CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- University of Vermont rode the offensive firepower of attackmen Derek Lichtfuss (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s) and Drew Philie (Sandwich, Mass./Deerfield Academy) to win in its league opener Saturday and as a result has swept this week's conference awards. Lichtfuss earned Player of the Week accolades while Philie was named Rookie of the Week. The awards for the week ending April 4 were announced Monday afternoon.
Lichtfuss, a junior, equaled a Vermont single-game record with eight goals to lead the Catamounts to an 11-8 victory against Binghamton in both team's league opener on Saturday. Lichtfuss, a junior attack, scored four times in the first quarter to stake his team to a 5-1 lead after a period. He added three straight scores to bridge the second and third quarters after the Bearcats had trimmed the lead to 5-3. Lichtfuss more than doubled his season scoring output (15) and now ranks fifth among league leaders with 2.14 goals per game.
Philie (Sandwich, Mass./Deerfield Academy) scored a goal and added eight assists in the Catamounts' win Saturday. Philie's eight assists were the most ever during an America East contest, breaking the existing mark of seven set several times. Philie, who connected with Derek Lichtfuss seven times and Liam Carson once, found the back of the net himself midway through the fourth quarter to give his team a 10-5 lead. The freshman attack is third among league leaders with 17 assists and tied for fourth with 30 points.
Stony Brook, which downed UMBC 14-11 Saturday, rose five spots to No. 14 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll after being ranked 19th last week and climbed three spots to 17th in the USILA Coaches' Poll after coming in at 20th last week. Earlier in the week, Albany edged Hartford, 11-10, to win its ninth straight league opener. Conference action continues this weekend with Binghamton hosting UMBC and Stony Brook entertaining Hartford on Saturday and Vermont traveling to Albany on Sunday.
Team Notes
Albany (2-7, AE 1-0) won its America East opener for the ninth consecutive year in an 11-10 come-from-behind victory at Hartford on March 31 … Brian Caufield (Bay Shore, N.Y./West Islip) scored the winning goal with 4:45 remaining after his team trailed 8-4 in the third quarter … Albany’s comeback was its most dramatic since rallying from a 14-12 deficit with two minutes left against Dartmouth on April 24, 2007 … the Great Danes halted a six-game road losing streak that dated back to last April … Albany has won back-to-back one-goal decision for the first time since March 2006 … Dave Brock (Burlington, Ontario / Nelson) netted a career-high four goals, all in the second half, at Hartford … Brock, who has scored multiple goals nine times in his UAlbany career, gave his team its first lead in a man-advantage situation with 9:14 to play … Caufield added three goals and two assists … Caufield, who has 129 career points, has moved into sixth on the school’s career assists list with 68, moving past Kurt Randall ’94 … Luke Cometti (Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee) had a career-high three points (1G, 2A) vs. Hartford … the Great Danes fell to No. 2 Syracuse, 15-8, before 5,229 fans at the Carrier Dome on April 3 … UAlbany is 15-38 all-time vs. national top-20 programs … goalkeeper John Carroll (Nesconset, N.Y. / Smithtown East) made 14 saves … Carroll, who also stopped 10 shots at Hartford, has made double-figure saves in eight of nine starts this season …senior defenseman Mark Kelly (Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee) accounted for three caused turnovers and three ground balls in a return to his hometown ... defender Brendan Gleason (Wading River, N.Y. / Shoreham-Wading River) is eighth nationally in caused turnovers (2.13 pg) …UAlbany will meet Johns Hopkins and Vermont on consecutive days (April 10-11) this weekend … the Great Danes have not played back-to-back in the regular season since 2000.
Binghamton (2-7, AE 0-1) senior attack Jeff Rurey (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) broke the Binghamton program record with eight goals in the Bearcats’ game against Lehigh on March 30. His eight total points also broke the program’s single-game record. Rurey followed up with two more goals against Vermont on April 3… the previous record of six goals was set twice, including once by current freshman attack Matt Springer (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) against Villanova back on March 2. The previous program record of seven points was set by Stephen Smith against Hartford on April 16, 2005 … Rurey, who has 18 goals so far this season, has four multiple-goal games, including a pair of hat tricks. … Springer, meanwhile, tallied a career-high three assists against Lehigh on March 30 and followed up with a pair of goals on April 3 against Vermont. Springer has 19 goals so far this season. He has recorded at least one point in all nine games. He has six career multiple-goal games, including a pair of hat tricks. As of March 28, he was ranked No. 28 in the nation with 2.43 goals per game … sophomore face off specialist Jeff Donigan (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) was ranked No. 12 in the nation with 5.43 ground balls per game as of March 28 … also in last week’s statistics, Binghamton as a team was ranked No. 18 in the nation with 11.71 saves per game.
Hartford (3-6, AE 0-1) split a pair of home games, first dropping a devastating 11-10 decision in its conference opener with Albany and then scoring a dramatic 10-9 comeback victory over Quinnipiac … Hartford broke down the Bobcats’ defense that ranked second in the nation and erased a 9-5 fourth quarter deficit by reeling off five-straight goals … Aidan Genik (Toronto, Ontario/Malvern C.I.) netted a hat trick, including the game winner with 1:31 remaining, during the Hawks five-goal rally that spanned the final 11:52 of the game … The attackman finished with three goals and an assist … Prior to Saturday, the fourth quarter had been the Hawks’ weakness as they had been outscored by their opponents 20-9 in the final stanza while seeing four fourth quarter leads disappear … Scott Bement (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) earned the win inside the cage with nine saves … On Wednesday, the Hawks could not hold on to a fourth quarter lead and lost 11-0 to Albany in both teams’ conference openers… The Hawks built a 7-4 halftime lead but were outscored 7-3 by the Great Danes over the final 30 minutes … Carter Bender (Caledon, Ontario/Brewster Academy) and Ryan Compitello (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) each netted a pair of goals and assisted on one to lead Hartford … Sophomore duo Genik and Compitello have surpassed the mid-way mark of the 100-Point Club … Genik has notched 64 points while Compitello registers 55 points … Sophomores Bender and Compitello are currently riding respective 22 and 21 game scoring streaks … The pair is just one of 22 players in the country who have recorded a point in at least 15 consecutive games …The Hawks return to action on Saturday, April 10 when they travel to Long Island to face the Stony Brook Seawolves … Opening face-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Playing for the first time in two weeks, UMBC (1-6, AE 0-1) dropped its conference opener, losing a 14-11 decision to visiting Stony Brook … It was the Seawolves’ first victory over UMBC in six tries, dating back to a 12-6 SBU triumph in 2005… The Retrievers had won 13 consecutive America East regular season home games dating back to a loss to Stony Brook in April of 2004… UMBC senior attackman Matt Latham (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty), UMBC’s America East Player of the Game, continued his assault on Stony Brook with a season-high four goals… He has 15 goals in five career contests against the Seawolves… The Retrievers fell behind, 7-2, but a 6-2 run, capped by a Latham goal just 5:16 into the third quarter brought the hosts to within 9-8… But SBU scored four of the next five goals and held off the Retrievers in the fourth quarter… Junior midfielder Jamie Kimbles (Centreville, Md./Queen Anne’s) and senior midfielder Kyle Wimer (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) each had two goals and two assists for the Retrievers… UMBC outshot Stony Brook, 36-26, but the nation’s most accurate shooting team (37.3% entering the game) put 19-of-26 shots on goal… Retriever senior goalkeeper Kevin Kohri (Sykesville, Md./Century) had five saves…Wimer pushed his scoring streak to 26 consecutive games with his four-point effort… He is now tied for 18th place on UMBC’s all-time scoring list with 118 points (60 goals, 58 assists)… Latham now has 29 goals in his last 11 America East contests… UMBC has allowed the first goal of the game and trailed after one quarter in all six of its setbacks this season… The Retrievers still lead the all-time series with Stony Brook at 11-5… UMBC visits Towson in their final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday evening and heads to Binghamton for a Saturday evening contest against the Bearcats… UMBC has won three straight in the series with the Tigers and nine in a row against the Bearcats… However, three of UMBC’s last six wins vs. Binghamton have occurred in overtime.
#17/15 Stony Brook (6-3, AE 1-0) defeated UMBC, 14-11, on Saturday afternoon… Junior Jordan McBride (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) led all players with six goals… The win snapped a five-game losing streak against UMBC, and also broke the Retrievers’ 13-game conference home winning streak... The Seawolves, the nation's most accurate shooting team entering today's game, was outshot by UMBC, 36-26, but connected on 14-of-19 shots on goal… Junior Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) added three goals and two assists and sophomore Robbie Campbell (Delta, British Columbia/Seaquam) had a goal and a career-high four assists to pace the Seawolves… Senior Charlie Paar (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) was outstanding, finishing with a season-high 15 saves… Ten of the 15 came in the second half…. Junior Adam Rand (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) continued his solid play at the face-off `x', winning 19-of-28 attempts. He also added a game-high seven ground balls… Stony Brook hosts Hartford on Saturday evening in its next game.
Vermont (2-7, AE 1-0) defeated Binghamton 11-8 at Moulton Winder Field on Saturday in the America East opener for both teams … The victory ended a six-game losing streak to the Bearcats dating back to 2004 … Junior Derek Lichtfuss (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s) matched a Vermont single-game record with eight goals … Lichtfuss' eight goals were the most in a game for a Catamounts since Trevor Wagar '08 scored eight times in a 9-6 win at Holy Cross on April 22, 2008 … Lichtfuss leads the team in goals this season with 15 … Freshman Drew Philie (Sandwich, Mass./Deerfield Academy) recorded a goal and eight assists in the win against the Bearcats … Philie's eight assists were one shy of matching the UVM single-game record set by Scott Montgomery '86. Montgomery had nine assists on three occasions with the last coming on March 23, 1986 against Ohio State … Philie leads the team in scoring this season with 30 points (13g, 17a) … Sophomore Geoff Worley (Coronado, Calif./Coronado HS) has a nine-game scoring streak to begin the season … He is second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points … Sophomore Tom Frasca (Medfield, Mass./Medfield HS) went 15-for-23 on face offs and had a team-high eight ground balls against Binghamton … Vermont visits Holy Cross on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before returning to America East action on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Albany.