April 26, 2006

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It's On - Version 3.0 of the Patriot League Tournament
Forget TNT, the Patriot League knows drama as the pairings for the 2006 men's lacrosse tournament came down to the final three regular-season League contests. Tiebreakers determined all four postseason seeds after Colgate and Navy tied for first place and Lehigh and Army wound up deadlocked for third.

The Hollywood storyline continues as Colgate, one of three Top 20 teams in the Patriot League Tournament (PLT), makes its postseason return in style after a one-year absence - playing host for the first time in the PLT's three-year existence. The Raiders, which also claimed a share of the program's first-ever regular-season title, clearly have the momentum coming into the PLT with six-straight wins.

Colgate's most recent victory could be the biggest in Raiders' history, needing a win in its regular-season Patriot League finale over Bucknell to clinch the PLT top spot and its first-ever banner. However, Colgate had lost seven-straight and 15-of-21 all-time meetings to the Bison.

Navy enters the PLT in a new role, as the number two seed after playing host its first two years. The two-time Patriot League champions also laid claim to its third-straight regular-season crown in 2006.

Lehigh and Army round out the PLT field with both teams making its second-straight postseason appearances.

Downloadable Bracket available above.

Patriot League Tournament Semifinals Preview - Tyler's Field (Hamilton, N.Y.)

No. 1 Colgate (11-2, 5-1) vs. No. 4 Army (7-5, 4-2)
2006 Regular Season Meeting
March 25; @ Army 9, Colgate 5

All-Time Patriot League Tournament Meetings
First Meeting

Patriot League Tournament Records
Army 1-1 (1-0 Semifinals)
Colgate 0-1 (0-1 Semifinals)

Colgate and Army are ranked 17th and 18th, respectively, in this week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll ... The Cadets hold the advantage in the all-time series against the Raiders, having won 23 of 27 lifetime meetings, including the last two ... Colgate, which snapped a seven-game drought against Bucknell this season, has won three of the last six meetings - including two-straight in 2003 and 2004 ... Home field advantage will favor the Raiders, which has won all nine games at Tyler Field this season ... The Black Knights however have won in six of its last seven visits to Hamilton, N.Y. and are 4-1 on the road this season ... Last season, Army defeated Bucknell in overtime to advance to the Patriot League championship game ... Colgate's lone Patriot League Tournament appearance was a 15-5 loss to Navy in the 2003 semifinals ... Army's John Walker became the third Cadet in Patriot League history to record 200 career points ... Walker is fourth all-time in career points and goals (121) in Patriot League history ... Brendan Hurley is Colgate's active scoring leader with 77 career points and 51 career goals ... The Raiders have had three Patriot League Player of the Week selections this season - Brian Robinson, Hurley and Robert Trasolini ... Army's Mike Obringer was named the Patriot League's Player of the Week two-straight times at the end of March ... Matt Lalli leads Colgate with 37 points (21 goals) ... Robinson has scored a team-high 22 goals for the Raiders ... Walker leads Army with 33 points (12 goals).

No. 2 Navy (9-3, 5-1) vs. No. 3 Lehigh (8-6, 4-2)

2006 Regular Season Meeting
March 24; @ Navy 9, Lehigh 4

All-Time Patriot League Tournament Meetings
2005; Semifinals, No. 1 Navy 10, No. 4 Lehigh 6

Patriot League Tournament Records
Navy 4-0 (2-0 Semifinals);
Lehigh 0-1 (0-1 Semifinals)

Navy has been ranked in the United States Lacrosse Intercollegiate Association poll every week this season, including the last three in the Top 10 ... The Mids are currently ranked No. 8 ... Lehigh is 2-5 against the Top 20 this season, with both of its victories coming against Patriot League teams (No. 14 Army and No. 19 Bucknell) ... Navy has won 19-straight games in this series and 23-of-24 meetings ... The Mids were 5-1 on the road this season including a perfect 1-0 mark at a neutral site (against Bucknell in San Diego, Calif.) ... Lehigh was 3-4 away from Bethlehem, Pa. this season and 1-1 at neutral sites ... Navy has won the two previous Patriot League Tournament titles and is undefeated in Tournament play ... Lehigh will be the Midshipmen's first repeat opponent in the Tournament's history, as Navy has faced a different opponent in each of its four previous games ... Navy's Jon Birsner is just three points shy of breaking into the Patriot League's top 10 all-time ... Teammate Ian Dingman needs nine points to also reach the Patriot League top 10 all-time ... This game features two of the nation's top goaltenders in Navy's Matt Russell and Lehigh's John Park ... Russell is first in the NCAA in goals against average (5.45), Park is seventh (6.54) ... Stephen Marino leads Lehigh with 38 points (20 goals) ... Blake Best is the Mountain Hawks leading goal-scorer (22) ... Birsner has collected a team-high 43 points for the Mids, while Dingman has scored a team-leading 25 goals.

League Notes
The Big Dance The Patriot League has sent at least two teams to the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons - including Patriot League Tournament champion Navy in 2004 and 2005 ... Army has made three-straight Tournament appearances ... For the Defense Three Patriot League teams are in the top 10 in the NCAA in scoring defense - Navy (1, 8.00), Lehigh (7, 6.85) and Bucknell (9, 7.40).

Bucknell 6-8, 2-4 Patriot League
All Good Things ... Kirk Klett finished his Bison career with 63 career goals and 71 points ... Passing the Torch Freshman Joe Mele led Bucknell in scoring with 26 goals and 28 points.

Holy Cross 0-13, 0-6 Patriot League
In Matt We Trust Matt Fallon finished second in the Patriot League with 133 saves ... Saying Goodbye Senior Billy Klutz led the Crusaders with 18 goals and 21 points.

Lafayette 2-10, 1-5 Patriot League
Future's So Bright Freshman John Galassi led Lafayette with 18 goals and 20 points. ... Savior Jeff's Canfield led the Patriot League with 10.75 saves per game.