Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/21/14
From Press Release
Lehigh men’s lacrosse junior Dan Taylor and sophomore Tripp Telesco have earned first team All-Patriot League honors to highlight five Mountain Hawks recognized on Monday as the Patriot League announced its postseason awards. Senior Ty Souders (Emmaus) and juniors Kurtis Kaunas (Parkland) and Matt Poillon were also named to the second team.
Taylor has been on fire as of late as he enters the postseason with a league-leading 61 points behind 39 goals and 22 assists. He has posted 33 points over his last five games, featuring nine points at Lafayette, eight vs. Georgetown, seven against Holy Cross and five goals at Princeton. Taylor has seven hat tricks and 10 multi-goal games this season, including a point in 13 of his 14 games. He’s been named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week four times this season, including three straight weeks to close out the regular season.
Telesco has put up big numbers to help a Lehigh defense that stands second nationally allowing just 6.47 goals per game. The Ridgewood, New Jersey native owns 37 groundballs and 32 caused turnovers this season, standing sixth nationally with his 2.29 caused turnovers per game. Telesco had a monster game with seven groundballs and seven caused turnovers in February’s triple overtime win over Villanova. That earned him Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week laurels. Telesco has posted multiple caused turnovers in 10 games this season, including his last five games. Telesco had five groundballs and five caused turnovers against Monmouth while adding three caused turnovers in league games vs. Holy Cross and Colgate.
Souders earns All-Patriot League for a third straight season, garnering a spot on the second time for the second year in a row. Souders is the quarterback of the nation’s second-leading defense. Even though he mainly plays off-ball, Souders has still posted 37 groundballs (most among Lehigh close defensemen) along with 13 caused turnovers. He had six groundballs and two caused turnovers in the big win over Villanova while adding two caused turnovers in each of the last two games, against Georgetown and at Lafayette. Souders is the team’s lone captain and a finalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award.
Kaunas has emerged as the team’s top offensive threat in the midfield. He is fourth on the team with 14 goals and tied for fourth with 20 points. Kaunas has turned it on down the stretch, scoring two goals in three of his last four games. The local product had two goals vs. Colgate, two at Lafayette and two goals and two assists for a career-high four points against Georgetown. Kaunas also scored the game-winning goal in triple overtime against Villanova in February.
Poillon earns All-Patriot League laurels for a third straight season. The two-time All-American and Patriot League Goalie of the Year is putting up big numbers once again, owning a 6.30 goals against average (second in the nation) and 58.4 save percentage. Poillon has been named Goalie of the Week twice this season, first after stopping 12-of-18 shots against Villanova then following strong performances at Princeton (13 saves) and Georgetown (eight saves). He is 10-4 on the season to up his career record to an impressive 35-10.
Loyola’s Justin Ward was named Offensive Player of the Year while Joe Fletcher earned Defensive Player of the Year and Jack Runkel garnered Goalkeeper of the Year. Colgate goalie Brandon Burke was named Rookie of the Year while Army’s Joe Alberici received Coach of the Year.
The third-seeded Mountain Hawks will now open the Patriot League Tournament on Tuesday when they host #3 seed Navy. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex. With a win, Lehigh would advance to Friday’s semifinals (hosted by Loyola) against #2 seed Army.
First Team
John Glesener, Army, Jr., A
Dan Taylor, Lehigh, Jr., A
Justin Ward, Loyola, Sr., A
Nikko Pontrello (St. Augustine Prep), Loyola, Sr., A
Thomas Flibotte, Bucknell, So., M
Matt Clarkson, Colgate, Jr. M
Brian Sherlock, Loyola, Fr., M
Gabe Vournard (St. Augustine Prep), Navy, Jr., M
Jackson Place (Episcopal Academy), Bucknell, Sr., D
Bobby Lawrence, Colgate, Jr., D
Tripp Telesco, Lehigh, So., D
Joe Fletcher, Loyola, Sr., D
Pat Laconi, Loyola, Sr., SSDM
Alex Daly, Army, So., FOS
Jack Runkel, Loyola, Sr., GK
Second Team
David Dickson, Bucknell, Jr., A
Ryan Walsh, Colgate, Jr., A
Sam Jones, Navy, Sr., A
Eric Foote (Hill School), Colgate, So., M
Kevin Ryan, Loyola, Sr., M
Terry McKenna, Holy Cross, Jr., M
Kurtis Kaunus (Parkland), Lehigh, Jr., M
Pat Hart, Army, Sr., D
Ty Souders (Emmaus), Lehigh, Sr., D
Nik Mullen, Navy, Sr., D
Pat Kiernan, Navy, Sr., LSM
Alex Kinnealey, Colgate, Jr., FOS
Brady Dove, Navy, Fr., FOS
Sam Somers, Army, Jr., GK
Matt Poillon, Lehigh, Jr., GK
Offensive Player of the Year – Justin Ward, Loyola, Sr., A
Defensive Player of the Year – Joe Fletcher, Loyola, Sr., D
Rookie of the Year – Brandon Burke, Colgate, Fr., GK
Goalkeeper of the Year – Jack Runkel, Loyola, Sr.
Coach of the Year – Joe Alberici, Army
