Men's Lacrosse Selected for ECAC Tournament

BOSTON, Mass. – For the first time since the 2004 season and third time in program history the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team has been selected to participate in the ECAC Division III New England Men's Lacrosse Tournament. The second-seeded Leopards (10-6) will host third-seeded Mitchell College (9-3) in a semifinal round game on Wednesday, May 8, at 7:00 p.m., at Sweeney Field.

The winner of this contest will travel to top-seeded University of New England (13-5) for a 1:00 p.m. championship game.

Enjoying its finest season to date, Wentworth is looking to snap a four-game losing streak, with the last two losses coming in overtime, including a 9-8 setback to Roger Williams in the first round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament.

Sophomore Ryan Coakley (Flemington, N.J.) paces the offense with 65 points, coming on 25 goals and a program single-season record 40 assists; junior Steve Glover (Marstons Mills, Mass.) has 60 points on 47 goals and 13 assists; while sophomore Michael Cushera (Waltham, Mass.) rounds out the Leopards' top three scorers with 25 goals and 16 assists for 41 points.

Freshman Tim Parlato (Needham, Mass.) has been Wentworth's face-off specialist, winning 125 of 280 draws and collecting a single-season program record 114 ground balls to go along with 16 caused turnovers.

On defense, senior Tyler Forthofer (Glastonbury, Conn.) has 30 ground balls and eight caused turnovers; freshman James Caldwell (New Milford, Conn.) had 34 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers; and junior Michael Rottler (Derry, N.H.) has 37 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Junior Jared Proulx (Nashua, N.H.) has been a mainstay in goal with a 7.69 goals against average and a .637 save percentage.

Mitchell has been idle since dropping a 14-8 decision to Mass. Maritime on April 22. That loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Mariners, who are led on offense by junior David Klapp's (Greenfield, N.Y.) 41 points (27 goals, 14 assists). Klapp is followed by classmate Demetre Lyras (Rocky Point, N.Y.), who has 31 points on 26 goals and five assists. Lyras is also Mitchell's primary face-off specialist, winning 129 of 168 draws and collecting 57 ground balls. Sophomore Jordan Cook (Groton, Conn.) has 27 points on 19 goals and eight assists.

Junior Chris Joy (East Lyme, Conn.) has a team-high 102 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers, while freshman Maxx Crowley (Seal Beach, Calif.) had 20 caused turnovers. Between the pipes, junior Peter Eshenfelder (Quaker Hill, Conn.) has a 7.42 goals against average and a .623 save percentage.

While this is the first-ever meeting between these two schools, both teams played four common opponents this season in Curry, Becker, Nichols, and Mass. Maritime.

Wentworth's two previous ECAC Tournament appearances resulted in losses for the Leopards. In 2003 Wentworth was defeated at Keene State, 18-3, and a season later fell, 20-6, at Babson.