During their scoring barrage in the first half, Jon Hayes (Waltham, MA), Joe O’Keefe (Branford, CT), Brody Savoie (Wilbraham, MA) and Tim Santye (Skillman, NJ) each netted a pair of goals.

WNEC scored the first three goals following intermission, including a pair from Scott Kukis (Sudbury, MA), and led 13-0.

Hayes, Santye and Kukis each finished with a game-high three goals in the win.

WestConn got on the scoreboard with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter when senior midfielder Dennis Skarda (Danbury, CT) scored his 15^th goal of the season.  He added his 16^th goal off an assist from John Dipientrantonio (Yorktown Heights, NY).  That marker closed out the scoring with 1:27 left in the game.

Skarda’s two goals led WestConn’s offense in the school’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.  Ron Pac (Glastonbury, CT) and Tom Begley (East Islip, NY) registered their 25^th and 18^th goals, respectively, for the Colonials’ other goals.

Chris Body (Newtown, CT) had a stellar performance in goal for the Golden Bears.  The 2007 All-American made 10 saves before yielding to Ben Barlow (Newport, RI) for the final 15 minutes.  Barlow made three stops in relief.

Junior goalie Kyle Wood (Hyde Park, NY) made 11 saves on the afternoon for the Colonials, which end their season at 13-7.
 

Lacrosse Game Summary (Final)

Western Connecticut vs #15 Western New England (May 07, 2008 at Springfield, Mass.)
Date: May 07, 2008  Location: Springfield, Mass.    Stadium: WNEC Stadium        
Attendance:372   Start time:4:00 pm   End time:5:50 pm   Total time:1:50    

SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Western Connecticut.  0  0  2  2 -  4
Western New England.  8  2  4  0 - 14

Western Connecticut SCORING: GOALS: Dennis Skarda 2; Ron Pac 1; Tom Begley 1. 
ASSISTS: Vincent Bevilacqua 1; Jim Dipientrantonio 1. 

Western New England SCORING: GOALS: Jon Hayes 3; Tim Santye 3; 
Scott Kukis 3; Joe O'Keefe 2; Brody Savoie 2; Mike Kelly 1.  
ASSISTS: Mike Kelly 3; Joe O'Keefe 2; Bryan Cofrin 1; Jon Hayes 1; 
Tim Heffernan 1; Jared Pabis 1; Brody Savoie 1; Stephen Toomy 1. 

Western Connecticut GROUND BALLS: Mat Castelot 5; Adam Lanehart 5; 
|Ron Pac 4; Alex Gisolfi 3; James Rosenbauer 3; Gary Schultz 3; 
Terry Stroz 3; Kyle Wood 3; Joseph Aitken 2; Tom Begley 2; Nick Spirito 2; 
George Tsirigotis 2; Mike Barnao 1; Stephen Czelatka 1; A. J. Barbieri 1; 
Tom Nahornick 1; Dennis Skarda 1; Kirk Zachary 1. 

Western New England GROUND BALLS: Matt McAnneny 8; Jedd Brown 6; 
Travis Brown 5; Tim Heffernan 5; Brian Praetorius 4; Derek Mantey 3; 
Joe O'Keefe 3; Tim Santye 3; Nick Zeleski 3; Bryan Cofrin 2; Brian
Damboise 2; Billy Kelsey 2; Jared Pabis 2; David Teichman 2; Stephen Toomy 2; 
Chris Body 1; Chuck Cartelli 1; Nick Coppola 1; Ian Franckling 1; Jon Hayes 1; 
Colin Houlihan 1; Mike Kelly 1; Scott Kukis
1; Ben Reardon 1; Brody Savoie 1. 

SHOTS - Western Connecticut 33; Western New England 35.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Western Connecticut 17; Western New England 25.

PENALTIES - Western Connecticut 9/7:30; Western New England 7/5:00.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Western Connecticut 1-7; Western New England 3-9.

FACEOFFS - Western Connecticut 11-21; Western New England 10-21.

CLEARS - Western Connecticut 21-32; Western New England 28-36.

GOALIES - WCSUML: Kyle Wood 12-7 (60:00 minutes, 25 shots-11 saves, 14 GA); 
WNEC: Ben Barlow (15:00, 5-3, 2) , Chris Body 11-4 (45:00, 12-10, 2).

