Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/11/14
From Press Release
The Robert Morris University men’s lacrosse team, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Andrew McMinn, has welcomed 18 new Colonials to campus this fall.
Seventeen freshmen and one junior college transfer make up the incoming class. The new Colonials hail from seven different states and three Canadian provinces.
The 18 new RMU student-athletes are included below with notes about each:
A four-year starting goaltender with North Allegheny, John Abbondanza stayed at home to join the Colonials. Abbondanza won a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Section 2 championship with the Tigers in 2011, and was named First Team All-Section in his senior campaign. As a sophomore, he orchestrated a 2-0 shutout of Shady Side Academy with 21 saves. Abbondanza also competed for Pittsburgh Lacrosse Low and Away, and won the 2011 Colonial Cup with the club.
Zachary Bryant hails from Oshawa, Ontario and was an honor roll student at Monsignor John Pereyma. Bryant, a defenseman, tallied 35 goals and 46 assists with the Clarington Green Gaels and was named the team’s Rookie of the Year in 2014.
The lone newcomer from British Columbia, Zac Christianson won a provincial championship with Claremont and was named the team’s senior lacrosse MVP in 2014. Christianson, a defenseman, was a two-time Denver Shootout All-Star selection (2013, 2014) and the 2012 Junior Lacrosse MVP for Claremont. He also competed for Pacific Rim Field Lacrosse and the Victoria Intermediate A Shamrocks. Christianson won the Shamrocks’ Defensive Player of the Year twice (2013, 2014), and was named to the B.C. Intermediate A League All-Star team in 2013. He also won the MVP award at the 2013 Space Needle Shootout.
Will Dempster is one of two new RMU student-athletes to come from Doylestown, Pa. via Central Bucks East. Dempster, a defenseman, helped lead the Patriots to Suburban One League champions in 2011, 2013, and 2014. As a co-captain during his senior campaign, he caused 45 turnovers and collected 63 groundballs en route to a First Team All-League selection. Dempster also competed for Bucks Select Lacrosse, which won the 2012 Summer Sizzle. With them, he made the Summer Slam All-Star Team, the Top 205 All-Star Game, the NXT Summer Invitational All-Star Team, and the Top 80 roster at the Philadelphia Under Armour tryouts.
A midfielder from Owings, Md., Sean Doyle was a Second Team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) selection in 2013 and an honorable mention on the team in 2012 and 2014. As a captain in his senior year for DeMatha Catholic, he won the Fallen Heroes MVP and led the Stags to a 19-4 record. Doyle also competed for Smartlink Lacrosse, which won the King of the Hill Tournament and Delaware Shootout during his time there.
Clay Fickenscher is the Colonials’ lone transfer this season, as he comes to Moon Township from Onondaga Community College. Fickenscher, a long-stick midfielder, won back-to-back national championships with the Lazers as they went 35-0 from 2013 to 2014. At Cortland High School, he was a Second Team All-League selection in 2010 and 2011.
Leighton Gibson, a midfielder from Calgary, Alberta, is the little brother of current RMU midfielder Marshall Gibson. Gibson played for Elev8 Elite Lacrosse and the Okotoks Junior A Raiders, winning Alberta Junior A titles with the latter in 2011 and 2013.
An attackman from Little Silver, N.J., Lucas Habich won two Western New England Division II championships in 2013 and 2014 with Canterbury School. Habich was an all-conference selection in 2011 and 2012, and an All-New England choice in his junior and senior campaigns. In his career, he scored 165 goals – including 46 as a sophomore – and dished out 122 assists. Habich also competed for United Lacrosse.
Kyle Harwood helped the Yorktown Patriots to a 15-5 record and a regional final four appearance in his senior season. The midfielder from Arlington, Va. was a three-time First Team All-Conference selection at Yorktown and won both Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year for the 6A Liberty League. This past season, Harwood was named First Team All-State as well as a U.S. Lacrosse All-American after tallying 48 goals and 15 assists. He also competed for the Virginia Blue Crabs and was a three-time Jake Reed Nike Blue Chip invitee.
