By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/26/08
Attacker Steve Roy (Archbishop Wood) and goalie Matt Keeler (Ridley) enjoyed strong senior seasons at York College, helping the Spartans post their second highest win total (10-7 record in school history).
Roy scored 20 goals while earning second-team All-Capital Athletic Conference honors. Roy also scored twice against eventual Division III champion Salisbury during the Spartans’ regular-season tilt against the Sea Gulls.
Keeler started all 17 Spartan contests this year, playing 812:24 of the squad’s 1,045:26 minutes. Keeler registered a .494 save percentage on the season, amassing 133 saves. His 437 career stops ranks second in program history.
Five other Philadelphia players – all freshmen – were on the York roster this year. They included:
*Attacker John Mortimer (Cardinal O’Hara) scored two goals in 10 games.
*Long-stick midfielder T.C. Cooke (Bishop Shanahan) had one goal in eight games.
*Defender Bobby Braun (Bishop Shanahan) had two groundballs in eight games.
*Defender Chris Kilian (Methacton) had one groundball in two games.
*Goalie Devin O’Neill (Bishop Shanahan) appeared in three games and made two saves in 17.50 minutes.
Spahr earns second-team All-American
Mercyhurst College junior defender Matt Spahr (Penncrest) was named Division II second-team All-American by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association and helped the Lakers finish 9-4 this year.
Spahr was the top defender on a team that succeeded with its defense. In an 8-1 victory over then-No. 4 C.W. Post, he held one of the top scorers in the country to just two shots and no points as the Lakers pulled off an upset.
He was also named East Coast Conference First Team All-Conference, led the team with 15 caused turnovers and ranked third on the squad with 35 ground balls. The Lakers finished ranked seventh in the country.
Freshman Rauchut excels at Bryant
Bryant freshman Joe Rauchut (Penn Charter) started in 17 of 18 games and scooped 11 groundballs while helping the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Division II semifinals.
Bryant (14-4) stunned LeMoyne, the top seed, 5-4, to claim their first Northeast-10 championship. The victory avenged an 8-3 loss to LeMoyne earlier in the year. The Bulldogs later fell to LeMoyne, 11-2 in the NCAA semifinals.
Next year, Bryant will move up to Division I and in 2011 it will compete in the Northeast Conference with Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner.