Start time: 4:00 pm   Finish time: 5:50 pm   Length of game: 1:50 
Officials: Tim McCaffrey; Dave Pinciaro; Brian Richardson. Scorer: Scott Ames.

JASON OUELLET NAMED LITTLE EAST CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
Adam Lanehart, Dennis Skarda and Gary Schultz Named to All-Star First TeaM
A.J. Barbieri honored on Second Team

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Little East Conference office announced its annual men’s lacrosse all-conference and end of the season awards this afternoon after a vote by the conference’s seven head coaches. Keene State College junior attack Tony Santa Fe (Derry, N.H.) was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate senior goalie Matt Johnson (Derry, N.H.) was selected the Defensive Player of the Year. Eastern Connecticut freshman attack Brendan Hoppey (Shoreham, N.Y.) earned Rookie of the Year, while Western Connecticut State University boss Jason Ouellet was tabbed Coach of the Year.

Santa Fe became the fifth consecutive Keene State College student-athlete to earn at least a share of the conference’s top offensive award. The Derry, N.H. product ranks among the national leaders in points per game (10th, 4.67), assists per game (21st, 2.00), and goals per game (27th, 2.67). Santa Fe scored at least a point in 11 of his 12 contests this season, including registering at least four points in 11 games. He netted a season-high eight points against Wheaton (Mass.) on April 5, netting two markers and handing out a season-best six helpers.

Johnson became the first student-athlete in the conference’s history to win the top defensive award three times in his career. He backstopped the Owls to the stingiest penalty-killing unit in the conference, fending off 89.1 percent of man-down opportunities. The native of Derry, N.H. reached double digits in saves in eight of his 12 games, including a season-high 20 at Western Connecticut on April 12. The 2007 All-American sported a 7.58 goals against average and a .629 save percentage during his swan song season.

Hoppey became the fourth Eastern Connecticut student-athlete to capture the top rookie award and first since junior goalie Kyle Savage was honored in 2006. The Shoreham, N.Y. product made an immediate impact in the Warriors starting line-up, leading the team in assists (22). A starter in 15 of 16 contests, Hoppey handed out at least two helpers in six games, including a season-high four at the Colonials on April 2. He finished his rookie season as Eastern Connecticut’s fourth leading scorer with 36 points and fifth in markers (14). Hoppey netted his first collegiate goal at Lasell College on March 8.

Ouellet led Western Connecticut State University to the program’s first Little East Conference Championship Tournament this past weekend, defeating Plymouth State University in the finals to advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Colonials are red hot entering the national tournament riding a five-game win streak to raise their overall record to 13-6. In addition to the program’s first conference tournament championship, Ouellet led his charges to the most single-season victories in Western Connecticut’s history. A tremendous motivator, he mentored four all-conference selections this season, including three on the first team.

Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College, and Western Connecticut each placed four student-athletes on the 12-person Little East All-Conference first-team. The Warriors added four second team selections to pace the all-conference balloting, while the Owls and Colonials earned three and one second team vote, respectively. Plymouth State University and UMass Dartmouth rounded out the all-conference second team with two selections.

Initially formed in 1986 as a six-team men's and women's basketball conference, the Little East Conference has since grown to its present eight-school membership, sponsoring championship play in 19 intercollegiate athletics: baseball; men's and women's basketball; men's and women's cross country; field hockey; men's and women's lacrosse; men's and women's soccer; softball; women's swimming; men's and women's tennis; men's and women's indoor track; men's and women's outdoor track and women's volleyball.

 

2008 Little East Men’s Lacrosse Awards

Name                	Position     	Class        	Institution
First Team
Matt Johnson          	Goalie        	Senior       	Keene State College
Adam Lanehart           Attack 		Sophomore      	Western Connecticut
Tony Santa Fe 		Attack 		Junior  	Keene State College
Matthew Savage         	Attack 		Junior  	Eastern Connecticut
Pete Hamilton 		Midfield      	Senior  	Eastern Connecticut
Ryan Hazelton         	Midfield     	Senior  	Keene State College
Dennis Skarda 		Midfield      	Senior  	Western Connecticut
Easton Kezer   		L-S Mid       	Junior  	Keene State College
Steve Lane      	Defense        	Junior  	Eastern Connecticut
Gary Schultz   		Defense        	Senior  	Western Connecticut
Mike Silvestrini      	Defense       	Senior  	Eastern Connecticut

Second Team
Kyle Savage    		Goalie  	Junior  	Eastern Connecticut
A.J. Barbieri    	Attack 		Sophomore      	Western Connecticut
Brian Giroux   		Attack 		Sophomore      	Plymouth State University
Brendan Hoppey         	Attack 		Freshman     	Eastern Connecticut
Adam Krinsky            Attack 		Senior  	Plymouth State University
Josh Arsenault 		Midfield       	Freshman      	UMass Dartmouth
Michael Fontaine        Midfield      	Senior  	Keene State College
D.J. Simmons  		Midfield       	Junior  	Eastern Connecticut
Jon Snedeker   		L-S Mid        	Senior  	Eastern Connecticut
Tarek Donnelly         	Defense       	Junior  	UMass Dartmouth
Kevin McCarthy         	Defense       	Junior  	Keene State College
Mike Wood     		Defense       	Senior  	Keene State College

WestConn wins Little East Conference Men’s Lacrosse Title
with 18-7 win over Plymouth State University
Dennis Skarda named Most Outstanding Player

DANBURY, CT (May 3) – Junior goalie Kyle Wood (Hyde Park, NY) stopped nearly everything and the Western Connecticut State University offense was nearly unstoppable.  A great combination on Saturday afternoon as the Colonials captured the Little East Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship with a convincing 18-7 victory over Plymouth State University at WestConn Athletic Complex before 500 fans.  With the LEC crown comes an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championships that begin on Wednesday, May 7.

Senior midfielder Dennis Skarda (Danbury, CT), who had three goals and four assists against the Panthers, was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.  It was his goal on Thursday afternoon, in the closing seconds, that sent the game into overtime against Keene State College.  The Colonials went on to defeat the Owls, 14-13, on A. J. Barbieri’s maker 2:19 into the extra time to send them to today’s title match.

The Colonials edged Plymouth State, 9-7, back on March 29 at The WAC.  Since then, they have won nine of 12 games and ran their winning streak to four games today.

 “We are a much different team than we were the last time we played Plymouth State,” said Skarda.  “Everything has come together for us over the past four or five games.  We knew we would be tough to beat today and it was a team effort across the board.”

On Saturday, the contest appeared to be just as tightly matched through the first 15 minutes of play.  WestConn jumped out to a 2-0 lead following a goal from Adam Lanehart (Redding, CT) at 10:36.  Plymouth State rallied right back and evened the score at 2-2 when Matt Johansmeyer (Shelburne Falls, MA) registered his eighth goal of the season.

As the first quarter wound down, Skarda connected with Lanehart and the Colonials took a 4-2 lead into the second stanza.  That assist gave Skarda 200 points for his career, but he was far from done on the day.  The Danbury High School graduate went on to score three goals of his own and assist on three others before the final buzzer sounded.

WestConn, 13-6, pulled away from the Panthers during the second quarter.  It outscored the visitors, 7-1 during the period and took an 11-3 lead into intermission.  During the quarter, Tom Begley (East Islip, NY) scored three goals and was one of four Colonials’ players to have at least three goals. 

Plymouth State came out of the locker room after intermission and drew within seven goals, 11-4 in the first 13 seconds, but WestConn would not allow it to get any closer, scoring three unanswered goals over the next 10 minutes.  Skarda netted his 13^th and 14^th goals during that stretch, but the Colonials weren’t ready to celebrate, yet.  It wasn’t until they went into the final stanza with a 14-5 lead before they felt comfortable.

Lanehart continued his blistering goal-scoring pace with a game-high four goals on Saturday.  He goes into the NCAA Tournament ranked in the Top 25 nationally with 56 goals.

“After coming off Thursday’s win over Keene State and putting up 14 goals against them, we were fired up today,” stated Lanehart. 

Lanhart had a lot of praise for Skarda and Woods after the game.

“It’s been a pleasure to play with Dennis the past two years, I’m going to miss him next year,” added the Joel Barlow graduate.  “He seems to know where I am on the field at all times.  When Kyle is on, we are on, and today, he and the defense were fantastic,” added Lanehart.

