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2010 Lacrosse
2009 Review(continued)
his defense picked up the ball and heaved it down field to get it out of danger. UAlbany’s goalie sprinted to the ball and fired it back down the field where it bounced through the entire defense and into a UAlbany player’s stick who shot it past Herbst. UAlbany tied it on that shot with .2 seconds left and went on to win in double-overtime. The Saints earned their first victory of the season in a neutral-site game against Presbyterian. Siena steamrolled the Blue Hose, 15-2, on Long Island before coming home for a tough homestand against ranked teams Loyola (Md.) and St. John’s and familiar foes Stony Brook and Saint Joseph’s. Siena went 1-3 in that span, beating Saint Joseph’s 13-4 in its MAAC opener. The three losses came by a combined four goals (7-5 Loyola, 8-7 Stony Brook and 8-7 St. John’s). But Siena got back on track with its second neutral site-win on Long Island, a 10-8 win over Hartford on March 21. That win sparked an eight-game win streak to close out the regular season. They dominated the MAAC, winning all eight league games for the first time since joining the conference 13 years ago. Loftus found his groove as the season went on, scoring a team-high 35 points (21 G, 14A) in the final 10 games. He tallied at least one point in all 16 games he played. The Saints avenged all four MAAC losses from 2008 that kept them out of the MAAC Tournament, which was played in Loudonville. Siena lost to Providence, Saint Joseph’s, VirginiaMilitary Institute and Canisius all by one goal apiece (two of those in overtime) last year. But 2009 was different. Siena beat those four teams in the regular season by a combined score of 45-22. Neufeld (12 G, 3 A) and Loftus (9 G, 6 A) led the offense in those four games, each scoring 15 points. Herbst was equally dominant between the pipes. He allowed just 5.50 goals/game and had a .621 save percentage in those four wins.
Herbst was just as strong in his junior campaign as he was as a sophomore when he posted the best GAA in the nation. He finished this season with a 6.34 GAA (2nd NCAA) and a .617 (4th NCAA) save percentage in 17 starts, earning himAll- America Honorable Mention. On the offensive end, Neufeld and Loftus topped the team’s scoring list this season with 51 and 43 points respectively. Neufeld won MAAC Rookie of the Year and led all freshmen in the country with 38 goals. He led the league with four game-winning goals and was named MAAC Rookie of theWeek five times (2/23, 3/30, 4/6, 4/20, 4/27). Classmates Chris Roth (18) and Chris D’Alberti (12) also pitched in, playing all 18 games and combining for 30 points. Senior captain Kenny Mazzone played in every game since arriving in Loudonville as a freshman (64) and started 49 of the last 50. In his third year as captain, Mazzone showed his leadership down the stretch, scoring five goals and adding 10 assists in the last four games. He had three assists at Marist when Siena clinched the No. 1 seed in the MAAC Tournament, five points against Providence to keep the Saints perfect in theMAAC, three assists in the MAAC Championship game and tallied three points at Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
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Brent Herbst
Siena’s MAAC Championship win was rewarded with a trip to the Carrier Dome to face the defending (and eventual) National Champion Syracuse Orange. Siena stayed right with Syracuse into the fourth quarter, behind stellar play by Herbst. He made five saves in the first quarter and provided highlight reel stops throughout. Syracuse led 6-2 entering the fourth quarter before they showed their championship talent and pulled away for an 11-4 win.
It was a historic season for Siena in many ways. They earned the program’s third straight 10-win season, first undefeated season in league play, first postseason win, first MAAC Championship, and the first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
2009 Notes: Brent Herbst was named All-America Honorable Mention by USILA…Brian Brecht won his third MAAC Coach of the Year award…Bryan Neufeld won MAAC Rookie of the Year (Siena’s third in four years)…Chris Viviano won MAAC Defensive Player of the Year…Neufeld, Viviano and Chris Zarins were named All-MAAC First Team…Herbst, Kenny Mazzone, Shaun Dunn and Ryan Duggan were All-MAAC Second Team selections…Kevin Reilly (3x), Charly Rogener (3x), Mike Whalen (2x), Tom Morr and John Rogener were MAAC All- Academic Team selections.
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