Josh Loeffler Named Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach

BALTIMORE – A veteran of the Patriot League, Josh Loeffler has joined the men’s basketball staff at Loyola University Maryland as an assistant coach, Head Coach G.G. Smith announced today.

Loeffler, who spent the 2012-2013 season as the director of basketball operations at Rutgers University, was an assistant coach at Lafayette College where he helped Fran O’Hanlon’s teams reach the Patriot League Championship Game in 2010 and 2011.

“I am very pleased that Josh is joining our staff here at Loyola,” said Smith. “He brings tremendous experience from the Patriot League that will be great as we transition to the conference. His recruiting connections are vast, and his experience as a highly successful Division III head coach is something else that attracted us to him.”

Loeffler said, “I am excited to be a part of Loyola basketball and work with Coach Smith. He was obviously a big part of the success Loyola has had recently, and I am looking forward to helping continue the winning trend Loyola has been on.”

He was the recruiting coordinator for the Leopards, oversaw team travel and budgeting and was the program’s liaison to the admissions and compliance offices. Under his coordination, Lafayette’s 2011 recruiting class was ranked the highest in the Patriot League.

At Lafayette, Loeffler was responsible for the recruitment of an All-Patriot League First Team and Second Team performer, three All-Rookie Team members. He also coached two additional Leopards who earned All-Patriot League honors and another who was the 2012 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

“Josh is just a terrific as a coach on the floor, as a recruiter, and will be a great addition to Loyola’s program,” O’Hanlon said. “He had a large part in the recent success that we’ve had here at Lafayette, and I’m sure he will bring the same dedication and commitment to Loyola.”

Prior to working at the Easton, Pa., school, Loeffler was the head coach at NCAA Division III school Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., where he led the Ducks to a 46-13 record from 2006-2008.

In his first season as a head coach, he guided Stevens to a 23-7 record and a ahare of the Skyline Conference regular-season title. The Ducks garnered an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they beat 18^th-ranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Ramapo College to advance to the Sweet 16 where they fell to eventual national champion Amherst College.

Stevens finished that season ranked 24^th in the country and first in the NCAA Atlantic Region in the D3Hoops.com poll, and Loeffler was named the D3Hoops.com Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.

The following year, 2007-2008, Loeffler’s team matched the school record set in his first year with 23 wins (in 29 games). Stevens moved to the Empire 8 Conference that year and shared the regular-season title with Ithaca College. The Ducks lost to eventual Empire 8 champion Nazareth College in the conference semifinals, but they received the top overall seed for the ECAC Division III Metro Championship where they won three games and captured the ECAC Metro title.

Before he was a head coach at Stevens, Loeffler was an assistant coach in 2005-2006 at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., for current Bucknell University Head Coach Dave Paulsen.

He was a graduate assistant coach at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., in 2004-2005, and he broke into coaching at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., during the 2004-2004 season. At Hamilton, he helped the basketball team achieve a 19-8 record and earn an NCAA Tournament bid, and he was also the defensive line coach for the Continentals’ football team.

Loeffler graduated from Swarthmore College in 2003 with a degree in economics. He was a multi-sport student-athlete for the Garnet, earning four varsity letters as a forward on the basketball team and one as a tight end on the gridiron.

The native of West Grove, Pa., is married to the former Helen Leitner, and they have a young daughter, Alison.

Ratliff, Fletcher Earn ECAC Specialist, Defensive Players Of Year

CENTERVILLE, Mass. – Loyola University Maryland senior long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff and junior defender Joe Fletcher were both named to the All-ECAC Lacrosse League First Team, and they were respectively named the conference’s Specialist of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday by the league’s coaches.

Senior Mike Sawyer and junior Justin Ward were named to the All-ECAC Second Team as attackers, as were seniors Reid Acton and Davis Butts on defense and in the midfield, respectively.

Freshmen Zach Herreweyers, an attacker, and Justin Verratti, a defender, were named to the All-Rookie Team.

Ratliff, who was a unanimous selection as the Specialist of the Year after earned Defensive Player of the Year honors last year, leads the ECAC in ground balls (64), ground balls per game (4.78), caused turnovers (29) and caused turnovers per game (2.1).

He has also excelled in transition and offensively for the Greyhounds. This season, he has already set the school single-season for scoring by a long-pole player with 13 goals, topping the 12 he scored last season. He also had four assists, and earlier this year, he became the first player in the modern history of lacrosse to score four goals in a game with a long-stick.

Fletcher picked up Defensive Player of the Year honors while helping anchor the Greyhounds defense that is seventh in NCAA Division I, allowing 7.86 goals per game. He has routinely marked the opposing team’s top scorer, including last week when he held Johns Hopkins’ Wells Stanwick, who entered the game averaging 4.0 points per game, to just one point on an assist.

The second-year starter leads ECAC defenders players in ground balls with 54, and he has also caused 17 turnovers.