A letterwinner in both lacrosse and golf at Loveland, Brian McElveen was both an All-State and All-American selection in 2014. McElveen, an attackman from Loveland, Ohio, tallied 97 points as a senior and is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 207 career points. He was an All-Region and All-League pick from 2012 and 2014, and an All-Academic selection in all four of his varsity seasons. McElveen earned the OHSAA Excellence in Sportsmanship Award and the Community Service Alpha Dog Award. He also competed for Titanium Elite.
A second local newcomer, Jimmy Perkins, helped lead Quaker Valley to an 18-0 record and WPIAL title as a senior. Perkins, an attackman and midfielder, comes in as a two-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American after winning WPIAL Division II Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014. He topped his own single-season records in goals (101), assists (62), and points (163) as a senior, and is the Quakers’ all-time leader in each of those statistical departments with 224 goals, 131 assists, and 355 points. Perkins also won a state championship in 2012 with the hockey team, and was named Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Player of the Year in 2014.
Chase Rose, a goaltender from Dublin, Ohio, was a three-time letterwinner at Dublin Jerome. The Celtics were in the state championship in each of Rose’s four varsity years, winning it in 2011. As a senior, he was named Ohio Goaltender of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and was selected to the All-State First Team and All-Midwest Second Team. Rose also competed for Resolue Lacrosse and Midwest Select.
Dempster’s teammate at Central Bucks East, attackman Matt Schmidt, is also a Doylestown, Pa. native. Schmidt, who made academic honor roll in all four years at high school, was selected to the All-League team after tallying 76 points in his senior campaign. He also competed for Bucks Select, who won the 2012 Summer Sizzle.
David Sturgis, a midfielder from Loveland, Ohio, captained both the Archbishop Moeller lacrosse and golf teams. Sturgis was a Second Team All-State and Second Team All-Midwest selection after corralling 76 groundballs in his senior season. In his career with the Fighting Crusaders, he scored 47 goals and dished out 14 assists. Sturgis also competed with the Cincinnati Royals in 2014.
An attackman from Toronto, Ontario, Adrian Torok-Orban starred for Team Ontario and Edge Canada. Torok-Orban won a national championship in 2013 and a silver medal in 2014, and led all players at the 2014 Canadian National Championships with 21 goals in five games. He also played at St. Michael’s College, helping lead the Bubbalou to an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championship.
Mitchell Wales, a defenseman from Burlington, Ontario, is the little brother of current Colonials’ attackman Eric Wales. Wales won Halton conference championships in 2010 and 2013 with Notre Dame Catholic, as well as a bronze medal in the OFSAA tournament in 2010. In both 2013 and 2014, he was named All-Canadian as well as a First Nations All-Star. Wales also competed for Edge Lacrosse, spending seven years with the program.
Carter Yepsen comes to RMU from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Yepsen, a midfielder from Rosemount, racked up the honors in his senior season, as he was named All-State, All-State Tournament, All-Metro, and U.S. Lacrosse All-American. He was also the Irish’s Offensive MVP and was a finalist for Mr. Lacrosse in the state of Minnesota. In his career, Yepsen scored 170 goals and dished out 101 assists. He also was an Academic All-State selection for the football team that made the 6A state semifinals in 2012 and state finals in 2013, and competed for Minnesota Elite. In club play, Yepsen made all-star teams at the Baltimore Summer Kickoff, Adrenaline Shootout, Hotbeds Tournament, Blue Chip 225, and Can-Am Showcase.
Carter’s twin brother, Conner Yepsen, also joins the Colonials as a midfielder. Yepsen brought in the same accolades as his brother for a Rosemount team that went 16-2 and won conference and section titles in 2014; however, he was also named Metro Player of the Year and Minnesota’s Mr. Lacrosse. For his career, he tallied 141 goals, 74 assists, and 188 groundballs. In football, Yepsen earned All-Conference, All-State, All-Metro, and Academic All-State honors. He also competed for Minnesota Elite.
Robert Morris lost seven seniors to graduation last season and returns three All-NEC selections in Eric Rankel, James Rahe, and JonPatrik Kealey.
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