Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/3/16
From Press Release
Wagner head lacrosse coach Matt Poskay, who enters his sixth season at the helm of the Seahawk program in 2017 after leading the Seahawks to a program-best six victories a year ago, has announced that graduate students William McMenamin (Longport, NJ/St. Augustine Prep), Paul DeVita (Westfield, NJ/Westfield), and Daniel Valencia (Gaithersburg, MD/Gaithersburg) along with junior Andrew Streilein (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) will serve as the captains for the 2017 season.
“We’re excited about these four young men, each of whom are tremendous student-athletes and productive players,” said Poskay. “They’re all leaders in their own way, have done a really nice job during the offseason and are very deserving of their roles as team captains.”
For midfielder William McMenamin, 2017 will mark his fourth season as a team captain. A scrappy midfielder/faceoff specialist was second on the team in 2016 in both ground balls (50) and faceoffs won (64). For his career, McMenamin has won 174 faceoffs, collected 120 groundballs, in addition to scoring 40 points which have come on 36 goals and four assists, and recording 18 caused turnovers. He was tied for third in the Northeast Conference (NEC) in man-up goals per game (.40) and tied for ninth in overall goals per game (1.80).
Streilein has been a top scorer for the Seahawks from the moment he first stepped on campus. As a freshman in 2015, he was a two-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree, led the Seahawks in all three major offensive categories, topping the team in points (30), goals (21), and assists (9), while being named to the NEC All-Rookie team. He followed that up by again leading the team in scoring with 43 points which came on 21 goals (second on the team) and a team-best 22 assists. In 2016, Streilein tied first in the NEC in assists per game (1.47), was tied for third in man-up goals per game (.40), and sixth in points per game (2.87). In his two-year Seahawk career, the 5-11, 175-pound South Jersey native has amassed 73 points in the strength of 42 goals and 31 assists.
DeVita is another battle-tested veteran who earned his undergraduate degree last spring and is presently a graduate student here at Wagner. In 2016, the 5-11, 175-pound Garden State product was well on his way to a fourth top season for the Seahawks before suffering a season-ending injury in the fifth game. In his career, DeVita has tallied 55 points on 40 goals and 15 assists, to go with 59 groundballs and 16 caused turnovers.
Valencia is a graduate student to suit up and serve as a captain in 2017. A Second-Team All-Northeast Conference (NEC) selection as a junior in 2015, he was poised for another big year in 2016 before being sidelined for the season following a preseason injury. In 2015, the physical 6-2, 205-pound Maryland led the Seahawks for the second year in a row in caused turnovers with 26, which were also a career high. In addition, he ranked No.5 nationally with an average of 2.00 caused turnovers per game while leading a defensive unit that ranked No. 8 nationally in caused turnovers, and No. 1 in the NEC. For his career, Valencia has totaled 59 ground balls and 48 caused turnovers.
In 2017, the Seahawks will play nine non-conference games, in addition to the all-important six-team NEC slate with the conference champion gaining an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships.
Wagner opens the 2017 campaign at Manhattan on February 11, before playing Lafayette in the home opener on February 17. Road games vs. Monmouth (Feb. 21) and Rutgers (Feb. 28), are followed by four consecutive home tests, Dartmouth (March 4), VMI (March 7), Hampton (March 10) and Mercer (March 12).
After opening the NEC schedule at Hobart (March 18), the Seahawks play their final non-conference contest at NJIT (March 25).
The month of April will then feature the final five regular season NEC games, vs. Bryant (4/1), at Robert Morris (4/8), Mount St. Mary’s (4/15), at Saint Joseph’s (April 22) and home vs. Sacred Heart (4/29).
“Our non-conference schedule features a blend of teams that vary in talent and style of play which will help prepare us for NEC play,” Poskay said. “It’s an exciting schedule for a program that is on the rise, like ours, and I know our guys are excited to continue to improve individually, and as a team.”
Date Opponent Location Time
2/11 Manhattan College Riverdale, NY 1:00 PM
2/17 Lafayette College Staten Island, NY 4:00 PM
2/21 Monmouth University West Long Branch, NJ TBA
2/28 Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ 3:00 PM
3/04 Dartmouth College Staten Island, NY 1:00 PM
3/07 Virginia Military Institute Staten Island, NY 4:00 PM
3/10 Hampton University Staten Island, NY TBA
3/12 Mercer University Staten Island, NY 12:00 PM
3/18 Hobart College Geneva, NY 1:00 PM
3/25 New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ TBA
4/01 Bryant University Staten Island, NY 1:00 PM
4/08 Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA 1:00 PM
4/15 Mount St. Mary’s (Md.) Staten Island, NY 1:00 PM
4/22 Saint Joseph’s University Philadelphia, PA 1:00 PM
4/29 Sacred Heart University Staten Island, NY 7:00 PM
