PENFIELD
  March
18,2006 - It’s hard to vote against
Penfield as the top team in Class A as they have
had near perfect seasons for two years. In 2004
their only pre-tournament loss was to Pittsford
in the last game of the schedule, and in 2005
they were undefeated until the Sectional finals
where they lost to Canandaigua in a hard fought
12-10 game. In fact, since 2003 the Patriots
are 51-7.
 On
the other hand it’s been five years since
the Patriots have won a Sectional Championship.
This year, it is unlikely that Canandaigua will
reach the finals, but Fairport and Schroeder are
both strong contenders and Penfield lost some important
players to graduation.
Penfield was undefeated in the
regular season in 2005 (12-0 league, 16-0 over all)
and won the Monroe County-1 championship for the
second year in a row. The Patriots were seeded first
in the sectionals and beat R-H (16-1) and Schroeder
(15-9) before losing to Canandaigua (12-10) in the
finals. They finished 10th in the New York State
poll and 26th in the Laxpower national poll. They
placed 2nd in defense in Section Five (4.79 goals
against average) and 3rd in offense (12.16 average)
in 2005
Senior middie, Mike Thon, senior
attackmen Tim Pfeffer and Jason Knerr and senior
defenseman Luke Prattico  were
each selected to the All Tournament team. Making
the first team All League list were attackmen Tim
Pfeffer and Trevor Rice, midfielders Mike Thon, junior
Kelly McKenna, and Evander Wilson (Long stick), defenseman
Luke Prattico and junior goalie Brian Dell who was
also named SportsFive defensive Player of the Year.
Thon was also named to the All America Team.
Almost half the team graduated
in 2005 (16 players) including some very strong players.
Gone in attack are Tim Pfeffer (Marist), Trevor Rice
(Canterbury Prep) and Jason Knerr. The defense lost
John Butt (West Point), Matt Damieder (MCC) and Luke
Prattico (Adelphi) who was one of the best defensemen
in the Section in 2005. The midfield lost All American
Mike Thon (Bucknell), Evander Wilson (MCC) as a long
stick middie and Alex Del Pozzo (Georgia Tech).
Losing half your team is a tough
thing, but Coach Rice lost half his team in 2004
and still went undefeated in 2005 and he retains
a number of extraordinary players for this years
campaign. At the top of that list are Kelly McKenna
(early to Notre Dame) and Michael Arvan (Villanova)
in the midfield and Brian Dell (Canisus) in the goal. 
Returning in attack are seniors
Dave Malone, Scott Serron with juniors Kevin Green
and Dan Huntington. Junior Mark Hill moves up from
JV. Senior midfielder Ben Foster is expected to join
McKenna and Arvan while senior Mike Cummins, sophomore
Connor Rice and junior Kevin Roe (up from JV) may
form a second midfield line. Senior Paris Williams,
junior Paul Leonard and sophomore Alex Smith are
an athletic defensive midfield group, while senior
Tim Servati and sophomore Alex Nowak will be looking
for long stick defensive midfield time.
All four starting defensemen graduated
in 2005. Seniors Joe Clay, Andrew Ng and junior Paul
Van Thof are expected to see time along with sophomores
Kevin Randall, Jon Wheaton and Rob Solomon.
Can the Patriots make it to the
finals of the Class A tournament for the third year
in a row? Don’t count them out, but it most
certainly will not be as easy as it has been in the
last two years. With a number of the best players
in the Section they will have a shot, but the degree
to which the rest of the team can come together will
determine the success of Penfield this year.
Top Returners:
Kelly McKenna – 12 –
Mid
Mike Arvan – 12 – Mid
Brian Dell – 12 – Goal
Ben Foster – 12 – Mid
Mike Cummins – 12 – Mid
Connor Rice – 10 – Mid
Paul Leonhard - 11 - Mid
Joe Clay – 12 – Def
Andrew Ng – 12 – Def
Paul VanThof – 11 – Def
Dave Malone – 12 – Att
Scott Serron – 12 – Att
Kevin Green - 11 - Att
Top New Players:
Kevin Roe – 11 – Mid
Parris Williams – 12 – DM
Alex Smith – 10 – DM
Kevin Randall – 10 – Def
Jon Wheaton – 10 – Def
Rob Solomon – 10 - Def
|
