2008 Woodie Awards
RSSMen's Lacrosse: Team looks to close season with an upset
Squad to host No. 10 Notre Dame University for season finale on Sunday.
By Steven Balter
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Sports
The men's lacrosse team will close out their season when they host the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Ulrich Sports Complex Sunday.
Coming off a 11-5 loss to Patriot League rival No. 11 Bucknell University that put the Hawks out of post-season contention, Head Coach Kevin Cassese said the team's motivation and work ethic will be at a higher level.
"It's our season finale, so the motivation is two-fold," he said. "One is we want to end the season with a win, in addition its senior day. For the under classmen, we are looking forward to positioning ourselves for the future."
But every game is always crucial for the squad, Cassese said.
Although the team did not make the playoffs, the Hawks finished the season with two more wins than last season, which, Cassese said, is a step up.
The Hawks come into this game 6-8 on the season, 2-4 in league play. The squad is 4-3 at home.
Senior midfielder Fred Cassilly is one of nine seniors who will be honored Sunday as they play their last game in a Hawk uniform.
"We are really looking forward to the game this weekend," he said. "Notre Dame is a good team and we are looking forward to trying to get our seventh win. It is also the last game of the year and the last game ever for all of the seniors, it has been a great four years and we would love to end on a win."
Cassilly is third on the team in goals and total points with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 total points.
A win will not come easy against a Notre Dame squad who sits high on the national polls.
The Fighting Irish are 7-2 on the season and 1-1 in league play.
The Irish are led offensively by junior attackmen Ryan Hoff and Duncan Swezey, as well as senior attackman Alex Wharton who combine for the Irish's starting attack line.
Hoff has tallied 22 goals on the season while Swezey adds 16 and Wharton adds 11.
Wharton leads the team in assists with 17 and total points with 28.
In goal for the Irish stands Joey Kemp, who registered his hundreth save of the season against the University of Denver April 5.
Kemp has a 63 percent save percentage on the year.
The Hawks will continue to look to Cassilly for offensive production as well as junior attackmen Max Dahlem and Ricky Cornetta, who have netted 16 and 15 goals respectively.
The Hawks will also look deep into their lineup for production. Twenty different players have tallied at least one goal on the season.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawks will look for a big game from senior goalie Eric Spirko and senior defensemen Tom Allen and Dan Honeywell.
Spirko has registered 116 saves on the year with a 52 percent save percentage.
Honeywell and Allen are second on the team in groundballs with 40, only behind senior midfielder Stuart Baxter, the Hawks' face-off man.
Face-off will be at 1:00 p.m. Sunday at the Ulrich Sports Complex at Goodman Campus.
The game will be broadcast on lehighsports.com and Service Electric Cable channel two.
Coming off a 11-5 loss to Patriot League rival No. 11 Bucknell University that put the Hawks out of post-season contention, Head Coach Kevin Cassese said the team's motivation and work ethic will be at a higher level.
"It's our season finale, so the motivation is two-fold," he said. "One is we want to end the season with a win, in addition its senior day. For the under classmen, we are looking forward to positioning ourselves for the future."
But every game is always crucial for the squad, Cassese said.
Although the team did not make the playoffs, the Hawks finished the season with two more wins than last season, which, Cassese said, is a step up.
The Hawks come into this game 6-8 on the season, 2-4 in league play. The squad is 4-3 at home.
Senior midfielder Fred Cassilly is one of nine seniors who will be honored Sunday as they play their last game in a Hawk uniform.
"We are really looking forward to the game this weekend," he said. "Notre Dame is a good team and we are looking forward to trying to get our seventh win. It is also the last game of the year and the last game ever for all of the seniors, it has been a great four years and we would love to end on a win."
Cassilly is third on the team in goals and total points with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 total points.
A win will not come easy against a Notre Dame squad who sits high on the national polls.
The Fighting Irish are 7-2 on the season and 1-1 in league play.
The Irish are led offensively by junior attackmen Ryan Hoff and Duncan Swezey, as well as senior attackman Alex Wharton who combine for the Irish's starting attack line.
Hoff has tallied 22 goals on the season while Swezey adds 16 and Wharton adds 11.
Wharton leads the team in assists with 17 and total points with 28.
In goal for the Irish stands Joey Kemp, who registered his hundreth save of the season against the University of Denver April 5.
Kemp has a 63 percent save percentage on the year.
The Hawks will continue to look to Cassilly for offensive production as well as junior attackmen Max Dahlem and Ricky Cornetta, who have netted 16 and 15 goals respectively.
The Hawks will also look deep into their lineup for production. Twenty different players have tallied at least one goal on the season.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawks will look for a big game from senior goalie Eric Spirko and senior defensemen Tom Allen and Dan Honeywell.
Spirko has registered 116 saves on the year with a 52 percent save percentage.
Honeywell and Allen are second on the team in groundballs with 40, only behind senior midfielder Stuart Baxter, the Hawks' face-off man.
Face-off will be at 1:00 p.m. Sunday at the Ulrich Sports Complex at Goodman Campus.
The game will be broadcast on lehighsports.com and Service Electric Cable channel two.
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