Northeast Conference Men's Lacrosse Weekly Release (4/1) 4/1/2019 PDF Release NEC Player of the Week: Corson Kealey, RMU NEC Co-Defensive Players of the Week: Joseph Cipoletti, SHU & Alex Heger, RMU NEC Rookie of the Week: Luke Caracciolo, BRY Previous NEC Releases: March 25 | March 18 | March 11 | March 4 | February 25 | February 18 | February 11 | Preseason Poll Release NEC MEN’S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Corson Kealey, Robert Morris So., A, Ottawa, Ontario/Everest Academy Kealey claimed his second NEC Player of the Week honor this season after a four-goal, two-assist performance in Saturday’s 15-9 Colonial victory against Saint Joseph’s. Kealey recorded his third hat trick in the last four games and his fourth of the season to help lead the preseason league favorites to their first conference victory of the year. The first three of Kealey’s scores all came in the first 15:04, helping to pace an 8-1 run for RMU to start the game. The sophomore’s 25 goals on the season lead the Colonials, while his 2.78 goals per game stand third in the NEC. NEC MEN’S LACROSSE CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Joseph Cipoletti, Sacred Heart Sr., LSM, Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West Cipoletti turned in one of the most stellar defensive performances in the league this season on Saturday against Mount St. Mary’s, producing a career high eight ground balls and tying a career-best with five caused turnovers. The five CT rank second on the NEC single-game list this season. Cipoletti ranks third in the nation with 2.88 caused turnovers per game. Saturday’s outing marked the third time this year he’s recorded four or more caused turnovers in a single game. The senior leads all NEC players with 23 caused turnovers, while also leading all non-faceoff specialists with 41 ground balls. Alex Heger, Robert Morris Sr., G, Carmel, IN/Carmel In his first trip back to Sweeney Field since his NEC Tournament MVP performance last spring, Heger recorded a season-high 17 saves with a .654 save percentage in RMU’s 15-9 victory at Saint Joseph’s. Heger helped limit the Hawks to just one goal in the first 23 minutes, while the Colonials raced out to an 8-1 lead. The senior netminder also caused two turnovers and led all players with five ground balls. Heger, a three-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week last season, earned his first defensive honor this year. The Carmel, IN native stands third in the NEC with 11.89 saves per game. NEC MEN’S LACROSSE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Luke Caracciolo, Bryant Fr. G, Centreville, VA/Paul VI Caracciolo picked up his third NEC Rookie of the Week honor this season after turning aside 14- of-18 Wagner shots in Bryant’s 13-4 victory on Saturday over the Seahawks. Caracciolo recorded his sixth outing of 14 or more saves over nine starts to help lead the Bulldogs to their first conference win of the 2019 campaign. After a Wagner goal 1:07 into the second quarter to put the Seahawks up 4-2, Caracciolo held Wagner scoreless for the final 43:53, while the Bulldogs finished the afternoon on an 11-0 run. The four goals allowed set a new career-low. The freshman goalkeeper is second in the NEC in goals against average (9.51) and save percentage (57.2%), and leads the NEC in saves per game (12.78). AROUND THE NEC Mount St. Mary’s stayed unbeaten in conference play with a 14-10 victory at Waldron Family Stadium on Saturday against Sacred Heart. The Mountaineers are 3-0 to start NEC play for the first time since 2011, a year in which they would go on to win the inaugural NEC Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Mount would race out to a 5-0 lead, but the Pioneers made a ferocious rally in the second half, pulling within a pair of goals twice in the fourth quarter. Brendan Doyle would assist on a Joe Bethke goal with 12:32 remaining to put Mount up 11-8, and then would score a dagger of a goal with 2:50 remaining to again raise the advantage to three, 13-10. Dylan Furnback recorded a season-high 17 stops in goal, to secure the win. Mount will travel to Salt Lake City this week to meet Utah in non-conference action. Hobart remains tied with the Mount in league play atop the standings. On Thursday, the 8-1 Statesmen bested St. Bonaventure at home for their sixth straight win. For the second straight week, Hobart appears in the Inside Lacrosse Poll, coming in at #20. Meanwhile, Robert Morris and Bryant both picked up their first NEC wins of the season with impressive road victories. Next weekend’s action is highlighted by Hobart traveling to Philadelphia to meet Saint Joseph’s, while Sacred Heart and Bryant battle in Smithfield to see who evens their conference record at 2-2. NEC PRIME PERFORMERS Luke Caracciolo, BRY – FR – G *Turned aside 14-of-18 Wagner shots, holding the Seahawks scoreless for the final 43:53. Joseph Cipoletti, SHU – SR – LSM *Recorded a career-high eight ground balls and a career-high tying five caused turnovers against Mount. Zach Cole, SJU – FR – FO *Went 20-for-27 in faceoffs with 14 ground balls against Robert Morris. Chris DiPretoro, MSM – SR – A *Finished with three goals and one assist against SHU to help the Mount remain unbeaten in NEC play. Dylan Furnback, MSM – SO – G *Made a season-high 17 saves against Sacred Heart, with a season-high 63% save percentage. Alex Heger, RMU – SR – G *Made a season-high 17 saves with only nine goals allowed against SJU, with two caused turnovers and five ground balls. Eric Holden, HOB – JR – A *Led Hobart with five points (four goals & one assist) in their non-conference win over St. Bonaventure. It was his fourth game this year with five or more points. Corson Kealey, RMU – SO – A *Led RMU with four goals and two assists in their league victory over SJU. Recorded his third hat trick in his last four games. Marc O’Rourke, BRY – SO – A *Scored three goals and added two assists with two caused turnovers in Bryant’s win over Wagner. Ryan Smith, RMU – JR – A *Posted four goals against SJU, his fourth straight week with a hat trick.