Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/15/17
It was a clean sweep for the University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team on Tuesday as the Blue Hens swept the first weekly Colonial Athletic Association Player and Rookie of the Week honors.
Blue Hen sophomore attackman Andrew Romagnoli earned Player of the Week honors and freshman attackman Charlie Kitchen (St. Augustine Prep) was cited as Rookie of the Week for their play as Delaware opened the season with a 1-1 mark.
Delaware opened the year with a heart-breaking 14-13 loss to Bucknell on Feb. 4 but bounced back with an 18-5 romp over Mt. St. Mary’s this past Saturday.
Romagnoli, a native of Cazenovia, N.Y. (Christian Brothers Academy), collected eight goals and three assists during the two games. In the season opener against Bucknell, he scored four goals and dished out an assist for five points. He followed with another four-goal performance, along with two assists, in a six-point effort in the win over Mount St. Mary’s on Feb. 11. Romagnoli has now recorded seven career multiple-goal games in 16 career outings.
Kitchen, a native of Mt. Laurel, N.J., has gotten off to one of the best starts ever by a freshman in UD history, collecting seven goals and four assists during the two games.
He recorded four goals and two assists for six points in his collegiate debut vs. Bucknell and came back with another huge effort in the win over Mount St. Mary’s as he netted three goals and two assists. Kitchen became the first UD player to score four goals in his collegiate debut and the first player in head coach Bob Shillinglaw’s 39-year tenure at Delaware to open his career with consecutive hat tricks.
Aitken (Haverford School) is ACC Offensive Player of Week
Virginia men’s lacrosse players Dox Aitken and Tanner Scales swept the ACC Player of the Week honors, as announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference for games played through Feb. 12.
Aitken (Midfield, Fr., Villanova, Pa.) was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week and Scales (Defense, Sr., Denver, Colo.) was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week for their efforts in upending then-No. 6 Loyola on Saturday, 16-15.
Aitken led UVA with four goals in his collegiate debut. He became only the third Cavalier freshman since 1997 to score at least four goals in a season-opening game. He joins Joe Yevoli in 2002 (Drexel) and Jay Jalbert in 1997 (Syracuse). Aitken’s first collegiate goal was UVA’s first of the game, tying the game at 1-1 in the first quarter. He scored again during UVA’s 6-0 run that gave the Cavaliers a 10-5 lead with 7:50 left in the third quarter. After Loyola went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 10-10 with 12:57 left in the game, Aitken’s unassisted goal with 12:19 left halted the Loyola momentum and gave UVA the lead back (11-10). Aitken’s fourth-quarter goal started a 4-1 UVA run that he capped with 8:13 left, giving UVA a 14-11 lead.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Alex Ready, Denver, So., Goalie (Manheim Township, Duke’s LC)
Maryland’s Matt Rambo scores one of three goals vs. St. Joe’s on Tuesday (Photo by Rene Schleicher)
Denver goalie Alex Ready turned away 10 shots while allowing just five in a 14-6 victory for No. 3 Denver over No. 19/17 Air Force on Saturday. Ready played 57:42 of the contest and allowed just one goal in the third quarter. Air Force had scored 11 goals in the Falcons’ upset at then-No. 7 Duke a week prior. Ready currently leads the league in goals against average (5.20) and save percentage (.667).
Matt Rambo (La Salle, Duke’s LC), Maryland
Sr. – A – Glenside, Pa.
Scored three goals and added three assists in the Terrapins’ road win against nationally-ranked Navy
Matched his career-high of six points, including five in the second half
Tallied all three of his assists in a four-goal run during the third quarter
Earns his first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor
Last Maryland Offensive Player of the Week: Dylan Martz (April 19, 2016)
Specialist of the Week
Gerard Arceri, Penn State Fr. – M – St. James, N.Y. – Smithtown East
Helped guide the Nittany Lions to a 21-15 win over Hobart
Won 22-of-31 faceoffs and logged a team-high 10 ground balls
Earns his first Big Ten Specialist of the Week honor
Last Penn State Specialist of the Week: Will Schreiner (April 5, 2016)
Freshman of the Week
Mac O’Keefe, Penn State A – Syosset, N.Y. – Syosset
Tallied seven points to lead Penn State to its second win of the season, a 21-15 victory over Hobart
Scored four goals on eight shots and added three assists
Earns his second straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor