CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - University at Albany, UMBC and University of Vermont were all victorious on the first weekend of America East Conference play in men's lacrosse. A pair of players from those teams, the Retrievers' Matt Latham (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) and the Great Danes' John Carroll (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East), have been named Player of Rookie of the Week, respectively, for leading their programs to victory. The accolades for the week ending March 29 were announced on Monday.
Latham, a junior attack, registered a season-high four points in UMBC's 14-8 win over Stony Brook in the league opener for both teams Saturday. Latham scored three goals, including the game-winner on an extra-man opportunity in the third quarter, and added an assist. He has scored six times over that past two games and the Retrievers are 6-0 when he tallies at least a point this season. Latham, a second-team All-America East choice last season. ranks ninth in the league in points (22) and is tied for 10th in goals (12) through the first eight games of the season.
Carroll, a freshman goaltender, made eight saves and picked up three ground balls to lead Albany to a 9-7 win over Binghamton in the America East opener for both teams on Saturday. The netminder led a defense that held that Bearcats scoreless for nearly 23 minutes after they had tied the score at six apiece with 9:07 left in the third quarter. Carroll also made three of those eight stops in the final period, including a point-blank save with 13 minutes left in regulation and the outcome still in the balance. The freshman has started all seven games of his career and is 5-2 with a .517 save percentage.
In the other league contest on Saturday, the Catamounts' Derek Lichtfuss and Geoff Worley each scored twice to lead UVM to an 8-7 win over Hartford.
As a result of last week's outcomes, UMBC is ranked sixth in both polls this week, rising up one spot in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and climbing two positions in the USILA Coaches Poll. The Retrievers won their third straight decision on Saturday, downing Stony Brook 14-8 in the league opener for both teams. Albany moved up to 18th in the USILA Poll following its 9-7 win over Binghamton Saturday. The Great Danes, who have won five of their last six games, maintained its No. 18 ranking in the Inside Lacrosse Poll.
Team-By-Team Notebook
Albany (5-2, 1-0 America East) began America East Conference play with a 9-7 victory at Binghamton on March 28... The Great Danes won their conference opener for the eighth consecutive year... UAlbany has won three of four on the road this season after recording just one away victory last spring... The Great Danes used strong defensive play to pull away by holding the Bearcats scoreless for nearly 23 minutes in the second half... After Binghamton tied the contest at six apiece with an extra-man goal, UAlbany responded with back-to-back goals one minute and 28 seconds apart... Mark Cometti (Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee) sent an underhanded blast into the net, before freshman Rocky Bonitatibus (Yorktown Heights, N.Y. / Yorktown) made use of a high-to-low motion from the right point... Joe Resetarits (Hamburg, N.Y. / Hamburg) sealed the outcome with 3:39 left in the final period as he faked and scored from left of the crease... Resetarits, a freshman, totaled three points for the fourth consecutive game with two goals and one assist... goalkeeper John Carroll (Nesconset, N.Y. / Smithtown East) made eight saves, including three in the fourth quarter... Carroll stopped defenseman John Dreska at point-blank range early in the period... senior midfielder John Alpizar (Summit, N.J. / Summit) had a career-best five ground balls and added his 40th career assist vs. Binghamton... Brian Caufield (Bay Shore, N.Y. / West Islip) accounted for three-plus points for the sixth time this season... Caufield, who had one goal and two assists, is among the nation’s leaders in points (4.14 pg) and assists (2.0 pg)... Spring Stomp, sponsored by the school’s Alumni Association, is scheduled for April 1... UAlbany will host a lacrosse doubleheader, with the men meeting conference opponent Hartford at 7:00 p.m... The game will be televised in the Capital Region on Time Warner Cable... UAlbany’s matchup with Johns Hopkins on April 4 with air on ESPNU, but shown on a tape-delay basis at 9 p.m.
Binghamton (1-7, 0-1 America East) senior attack Jake Boyce (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford) netted a goal against Albany on Saturday and He now has 53 career goals and is just two scores away from tying Matt McNamara (2004-07) for third place all time in program history. Furthermore, with 72 career points, Boyce is in fourth place all time in program history. He is seven points away from tying Rob Williams (2004-07) for third place all time ... senior goalie Larry Kline (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) recorded 10 saves in against Albany on Saturday. In Binghamton's past three games, Kline has made 12.0 saves per game ... junior attack Andy Cook (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) scored a goal against Albany, giving him 10 for the season. He has already matched his goal total from last season.