Sawyer became a three-time All-ECAC honoree with his second team honors. The senior has scored 11 goals in the Greyhounds’ last three games, tallying four goals and two assists against both Denver and at Hobart and three goals in last Saturday’s win over Johns Hopkins. He is second on the team this season with 30 goals and 36 points. He is second in Loyola’s Division I era in career goals (122).

Ward has led the team in scoring throughout the season and enters the ECAC Championships with 26 goals and a team-high 28 assists and 54 total points. He is third in the ECAC in total points, and his 7-goal, 10-point performance earlier this season against UMBC was the first of its kind at Loyola since 2001. With 60 career assists, he is tied for seventh in school Division I history, and his 98 points are 23^rd.

Butts has consistently drawn the long-pole defender on Loyola’s first midfield unit this year, but he earned All-ECAC honors for the second time in as many years. He has scored seven goals and assisted on nine this year, and his 31 ground balls are third on the team.

Acton is another repeat All-ECAC honoree for the Greyhounds. A tough interior defender for the Greyhounds, he has caused 15 turnovers and picked up 20 ground balls while marking some of the conference’s best offensive players.

Herreweyers has led ECAC freshmen in goals per game (2.0) this season while scoring 16 in eight games. He has four hat tricks this season and scored at least one goal in every game he played but one (Duke, which he played only in the fourth quarter).

Verratti was a key part of Loyola’s man-down defense this year, helping the Greyhounds kill penalties at an 85-percent success rate.

The Greyhounds open play in the third-annual ECAC Championships tonight in the semifinals against The Ohio State University. Play will commence at 8 p.m. from Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Networks, Fox College Sports and FUEL TV.

Crane Named Finalist For One Love Foundation Unsung Hero Award

GENEVA, N.Y. – Loyola University Maryland freshman long-stick midfielder Jason Crane, who in January organized a trip to Newtown, Conn., with teammates to put on a lacrosse clinic for youth players in the town affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, has been named one of five men’s finalists for the 2013 Yeardley Reynolds Love (YRL) Unsung Hero Award.

Established in 2011, the award that is given by the One Love Foundation celebrates the selfless acts of initiative and commitment performed by Division I lacrosse players.  These outstanding student-athletes are recognized based on the following criteria: dedication, integrity, humility, hard work, community service, leadership, kindness and sportsmanship.  The award winners – one female, one male – will be announced in late-May, leading up to the culmination of the NCAA lacrosse season.

On January 3, Crane gathered many of his teammates, and they departed Maryland, or their homes as it was during Christmas break. A total of 14 Greyhounds gathered in Newtown to lead a clinic in the town where 26 adults and children were killed just weeks before.

Crane reached out to Jim Wallace, the Coach Training Coordinator for the Newtown Lacrosse Association, and Wallace invited the Greyhounds to lead the clinic.

“Obviously, we knew the town was hurting, and I found Jim’s e-mail address, and I asked if there was anything we could do,” Crane said. “He said it would be great if we could do the clinic and talk to the kids.

“When we got here today, Jim talked to us for a while, and he told us how many of (the clinic’s) kids were in the school at the time of the shooting. He said the town has been very quiet, and there is a lot of sadness. The kids are dealing with things that no elementary or middle school kid should have to deal with. He talked about how our presence helps the kids out in ways that we can’t even imagine.”

The clinic drew more than 100 Newtown youth players, ranging from third through eighth grades, despite the fact that Crane and the Greyhounds put their plans together in less than a week prior to coming.

At the clinic, the Greyhounds taught lacrosse skills and team play, as well as interacted with the kids on the field.

Since then, Crane and many of the players have kept in regular correspondence with the Newtown youth, and more than 100 residents of the town attended Loyola’s April 13 game against the University of Denver at Ridley Athletic Complex where they took in a tour of the facility, watched the game and then played on the field with the team after the game.

As a freshman this season, Crane has played in 12 games as a long-stick midfielder, picking up five ground balls and causing a turnover.

Crane is joined by four other male finalists: Frankie Kelly (North Carolina), Jason Noble (Cornell), Shane Warner (Binghamton) and Trey Wilkes (Ohio State).

Formerly given to lacrosse players in the ACC Conference, the award became open to all Division I programs this year.  The award recognizes accomplishments of student-athletes who help their team achieve success in ways that may not be measured in goals, saves or ground balls.  The honor is meaningful because it places value on characteristics that are often undervalued in the competitively charged environment of college athletics.

Crane and the Greyhounds open play in the ECAC Championships on Wednesday at 8 p.m. They will take on The Ohio State University in the second semifinal from Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Networks, Fox College Sports and FUEL TV.

Game Data

Loyola opens play in the third-annual ECAC Lacrosse League Championships on Thursday, May 2, when it takes on The Ohio State University in the second semifinal in Geneva, N.Y.

Faceoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. from Hobart College’s Boswell Field.

Watch The Action

The ECAC Championships will be the first original lacrosse games programed by Fox Sports Networks. Mark Larson will call the play-by-play, and Dale Drypolcher will handle color analysis. Terry Mangan will be the sideline reporter for the broadcasts.

Thursday’s semifinals and Saturday’s championship game will be distributed on various Fox Sports Regional Networks nationwide. They will also be available – in the Baltimore area – on Fox College Sports, a premium sports channel on many cable and satellite companies, or on FUEL TV.

Series History

Loyola and the Buckeyes will be meeting for the seventh time in series history and first time in postseason action. The Greyhounds have won all six prior meetings, including a 9-4 victory earlier this season in regular-season action.

In the teams’ regular-season meeting on March 30 in Columbus, David Planning scored for Ohio State with 3:03 left in the first half, making the score 3-3, but Loyola scored the next six goals and held the Buckeyes scoreless for 32 minutes, 54 seconds, until they scored with nine ticks left on the clock.

After Planning’s tying goal, the Greyhounds tacked on three goals before the end of the first half, the initial by Chris Layne and the second and third by Zach Herreweyers and Nikko Pontrello.

Pontrello had a game-high three goals, while Layne tallied a goal and two assists. Herreweyers, Davis Butts and Scott Ratliff each posted a goal and an assist.

Jack Runkel made nine saves and allowed just four goals for Loyola, while Joe Fletcher picked up a team-best five ground balls.

The Greyhounds led last year’s contest 9-4 when Patrick Fanshaw scored a man-up goal in transition off a Josh Hawkins assist with 5:17 to go in the third quarter, but Ohio State scored five of the next six goals to pull within a score, 10-9, on Tyler Fredericks’ tally with 3:57 left in regulation.

Mike Sawyer and Chris Palmer, however, scored after that for Loyola, and the Greyhounds held off the Buckeyes for an 11-9 victory in Columbus. Chris Palmer finished with five goals, and Matt Langan had three goals and two assists. Hawkins scored a goal and had two assists, all coming in transition.

In The Polls

Loyola moved up to fourth the USILA coaches poll and checked in sixth in the Inside Lacrosse media ranking.

Ohio State is 10th in the coaches version, 11th in the media.

Last Time Out

Johns Hopkins scored 41 seconds into the second half, but Loyola held the Blue Jays scoreless for the game’s final 29 minutes, 18 seconds, and the Greyhounds defeated host Johns Hopkins, 8-4, snapping a 13-game losing skid in the series.

The Greyhounds opened the second half on a man-advantage, and after the teams returned to even strength, Sean O’Sullivan took a Justin Ward skip pass and scored at 14:24 to put Loyola up, 5-3. The Blue Jays, however, got the goal back five seconds later after winning the faceoff on a violation. Mike Poppleton ran into the box and scored Johns Hopkins’ last goal of the game at 14:19.

Mike Sawyer scored his last of three goals with 6:10 to play in the third quarter, and Davis Butts and Kevin Ryan added fourth-quarter goals to provide the final margin.

Sawyer had a game-high three goals, while O’Sullivan, Ryan and Josh Hawkins each posted a goal and an assist.

Jack Runkel made 10 saves, six in the second half, and Joe Fletcher picked up a team-high five ground balls.

ECAC Championships History

Loyola is 2-1 all-time in ECAC Championships games, winning both of its contests last season to take the second-annual tournament title.

Last year, the Greyhounds defeated Denver, 14-13 in overtime, to advance to the Championship Game where they beat Fairfield, 14-7.

In the first year of the tournament, the Stags edged Loyola, 10-9, in the semifinals.

Second Half Defensive Success

Loyola’s defense held Johns Hopkins to just one goal in the second half last Saturday and none in the game’s final 29 minutes, 18 seconds. The Blue Jays’ final 18 shots of the second half were either saved or went off target.

Jack Runkel made six of his 10 saves in the second half, four during the fourth quarter.

Johns Hopkins also turned the ball over 10 times in the final 30 minutes, 16 times in all during the game.

Loyola also shutout the Blue Jays on extra-man opportunities Saturday, holding them scoreless on three attempts, two in the fourth quarter.

Fletcher Honored For Defensive Performance

Joe Fletcher earned ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third time this season on Monday after a standout performance on close defense against Johns Hopkins.

The junior picked up five ground balls and helped start Loyola’s transition game that cleared the ball successfully all 20 times it attempted clears.

He was matched up against the Blue Jays’ leading scorer, Wells Stanwick, who entered the game averaging 4.0 points per game. Fletcher held Stanwick to just one point on an assist that came in transition off a Johns Hopkins faceoff win. Stanwick, who had 23 goals entering the game, managed just three shots against Fletcher.

Sawyer Keeps Scoring

Mike Sawyer recorded his third-straight hat trick on Saturday at Johns Hopkins, the first time this season he’s accomplished that. In the Greyhounds’ last three games, Sawyer has scored 11 goals while assisting on four. In his first nine this year, he tallied 19 goals and two assists.

Sawyer put up his best offensive numbers of the season on April 13 against Denver, scoring four goals and recording two assists for six points, season-highs in all categories.

The senior attacker quickly replicated that effort on April 20 at Hobart, posting the same numbers in each category.

With his 11 goals in three games, Sawyer has leapt into the team lead for goals scored with 30 this season. He finished the regular-season as the ECAC leader in goals per game during conference games (2.47).

In 56 career games, Sawyer has scored 122 goals and has 25 assists for 147 points.

Earlier this year, against UMBC, he became the eighth player in school Division I history to reach 100 goals, and his 122 total place him are second-most on the program’s Division I career chart. He is 11 back of Pat Lamon in first. Sawyer’s 139 points rank 11th in school Division I history.

Defending The Midfield

Loyola did not allow an offensive midfielder to score for Johns Hopkins on Saturday in 23 shot attempts when entering the game, the seven players that ran on the two midfield lines had combined for 69 goals and 43 assists.

The Greyhounds’ defensive midfield kept the Blue Jays middies from dodging to space and forced outside shots, keeping 17-of-23 shots off cage. The six that were on goal were all saved by Jack Runkel in goal.

Hawkins On The Fly

In just seven games this year, Josh Hawkins has already eclipsed his previous high in goals, scoring 10 this season to beat his total of six from last season and his 2010 freshman campaign. He also has two assists this season.

The defensive midfielder has scored at least two points in each of Loyola’s last four games and has at least one goal in every game he’s played this year. He scored twice against Fairfield, Denver and Hobart and registered a goal and an assist versus Johns Hopkins.

He has put 16-of-24 shots on goal and scored on 41.7-percent of his total shots.

In 47 career games, Hawkins has scored 25 goals and has nine assists as a short-stick defender.

Athletics Banquet Honors

Scott Ratliff was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, and Joe Fletcher earned Most Dedicated Player honors at the end of the year Athletics Awards Banquet on April 29.

Ratliff also was the recipient of the John R. Mohler Award as the athletic department’s top male student-athlete. The award, which is give to a student-athlete from one of Loyola’s eight men’s teams, recognizes the best Greyhound who combines athletic and academic accomplishments.

Sean O’Sullivan was the winner of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Inspiration Award.

ECAC Weekly Honors For Ratliff

Scott Ratliff earned ECAC Lacrosse League Specialist of the Week honors on April 22, his third weekly award of 2013 from the conference office. The long-stick midfielder posted another all-around performance at Hobart Saturday, scoring twice in transition and adding another assist on a Mike Sawyer goal in the third-quarter.

Defensively, Ratliff posted seven ground balls and three caused turnovers, while he and his teammates in the defensive midfield held the Statesmen’s starting midfield to three goals. Ratliff did not allow a goal against a player he was matched up against in the game.

He now has scored 13 goals this season, eclipsing his 2012 school record for scoring by a long-pole player.

Ratliff, who was the 2012 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and 2013 ECAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has earned seven weekly awards from the league. Earlier this season, he was named Defensive Player of the Week twice.

O’Sullivan Shooting On Target

Sean O’Sullivan has scored eight goals in the Greyhounds’ last four games, nearly doubling his output of nine in the team’s first 10 outings this season. He is currently third on the team with 17 goals and fifth with 19 points.

After scoring once against Fairfield on April 6, he matched his career-high with four goals a week later against Denver. His final goal of the game tied the score with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, forcing overtime. O’Sullivan needed just four shots in the game against the Pioneers to score his four goals.

On April 20 at Hobart, he scored twice on four shots, and he added a goal on his only shot and an assist at Johns Hopkins.

This season, he has scored his 17 goals on just 40 shots (.425 shot percentage), and he is putting 75.0-percent of his total shots on goal (30-of-40). His four extra-man goals in conference play led the ECAC in that category.

Rookie Production

Zach Herreweyers recorded his fourth hat trick of the season at Hobart in just his seventh game of the season.

The freshman from London, Ontario, posted three goals and two assists against the Statesmen, and with a goal at Johns Hopkins, he raised his first-year total to 16 goals and three assists in eight contests.

Herreweyers, who had hat tricks against Air Force, Georgetown, Michigan and Hobart, leads ECAC Lacrosse League freshmen with 2.0 goals per game and 2.4 points per contest.

Against Air Force, Herreweyers became the first Loyola freshman to score three times in a game since current senior Patrick Fanshaw scored five goals and assisted on another on March 20, 2010, also against Air Force.

Ratliff Sets Record

Scott Ratliff did something believed to be a first in the modern era of college lacrosse  (circa 1971) on April 6 in the Greyhounds’ win over visiting Fairfield. The senior long-stick midfielder scored four goals, becoming the first player with a pole to do so.

Ratliff scored once off a Loyola faceoff win, a second time on a give-and-go in transition with Pat Laconi and twice more off set plays in settled offense with feeds from Justin Ward and Nikko Pontrello.

In recent years, at least two long-sticks, Duke’s C.J. Costabile and Bryant’s Mason Poli, have recorded hat tricks.

Multi-Point Ventures For Ward

Johns Hopkins All-American defender Tucker Durkin held Justin Ward to just one assist on April 27, the first time this season the junior attacker has been held to less than two points.