Wood made 13 saves on the afternoon, the bulk of those coming in the first 30 minutes and almost single-handedly kept the potent Plymouth State offense at bay.  The Panthers’ top two scorers Adam Krinsky (Concord, NH) and Brian Giroux (Wolfeboro Falls, NH) (57 goals between them coming into Saturday) combined for two goals in the title game.

“Our philosophy today was to be aggressive defensively and get ahead of Plymouth,” said Wood.  “We were that and then some today.”

Since its loss to Keene State 14-5, back on April 12, WestConn has only one loss and the offense has put up an average of more than 13 goals and given up fewer than seven a game.

Plymouth State was coming off a monumental upset in the Little East Conference semifinals as well, upsetting top seed Eastern Connecticut State University, 11-10 in double overtime on Thursday.

“We have been on a hot streak of late,” stated fifth-year PSU head coach Andrew Brauch.  “Before the game, we talked about not watching the ball, and today we got caught watching the ball.  Today, WestConn was the better team and we did not bring our “A” game.”

GAME NOTES:  It was the first championship of any kind for the rather young WestConn lacrosse program, which began playing at the intercollegiate level in 2004.  The Colonials will find out their opponent on Sunday night when the NCAA has its Selection Show from its headquarters in Indianapolis.

Plymouth State (12-6) vs. Western Connecticut (13-6)
Date: May 03, 2008  Location: Danbury, Conn.        Stadium: WestConn Ath Complex
Attendance:500   Start time:2:00 pm   End time:4:05pm    Total time:2:05    

SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Plymouth State......  2  1  2  2 -  7
Western Connecticut.  4  7  3  4 - 18

Plymouth State SCORING: GOALS: Steve Engel 2; Adam Krinsky 1; Brian
Giroux 1; Tony Aguiar 1; Matt Johansmeyer 1; Sam Waszkelewicz 1. 
ASSISTS: Adam Krinsky 2; Brian Giroux 1. 

Western Connecticut SCORING: GOALS: Adam Lanehart 4; Dennis Skarda 3;
Tom Begley 3; George Tsirigotis 3; Kirk Zachary 2; A. J. Barbieri 1;
Vincent Bevilacqua 1; John McGrath 1. 
ASSISTS: Dennis Skarda 4; Tom Begley 2; Ron Pac 2; Mike Barnao 1; A.
J. Barbieri 1; Tom Nahornick 1; George Tsirigotis 1. 

Plymouth State GROUND BALLS: Mike Russell 5; Jason Shinkwin 4; Tim
Hadley 3; Jordan Buzzell 2; Steve Engel 2; Adam Krinsky 2; Conor
McCullough 2; Billy Morgan 2; Ryan Schneeloch 2; Kyle Shea 2; Kyle
Belanger 1; John Cogswell 1; Justin Dube 1; Brian Giroux 1; Kevin
Hayes 1; Jesse Holland 1; Sam Lemanski 1. 

Western Connecticut GROUND BALLS: Terry Stroz 16; A. J. Barbieri 8;
Adam Lanehart 4; Mike Barnao 3; Mat Castelot 3; Alex Gisolfi 3; Kyle
Wood 3; Tom Begley 2; Vincent Bevilacqua 2; Tom Nahornick 2; Ron Pac
2; Dennis Skarda 2; George Tsirigotis 2; Joseph Aitken 1; Gary Schultz
1; Kirk Zachary 1. 

SHOTS - Plymouth State 35; Western Connecticut 53.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Plymouth State 21; Western Connecticut 26.

PENALTIES - Plymouth State 13/12:00; Western Connecticut 7/5:30.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Plymouth State 2-7; Western Connecticut 3-13.

FACEOFFS - Plymouth State 6-28; Western Connecticut 22-28.

CLEARS - Plymouth State 19-23; Western Connecticut 15-20.

GOALIES - PSUMLX: Kevin Hayes (11:08 minutes, 2 shots-0 saves, 2 GA) ,
Billy Morgan 11-6 (48:52, 24-8, 16); WCSUML: Chris Frappier (03:44,
2-1, 1) , Kyle Wood 12-6 (56:16, 19-13, 6).

Start time: 2:00 pm   Finish time: 4:05pm    Length of game: 2:05 
Officials: Peter Weaver; Michael Zeldman; Bob Arabian. Scorer: Scott
Russell.

A-500 T-2:05

KYLE WOOD AND SHAUNA MORASCO SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN
NCAA NATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE