goals in a game twice this season (vs. Canisius and at Wagner) while recording five multiple-goal efforts.

Junior Benjamin Mundorf had a breakout season as the Mount's third starter at the attack position.  Mundorf was second on the team in goals (21), assists (13) and points (34).  Mundorf recorded back-to-back five-point games, including a four-goal, one-assist effort in the Mount's 14-5 win at Marist.  He scored a goal in each of the final five games of the season and recorded a point in each of the final 12 games of the year.  Mundorf had two or more points in 11 of the Mount's 16 games.

Seifert, a junior midfielder, earned First Team All-MAAC honors after posting 12 goals and two assists for 14 points this season.  Seifert, who took over face-off duties after Daddio's injury, won 68 of 157 face-offs (.433) on the year.  Seifert won 13-of-21 face-offs to help lead the Mount to a 13-9 win over Canisius in the MAAC semfinals.  In the MAAC championship game, Seifert found the back of the cage two times.

Senior tri-captain Tilghman Herring had a solid season for the Mount, tallying nine goals and five assists for 14 points.  Herring had three goals and an assist in the MAAC Tournament to earn All-Tournament team honors.  A MAAC All-Academic selection, Herring finished his career at the Mount with 47 points (29g, 18a) and 64 ground balls in 50 career games.

Sophomore Dave Orban also enjoyed a breakout season for the Mount in the midfield.  Orban tallied 11 goals and chipped in five assists for 16 points on the season.  Orban scored a career-high four goals in the Mount's 9-6 win over VMI.  He had a goal and three assists in the Mount's 17-7 win over Wagner and he chipped in a pair of goals in the Mount's 13-9 MAAC semifinal win over Canisius.  Orban was second on the team with six extra-man goals.

Junior Peter Kerwin emerged as one of the Mount's top two-way players in 2006.  Kerwin had three goals and three assists in the midfield while scooping up a team-leading 50 ground balls.  Kerwin had a goal and an assist in the MAAC semifinal win over Canisius.  He had a season-high seven ground balls in the Mount's 10-3 win over Manhattan.

Sophomores Adam Sharretts and Joseph Derwent each made strides in their second season with the team.  Sharretts tallied five goals and five assists while seeing action in both the midfield and attack.  Sharretts scored a career-best two goals in the Mount's losses at Bucknell and Johns Hopkins.  He ended the season with a three-game point-scoring streak.  Derwent had five goals and three assists for eight points while appearing in all 16 games this year.  Derwent had a career-best three points (2g, 1a) in the Mount's 9-6 win over VMI.  He also chipped in a pair of goals in the Mount's 10-3 victory over Manhattan.

Senior tri-captain Pat Farrell, the 2006 MAAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was the backbone of the Mount defense.  Farrell, a First Team All-MAAC selection, started all 15 games he played, tallying 37 ground balls on the season.  The Mount's top defensive player, Farrell had a season-high seven ground balls in the 14-5 win over Marist.  Farrell also earned MAAC Tournament team honors after his solid performance in the two games.  Farrell leaves the Mount with 107 career ground balls in 62 games played.

Fellow senior Sean O'Beirne also enjoyed a tremendous season, earning Second Team All-MAAC honors.  O'Beirne had three goals in 2006 while picking up 33 ground balls.  O'Beirne scored twice in the Mount's 10-3 win over Manhattan and added a goal in the Mount's 17-7 victory at Wagner. He finishes his career at the Mount with six goals, two assists and 100 ground balls in 60 games.  O'Beirne earned MAAC All-Tournament team honors after helping the Mount to the MAAC title game for the second-straight season.

Sophomore Patrick Hanigan was the Mount's third starter on defense, tallying 17 ground balls while starting all 16 games.  Hanigan had a career-high four ground balls in the Mount's loss to eventual national champion Virginia.

The goalkeeper position was a question mark for Gravante heading into the season, but the play of juniors Joe Zolezzi and Chris Channing made it a strength in 2006.  A Second Team All-MAAC selection, Zolezzi started each of the first 13 games of the season before a knee injury at St. Joseph's kept him out of the lineup except the final 4:39 of the MAAC Championship game.  Zolezzi had a 9.83 GAA on the season while making 143 saves.  He earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on two occasions and was outstanding in MAAC games, posting a 5.54 GAA and a .676 save percentage in conference tilts.

Channing took over in goal for the Mount after Zolezzi's injury and played well.  The junior MAAC All-Academic selection had a 9.32 GAA and a .470 save percentage on the season.  He made five saves in the Mount's MAAC semifinal win over Canisius.  Channing made a season-high nine saves in the Mount's key win over St. Joseph's.  He allowed five goals in 42:01 of action in that game.

Junior Nick Jackson was the Mount's top long-stick midfielder, starting 14 of 16 games in 2006 while scooping up 20 ground balls.  Freshman Charles White tallied a goal and an assist while picking up 10 ground balls in the defensive midfielder role.  White scored in the Mount's 17-7 win at Wagner.  Sophomore Shaun Moran, a MAAC All-Academic Team selection, had two goals and an assist in 15 games in 2006.  Moran, who won 48 face-offs and picked up 35 ground balls on the season, had a goal and an assist in the Mount's 10-9 triple-overtime loss to Siena.  Senior Joe Bello had three goals and two assists on the season for the Mount.

Freshmen Jeremy Weitz and Adam VanLeeuwen played well for the Mount in 2006.  Weitz had three goals and two assists for five points in 14 games.  Weitz scored a goal in three straight games (at Georgetown, at Johns Hopkins and at Marist) while producing a four-game point streak.  VanLeeuwen appeared in 14 games as the Mount's top defenseman off the bench.  He earned his first collegiate start at #5 Georgetown, picking up two ground balls in the game.

Others to see action in 2006 for the Mount included defenseman Brian Carroll (5 games, 2 GB), Joe Conner (2 games), Evan Cord (9 games), Brent Effenberger (9 games), Geery Grant (8 games), Chris McCarron (4 games), Kyle Mooney (9 games, 4 GB), Andy Wassman (1 game), Collin Welsh (12 games, 3 GB) and Thomas Whiting (5 games).

The 2006 season saw the Mount challenge for another conference title and maintain its reputation as one of the top teams in the MAAC.  Despite losing five starters to graduation, the Mount has plenty of returnees at key positions to help the team challenge for the top spot in the conference in 2007.