With three first-quarter goals against Hobart, Justin Ward had his 13th multi-point effort in as many games this season. He has now tallied at least two points in all 13 games this season, and he has three or more in nine of those outings.

In the Georgetown game, he became the 10th player in the program’s Division I history (since 1982) to log 50 or more assists in his career. With 60 career assists, Ward is tied for seventh in school Division I history Gewas Schindler in seventh. He is now 10 away from tying Kevin Beach and Tim O’Shea for fifth place.

Ward put up his second game with seven or more points on March 16 against Air Force, logging seven with two goals and five assists in the win over the Falcons. His five assists tied his career-high, set twice in 2012 against Towson and Fairfield.

On February 26, against UMBC, as the junior finished with seven goals and three assists for 10 points. His goal and point outputs were career-highs. He became the first player to score at least seven goals in a game since Gavin Prout tallied eight in a 19-11 win at Hobart on April 28, 2001.

Ward’s 10-point effort was the first 10-point game for a Greyhound since Tim Goettelmann tallied the same amount in a 19-9 win on March 25, 2000, against Fairfield. In that game, Goettelmann scored four goals and had six assists. Later that season, he would score seven goals on May 16 in the NCAA First Round against Notre Dame.

Through 13 games this year, Ward leads the team with 26 goals and 27 assists for 53 points. His 27 assists are ninth-most in school Division I single-season history.

CLASSy Senior Candidate

Two weeks ago, Scott Ratliff was named one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, an honor given yearly to a NCAA Division I senior who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition

Ratliff has continued his high production on defense, transition and offense that helped him earn USILA All-America Third Team and ECAC Defensive Player of the Year honors a year ago when he led the team last year in ground balls (88) and caused turnovers (37), was fifth in goals (12) and seventh in assists (7).

His career totals now stand at 29 goals and 14 assists, and his 43 career points are second-most among active long-poles to Bryant’s Mason Poli. Last year, he set the school’s single-season long-pole scoring record with 12 goals and seven assists, eclipsing the previous high of 16 points on 11 goals and five assists set in 1995 by current Loyola assistant coach Matt Dwan.

Additionally, Ratliff is now tied for ninth in school Division I history in career ground balls (207) with P.T. Ricci, and he is second in caused turnovers (88). His caused turnovers are two shy of tying the school record set by Ricci.

Defensive Midfield Production

Loyola’s defensive midfield had a productive game against Fairfield, finishing the outing with six goals, an assists, six caused turnovers and six ground balls.

The unit posted another solid outing on both sides of the field with four goals and two assists at Hobart on April 20.

This season, long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff has posted 13 goals and four assists, good for sixth on the team with 17 points, while short-stick Josh Hawkins has nine goals and an assist, and fellow short-stick Pat Laconi has four goals and six points. Kyle Duffy scored his first point of the season with an assist at Hobart.

Pontrello Keeps Tallying Points

Nikko Pontrello notched his third hat trick of the season on March 30 at Ohio State, scoring a game-high three against the Buckeyes. He also had three-goal outings against UMBC and Air Force earlier this year.

In his first season as a starter, Pontrello has scored 13 goals while assisting on 17 for 30 points, third-most on the team. As a freshman in 2012, he scored four goals and assisted on six.

He posted his second six-point game this season March 16 against Air Force, scoring a career-high four goals to go with two assists. He scored in the first quarter, tallied a pair during Loyola’s 4-0 third-quarter run and added his fourth in the final frame. Earlier this year against UMBC, Pontrello posted three goals and three assists for six points against the Retrievers.

Helmet Stickers

Loyola players are wearing three stickers on their helmets this season to remember those who have passed away. The stickers are in memory of Adam Pomper, a member of the 2012 team who passed away on June 12, 2012, Mandy O’Sullivan, mother of current players Sean and Ryan O’Sullivan who died in March 2012 from pancreatic cancer, and the 26 victims of the Newtown, Conn., shooting in December 2012 where Loyola put on a youth lacrosse clinic in January.

Well-Represented In MLL Draft

Five members of the Loyola men’s lacrosse team were selected in the top 26 of the January 11 Major League Lacrosse draft. The Greyhounds tied Virginia for the most draft picks in the selection process.

Josh Hawkins and Mike Sawyer were both taken in the first round, going fifth and eighth overall to the Hamilton Nationals and Charlotte Hounds, respectively.

Scott Ratliff was the first pick of the second round, going ninth to the Boston Cannons, and Davis Butts was taken early in the third round, 19th overall to the Denver Outlaws. Joining Hawkins in Hamilton will be Reid Acton, the team’s fourth round pick, 26th overall.

Big Runs

Last season, runs of three-plus goals were critical in the Greyhounds success, as they had runs of 3-0 or better in all 19 games. In all, Loyola scored three or more in a row on 37 occasions last year.

The Greyhounds have continued the trend this year, scoring three or more in a row 20 times and have had runs of 3-0 or better in every game but one (Maryland).

Second-Half Success

Last season, the Greyhounds outscored opponents 66-22 in the third quarters of games, and 123-63 overall in the second half (including overtime). The second-half scoring continued a trend from 2011 when Loyola outscored opponents, 69-52, after halftime (including two overtime goals), and 77-56.

This year, Loyola is outscoring opponents 54-25 in the third quarter and 87-57 overall after halftime.

Ratliff, Schiro Receive Top Awards At Athletics Banquet

BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland seniors Scott Ratliff and Nichole Schiro were the 2012 recipients of the John R. Mohler and Ernest Lagna Awards, respectively, as the top male and female senior student-athletes who excel in athletics, scholarship and character.

These awards, and many others, were presented on Monday evening at the 2013 Loyola Athletic Awards Banquet held in McGuire Hall on the Evergreen Campus.

A two-year captain for the men’s lacrosse team, Ratliff has been one of the best at his position in the game. The long-stick midfielder was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse draft and has been one of the most versatile players in the game, excelling in the possession game, on both defense and offense. In his four years at Loyola, he is second all-time at the school in caused turnovers, and earlier this year, he accomplished something never believed to have happened in modern collegiate lacrosse. He scored four times against Fairfield, a record for a long-pole player. He was the 2012 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and is currently one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

In her time at Loyola, Schiro literally rewrote the school women’s soccer record book. She set Loyola records for goals (52) and points (119) while earning three MAAC Offensive Player of the Year awards. She is the first person to earn that award three times on the women’s side, and she was also Capital One Academic All-America First Team honoree this season. She helped the Greyhounds advance to the NCAA College Cup as a freshman and senior and also served on the school’s Green and Grey leadership committee.

Several other awards were handed out to Loyola senior student-athletes, beginning with the Unsung Hero Awards.

The Men’s Unsung Hero Award went to men’s basketball senior Julius Brooks who helped the Greyhounds win 47 games over the last two years as a post player. Brooks was key in the Greyhounds run to the NCAA Tournament as a junior and the CIT Quarterfinals as a senior when he led the team in field-goal percentage.

Women’s lacrosse senior Joanna Dalton garnered the Women’s Unsung Hero Award after filling a variety of roles, all with a high amount of skill, for the Greyhounds. As an attack player, she helped Loyola advance to four BIG EAST Championships during her time, a tournament the Greyhounds won during her sophomore and junior season and enter as the No. 2 seed this week. She learned the center position for the Greyhounds as a junior and filled in as the main draw specialist that season.

Men’s Leadership Award winner Kevin Curan of the men’s soccer team was a four-year starter fo the program and played in every game of his collegiate career (78). He was a leader who led vocally and by example, helping the Greyhounds win 60 games during his time at Loyola. This season, as a captain, he helped Loyola win the MAAC regular-season title.

Alyssa Sutherland garnered the Women’s Leadership Award and has been a ubiquitous figure at the school, with her women’s basketball team and in the athletic department. She was a three-year president of Loyola’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and she was one of two student-athletes in this year’s Green and Grey Society, a school-wide leadership group. Earlier this year, she earned the Diane Geppi-Aikens Award for student leadership, the highest honor a Loyola student can earn for leadership and service to others.

The Men’s Medal of Merit went to men’s soccer’s Hector Arellano. A two-year starter, Arellano earned high academic honors while helping the Greyhounds win the 2012 MAAC Regular-Season title. A stalwart on the Greyhounds’ central defense, Arellano was selected by the United State’s Navy to be part o their Civil Engineering Corps Officer School and upon graduation, he will enter a program to earn his commission as a naval officer.

Jackie D’Antonio of the women’s track and field and cross country teams was the winner of the Women’s Medal of Merit. She was a MAAC Champion and All-ECAC honoree earlier this year in indoor track and field. Although she was recruited to run middle distance, she became a top competitor at longer distances, as well as winning the 800-meters indoors earlier this year.

Men’s lacrosse player Sean O’Sullivan was the recipient of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Inspiration Award. During the Greyhounds’ 2012 run to the NCAA Championship, O’Sullivan’s mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. O’Sullivan used her passing as an inspiration to a high level of play, and his teammates fed from his leadership and drive.

The women’s rowing team and Head Coach Rick McClure was tabbed for having the highest cumulative grade point average among the Greyhounds’ 18 teams, track and field’s Noreen Petrash and golf’s Jon Ross were the two senior student-athletes with the highest grade point averages.

In addition to the department-wide awards, student-athletes from each team received Most Dedicated and Most Valuable awards:

Fletcher Earns Final ECAC Defensive Player Of Week Award

CENTERVILLE, Mass. – Loyola University Maryland junior defender Joe Fletcher received the final ECAC Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Week award for the 2013 season Monday after helping the Greyhounds defeat host Johns Hopkins University, 8-4, on Saturday.

Fletcher, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., was a big part of the Greyhounds’ defense that held the Blue Jays scoreless for the final 29 minutes, 18 seconds of the game and limited them to 1-of-19 shooting after halftime.

He had marking responsibilities for Johns Hopkins’ leading scorer, Wells Stanwick who entered the game averaging 4.0 points per game. Fletcher held him to just one point, an assist that came in transition off a Blue Jays’ faceoff win.

Fletcher helped Loyola force 16 Johns Hopkins turnovers, picking up five ground balls to lead all Loyola players. He also was instrumental in the Greyhounds’ clearing game, as Loyola went 20-of-20 in that statistical category.

The award is Fletcher’s third of the season, tying him for the most this year by any player in the league.

Loyola opens play in the ECAC Championships on Thursday, May 2, at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., where it will face Ohio State University in the semifinals at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Networks, Fox College Sports and FUEL TV.

Solid Second Half Gives Men’s Lacrosse 8-4 Win At Johns Hopkins

BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland held Johns Hopkins University scoreless for the final 29-minutes, 18-seconds of regulation on Saturday afternoon at Homewood Field, and the Greyhounds snapped a 13-game losing skid to the Blue Jays with an 8-4 victory to close the regular-season.

Loyola’s last victory in the series came in 1999 when the Greyhounds beat the host Blue Jays, 14-5. The previous seven games, however, had been decided by only 13 goals with Johns Hopkins winning four times by a single tally.

The seventh-ranked Greyhounds opened the second half on a man-advantage that carried over from late in the second quarter, and after the teams returned to even strength, Justin Ward skipped a pass to Sean O’Sullivan at the top of the offense, and the midfielder scored on a low shot from 13 yards out 36 ticks into the half.

O’Sullivan’s goal put Loyola (11-3 overall) in front 5-3, but the 11^th-ranked Blue Jays (8-5) pulled back within a goal just five seconds later when they won the faceoff on a Greyhounds’ violation. Mike Poppleton ran the ball into the offensive zone and snuck a shot into the top right corner at 14:19.

That, however, was the last goal Johns Hopkins would score in the game. Greyhounds’ goalkeeper Jack Runkel made six of his 10 saves in the final half, and the rest of the Blue Jays’ 11 shots went off goal.

Johns Hopkins also committed 10 turnovers in the second half, and the Greyhounds had just eight in the entire game.

Mike Sawyer scored his third of the day, rolling off a short-stick defensive midfielder and slinging a sidearm shot into the net with 6:10 to go in the third quarter, pushing Loyola out to a two-goal advantage for the third time in the game.

The score remained 6-4 Loyola until nearly six minutes had passed in the fourth quarter. Davis Butts beat a short-stick from below goal-line extended on the right side and bounced a shot past Johns Hopkins goalkeeper Pierce Bassett.

Loyola tacked on its eighth and final goal with 3:13 remaining on a man-up possession. O’Sullivan faked a pass to the right and doubled back with one to Kevin Ryan on the left side of the crease, and Ryan finished past Bassett.

The Greyhounds opened scoring in the game early in the first quarter after Scott Ratliff picked up a ground ball off a Blue Jays’ turnover and sent the ball to Ryan who carried it into the offensive half for Loyola. He then sent a pass to Josh Hawkins who scored from 10 yards out at the 12:20 mark.

Johns Hopkins, however, tied the game 2:25 later when John Kaestner scored on a fading jumper after running from ‘X’. The Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead at 7:23 when Brandon Benn ripped a high-to-low shot off a John Ranagan pass.

The Blue Jays held the lead for nearly five minutes until Zach Herreweyers rolled from behind the cage and snuck a no-look underhand shot into the net, tying the score at 2-2- with 2:24 left in the second quarter.

Less than a minute later, Sawyer struck with his first of the game with a sidearm shot after Harry Kutner rolled back to the middle and passed it to Sawyer.

Sawyer then scored his second of the game with 13:54 to go in the second quarter, finishing the end of a transition run for Loyola. Runkel started the sequence with a save, and Joe Fletcher picked up one of his team-high five ground balls. Hawkins ran the clear and threw a pass to Sawyer who finished with a high shot.

The goal made it 4-2 Greyhounds, but Poppleton won the faceoff for Johns Hopkins, sent a pass to Wells Stanwick who got the ball to Benn for a goal six seconds after Sawyer’s at 13:48 in the second half.

Neither Loyola, nor Johns Hopkins scored after that point in the half, and the teams went to the locker room with the Greyhounds in front, 4-3.

The Blue Jays outshot Loyola 36-28 in the game, but the Greyhounds held them to a .111 shooting percentage in the game.

On the defensive end, Fletcher led the team with five ground balls, while Pat Frazier, Ratliff and Hawkins each had three. Reid Acton and Pat Laconi both picked up a pair, while Laconi and Frazier each caused six turnovers, and Acton and Hawkins had one apiece.

The Greyhounds open play in the third-annual ECAC Lacrosse League Championships on Thursday, May 2, as the No. 2 seed. They will take on No. 3-seed Ohio State Unviersity at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y. at a to be determined time.

