|
Bucknell Places Six on All-Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Teams
April 25, 2007 LEWISBURG, Pa. - The 11-3 Bucknell men's lacrosse team, currently ranked 16th nationally, placed six players on the 2007 All-Patriot League Team, including first-team honorees Billy Haire (Darien, Conn./Darien) and Austin Winter (Boonton, Twp., N.J./Mt. Lakes). The six all-league picks are the team's most since 2002, when the Bison had three first-teamers and three second-teamers. Earning Second Team All-Patriot League honors were sophomore attackman Joe Mele (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial), senior midfielder Steve Case (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker), sophomore middie Perry Menzies (Upperco, Md./Hereford) and sophomore goalie Nick Sciubba (Sea Cliff, N.Y./Salisbury School). All six Bison earned all-conference honors for the first time. Haire is the top close defenseman on one of the nation's stingiest defensive units. The Bison enter this weekend's Patriot League Tournament ranked second nationally in scoring defense, allowing a meager 6.0 goals per game. Haire is typically assigned to the opposition's best offensive player, and he is a major reason why the team has allowed more than six goals only three times in 14 games this season. Haire has 34 ground balls, third-most on the team and most among defensemen. He was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Apr. 16. Winter is the first Bison freshman to earn First Team All-Patriot League accolades, and he is the team's first rookie to make either all-league team since Chris Cara was picked for the second team during his freshman year in 2002.
Winter made an immediate impact this spring, leading the Patriot League in both points (46) and assists (28). He ranks fifth nationally in assists per game and 23rd among Division I players in points per game. Winter has at least one point in every game this season and multiple points in 13 of 14 contests. His seven-point outing (4G, 3A) against Holy Cross on March 31 is the team's top single-game output of the year. Mele would have been a strong contender for first-team all-conference honors had he not suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Navy game on March 25. At the time of the injury, Mele had a league-high 24 goals in nine games. He still leads the Patriot League in goals per game. Mele, the 2006 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, scored five goals against both Penn and Lafayette, four against Fairfield and three at Mount St. Mary's. On the morning of the game in which he suffered the knee injury, Mele had been named to the Tewaaraton Trophy watch list. Case's first all-league certificate is a gratifying reward for a senior who was asked to take on a new role this season. He entered his senior year with 51 career points (23G, 28A), but for the good of the team he was asked to sacrifice some offensive production to help the team's transition game. As a result, Bucknell ranks second in the Patriot League in both clearing and riding efficiency, and with Case now a wing man on faceoffs, the Bison are much improved at the X this season after struggling mightily there a year ago. One of the team's fastest players, Case has a goal and five assists, and even though he missed three games with an injury, he is still tied for the team lead in ground balls with 38. He ranks fourth in the league in ground balls per game. Boasting perhaps the hardest shot on the team, Menzies has poured in a career-high 18 goals as a first-line midfielder this spring. Menzies leads the Patriot League in shot attempts with 102, and he has scored a number of big goals late in close games this season. Perhaps none was bigger than his third tally of the day in Bucknell's 11-10 overtime win over Hobart, when he tied the game in the final minute of regulation. He also scored the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter of a 6-5 win at Army. Menzies also scored three goals against Colgate on Saturday, and he potted two each against St. John's, Ohio State and Lehigh. After transferring from Massachusetts to Bucknell prior to this season, Sciubba proved to be one of the league's most significant newcomers in 2007. He opened the year as Bucknell's No. 2 goalie, but he came off the bench to help save the day against Hobart in the second game of the season and never relinquished the starting role. Sciubba currently leads all Division I goalies in both save percentage (.665) and goals-against average (5.83). He allowed six goals or less in all but two of his appearances and had more saves than goals allowed in every outing. His .665 save percentage would be Bucknell's highest since 1979 and would be the sixth-best in school history. The Patriot League office will announce the 2007 major award winners (Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year) on Thursday. Bucknell is seeded third at this weekend's Patriot League Tournament at Navy. The Bison will face second-seeded Colgate on Friday at 7 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. The game will air live on WVBU 90.5 FM and on the Web at www.BucknellBison.com and www.SportsJuice.com.
|
MULTIMEDIA 
Photo Galleries 
Facilities Gallery 
Coach's Bio 
Video Player HistoryCampsProspective Student-AthletesFacilities |