Hartford (0-8, 0-1 America East) lost two games by a combined three goals last week, a 9-7 decision to Yale followed by an 8-7 final at Vermont. Six of the Hawks' eight losses on the season have come by two goals or less, including three by a single score... Freshman Ryan Compitello (Hauppague, N.Y./Hauppague) led the team in scoring last week with four goals. He netted a pair of goals in both games, the first multi-goal efforts of his career... Freshman Scott Bement (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua, N.Y.) started both games in goal and made 28 saves, including a career-high 19 against Vermont. He leads the Hawks in saves with 64 on the season... The future looks bright for the Hawks as three freshmen lead the team in scoring. Aidan Genik (Toronto, Ontario/Univ. of Western Ontario) leads the squad in goals (14) and points (18) and has three hat tricks to his credit. Carter Bender (Caledon, Ontar io/Brewster Academy), who has10 goals and six assists for 16 points, has recorded a point in every game. Compitello leads the team with seven assists and has added eight goals for 15 points...Hartford will next play at Albany on Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m.
Ten different players scored for UMBC (6-2, 1-0 America East), as the eighth-ranked Retrievers defeated host Stony Brook (4-4, 0-1), 14-8, in the America East Conference opener for both teams...UMBC has won three straight and the 6-2 start is the Retrievers’ best since the same eight-game record in 1997. ..The team has won four straight over Stony Brook and improved to 10-4 all-time vs. the Seawolves...Junior attackman Matt Latham (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) led the balanced attack with three goals and an assist... Senior midfielder Peet Poillon (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley/Ohio State) added two goals and two assists and junior attackman Chris Jones (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) contributed two goals and a helper...UMBC never trailed, as Jones opened the scoring 1:40 into the game and Latham converted a feed from senior attackman Ryan Smith (Fallston, Md./Fallston /CCBC-Essex) at the 6:17 to give the Retrievers a 2-0 lead...Leading 6-4 at halftime, UMBC gained a comfortable lead as they outscored the Seawolves 4-1 in the third quarter and built the advantage to 11-5 as senior midfielder Alex Hopmann (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) scored his team-leading 20th goal of the season 3:11 into the fourth quarter... Junior midfielder Kyle Wimer (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) had a three-point game with a goal and two assists, while senior attackman Ryan Smith (Fallston, Md./Fallston/CCBC-Essex) and freshman attackman Rob Grimm (Black River, N.Y./Carthage) each scored a goal and an assist apiece... Sophomore midfielder Ryan Shields (Grasonville, Md./Kent Island) scored his first career goal in the fourth quarter...UMBC outshot Stony Brook, 40-30, and senior netminder Jeremy Blevins (Cockeysville, Md./Calvert Hall) made seven saves, allowing seven goals in nearly 59 minutes of action... The Retrievers entered the game with the third-best man-up success rate in the country (56 percent) and converted on all three opportunities in the game...Latham now has seven goals vs. the Seawolves in the last two meetings...The 14 goals scored vs. Stony Brook was UMBC’s top effort since a 17-10 win over Rutgers on Feb. 21... UMBC has won five of its six conference openers in the America East Conference... They will return home to face surging Towson on Tuesday evening (7:30 p.m.) at UMBC Stadium and host Binghamton on Saturday, April 4.
All of Stony Brook’s (4-4, 0-1 America East) wins and losses have come in streaks of at least two this season ... this is the second straight season that SBU has lost its first conference game of the season, both to UMBC ... the UMBC game halted a streak of scoring at least 10 goals in a game ... the crowd of 4,037 on Saturday was the largest of the season at LaValle Stadium ... it was also the third home attendance of more than 1,500 ... Jordan McBride’s two goals against UMBC gives him seven straight games with at least two goals ... McBride’s goals kept his scoring streak alive going back to last season ... he has now scored a point in 15 straight games, tops on the team ... McBride is now14th all-time at SBU with 69 career goals ... sophomore Adam Rand has been hot in the face-off circle ... against UMBC he won 19 of his 26 attempts (.731) ... over his last three games he has won over seventy percent of his attempts (56/79) ... Stony Brook’s three home losses this season have all come against ranked opponents.
Vermont (4-4, 1-0 America East) dropped a 16-8 decision to Brown on Tuesday and picked up an 8-7 win over Hartford on Saturday in the America East opener for both teams ... Senior Andrew Kelleher (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem) scored three goals on the week and has a team leading 23 goals on the season ... Kelleher is also tied for the team lead in ground balls with 23 ... Sophomore Derek Lichtfuss (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s) had three goals and two assists on the week ... He ranks second on the team in goals (15) and points (19) this season ... Freshman Geoff Worley (Coronado, Calif./Coronado) had three goals and two assists on the week ... Kelleher, Lichtfuss and Worley have accounted for 74-percent of Vermont’s goal scoring this season (46-of-62 goals) ... The trio has combined for 66 points ... Senior Justin Lubas (Freehold, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) stopped 10 shots in the win against Hartford ... The Catamounts out shot the Hawks 38-25 ... Vermont visits Fairfield on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and hosts Stony Brook on Saturday at 2 p.m.