TEWAARATON AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2013 – The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced the 2013 Tewaaraton Award men’s and women’s nominees, presented by Panama Jack. Twenty-five women and 25 men were selected as nominees, from which the 13th annual Tewaaraton Award 10 finalists (5 women, 5 men) will be selected and honored May 30, 2013, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

The men’s award nominees include players from 20 schools, including 2012 winner Peter Baum (Colgate) and representatives from 16 of the current Top 20 teams in the April 22 USILA Men’s Division I Poll. Five schools had two players nominated, including Albany (Lyle Thompson, Ty Thompson), Cornell (Steve Mock, 2011 finalist Rob Pannell), Loyola (Scott Ratliff, 2012 finalist Mike Sawyer), Maryland (Niko Amato, Jesse Bernhardt) and Syracuse (JoJo Marasco, Brian Megill).

Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora. This is The Year of the Mohawk and the men’s nominees include a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation in Ty Thompson and a member of the Onondaga Nation in his cousin Lyle Thompson.

Men’s nominees are as follows:
Niko Amato, Maryland – Jr., GK
Peter Baum, Colgate – Sr., A
Jesse Bernhardt, Maryland – Sr., LSM
David DiMaria, Lehigh – Sr., A
Tucker Durkin, Johns Hopkins – Sr., D
John Glesener, Army – Soph., A/M
Marcus Holman, North Carolina – Sr., A
Austin Kaut, Penn State – Jr., GK
John Kemp, Notre Dame – Sr., GK
Eric Law, Denver – Sr., A
Brandon Mangan, Yale – Jr., A
JoJo Marasco, Syracuse – Sr., M
Kieran McArdle, St. John’s – Jr., A
Brian Megill, Syracuse – Sr., D
Steve Mock, Cornell – Sr., A
Rob Pannell, Cornell – Sr., A
Mason Poli, Bryant – Sr., LSM
Scott Ratliff, Loyola – Sr., LSM
Mike Sawyer, Loyola – Sr., A
Tom Schreiber, Princeton – Jr., M
Logan Schuss, Ohio State – Sr., A
Lyle Thompson, Albany – Soph., A
Ty Thompson, Albany – Jr., A
Dillon Ward, Bellarmine – Sr., GK
Jordan Wolf, Duke – Jr., A

The women’s award nominees include players from 16 schools, including 2012 winner Katie Schwarzmann (Maryland) and representatives from 13 of the current Top 20 teams in the April 22 IWLCA Division I Poll. Florida (Kitty Cullen, 2012 finalist Brittany Dashiell, Shannon Gilroy, Mikey Meagher) and Maryland (Alex Aust, Iliana Sanza, Schwarzmann) and Syracuse (Becca Block, Alyssa Murray, 2012 finalist Michelle Tumolo) lead all schools with four, three and three nominees respectively.

Women’s nominees are as follows:
Casey Ancarrow, James Madison – Sr., A
Alex Aust, Maryland – Sr., A
Becca Block, Syracuse – Sr., D
Kara Cannizzaro, North Carolina – Sr., M
Demmianne Cook, Stony Brook – Sr., M
Kitty Cullen, Florida – Sr., A
Taylor D’Amore, Johns Hopkins – Jr., A
Brittany Dashiell, Florida – Sr., M
Jasmine DePompeo, Navy – Sr., A
Danielle Etrasco, Boston University – Sr., A
Erin Fitzgerald, Northwestern – Sr., A
Shannon Gilroy, Florida – Soph., M
Kerrin Maurer, Duke – Soph., A
Maggie McCormick, Penn State – Soph., A
Mikey Meagher, Florida – Sr., GK
Alyssa Murray, Syracuse – Jr., A
Marlee Paton, Loyola – Jr., M
Mikaela Rix, Boston College – Soph., M
Iliana Sanza, Maryland – Sr., D
Katie Schwarzmann, Maryland – Sr., M
Barbara Sullivan, Notre Dame – Soph., D
Caroline Tarzian, Georgetown – Soph., A
Taylor Thornton, Northwestern – Sr., M
Michelle Tumolo, Syracuse – Sr., A
Taylor Virden, Duke – Jr., D

Five men’s and five women’s finalists will be announced May 9 and invited to the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony. The original men’s and women’s watch lists were announced Feb. 22, with additions made March 14 and April 11, and were ultimately comprised of 97 men’s players and 62 women’s players. Two of the men’s nominees were added in this round – Eric Law (Denver) and Dillon Ward (Bellarmine). The selection committees are comprised of 12 men’s and 10 women’s current and former coaches.

“We congratulate these 50 elite student-athletes on their remarkable accomplishments thus far this season,” said Jeff Harvey, chairman of the Tewaaraton Foundation. “With the help of our selection committees, we look forward to announcing this year’s finalists next month.”

For more information on the Tewaaraton Award, please visit www.tewaaraton.com. Like and follow The
Tewaaraton Foundation at www.facebook.com/Tewaaraton and www.twitter.com/tewaaraton.

About The Tewaaraton Foundation
First presented in 2001, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse players in the United States. Endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and U.S. Lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse’s centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. The Tewaaraton Foundation ensures the integrity and advances the mission of this award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Native American descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, please visit www.tewaaraton.com.