Checkmate Black make Rhinos look like childs play

Ronkonkoma, NY--Written off the last month, the resurgent Checkmate Black are making a strong playoff push.

Greg Giampaolo had two penalties and one ground ball, Doug Fresh had one goal on a broken play and Checkmate Black beat the struggling Rhinos 21-15 last Thursday night for their third straight victory.

Checkmate Black (6-1) remained a half-game behind Good and Tender Meats in the race for the top playoff spot at CIS. They have to win their last game and need Good and Tender to lose their last game to secure the top spot.

"We put everything together and we're playing some pretty good ball right now", said midfielder Greg Giampaolo, who set a team record by playing in his 181st game with Checkmate. " We are a very, very confident group and we're looking forward to this next game."

The Rhinos (3-4) have lost three of their last four games. At least they finally played better in transition creating opportunities for themselves on both sides of the field. The Rhinos, who couldn't ride or clear the previous three games could be looking for a new coach to replace Kevin "Bagger Vance" Morris after the season.

"Our guys tried but I don't think we have enough ammunition to match up with them," team captain 'Broadway' Brett Jeffares said. " We fought in there defensively. We gave up some easy goals and got some turnovers. We were ineffective finding the back of the net."

Despite scoring first with a quick goal, the Rhinos soon relinquished their lead and trailed the rest of the game. Down 12-7 at halftime they couldn't close the gap down the stretch.

The Rhinos' Nick Marks ('Wogue '99) scored his second hat trick of the season and Brian Davis (Southampton '94) padded his stats by adding four goals and two assists. Adam "The Israeli Assassin" added two more for the Rhinos. Jacobs miss-fired on two more would be goals. " I made two mistakes that cost us pretty good,” the Assassin said. “I can’t put the defense in that spot."

Since his benching two week ago, Giampaolo has played like the guy who won five Jerry's kids awards and led Checkmate Black to four consecutive St. Mary's School for the Blind Lacrosse Championships. He has five ground balls and ten penalties in the last three games. His shot percentage is zero.

"He's playing confident, he's being aggressive with the ball and he's managing the game well," teammate and fellow midfielder Doug Fresh said.

Giampoalo came out firing in the first half, missing all five shots on the opening possession, including a wide open shot a point blank range.

In the second half, Doug "Doug E. Fresh" DeRosa stepped in front of a Steve Maloney pass intended for "Broadway" Brett Jeffares and raced ten yards for a goal to make it 17-12.

It was the first goal this season for Doug Fresh, who just agreed in terms to playing with Checkmate for the next six years. " It was definitely overdue", Doug said. " I dropped a couple of passes. It was time to finally get one. I'm sick of Giampaolo taking all the credit."

Glenn Mattson (Marist '92) defensive standout for Checkmate constantly harassed the Rhino attackmen throughout the evening, holding the Rhinos to less than ten goals per half.

Notes: Checkmate improved to 10-2 in December dating back to 2006..Rhinos' Scott Ferguson scored is 51st goal, setting a single-season team record(two on the night).....Rhinos have lost four or more games in four seasons of play (2 indoor, 2 outdoor)....D Jim Laura(wedding plans), M Scott Fitzgerald(sniffles) and M Rob Martin(bruised ego) sat out for the Rhinos.

More news from the MLL draft

This just in.... Chris Atwell (Fairfield '08, Loomis '04), defensemen and team captain has been selected by the Boston Cannons. The Cannons are looking to improve a porous defense and improve on their 2008 lackluster 7-5 record. Atwell is rumored to be working somewhere on Wall St. with former Loomis alum/teammate and deadhead Joe Cortese. Unlike Atwell's success at the collegiate level, Cortese rode the pine at Trinity College.

2009 SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT RESULTS

The 2009 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Supplemental Draft was conducted via conference call yesterday afternoon, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross. The draft, which began at 2 PM ET and consisted of seven rounds, lasted until approximately 2:45 PM ET.
On Monday, MLL announced that the Chicago Machine would forfeit the first overall pick due to a training camp violation which took place prior to the 2008 season. Therefore, the San Francisco Dragons made the first pick in this year’s Supplemental Draft and selected defenseman Sean McCarthy. A 2006 graduate of Hofstra University, McCarthy was an honorable mention All-American and first team All-CAA selection as a senior. McCarthy has played with the Outlaws, having been selected by Denver with the 43rd overall pick in the 2006 MLL Collegiate Draft.
With the next selection, the Washington Bayhawks took midfielder Charles “Chas” Gessner, a two-year captain of the lacrosse team while playing for Brown University. Gessner, who graduated in 2003 and was also a standout football player in college, has played wide-receiver for several NFL teams including the New England Patriots and New York Jets. He most recently played for the Orlando Predators of the AFL.
The Long Island Lizards chose defenseman Ricky Pages with the next pick. A long stick midfielder at Ohio State, Pages was a 2008 Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-American Honorable Mention selection prior to his senior season. He was also awarded the co-Defensive MVP award for the Buckeyes in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He graduated in 2008.
The New Jersey Pride then selected Steve Ammann, midfielder from the University of Albany. In July, the 2008 graduate was honored as the America East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in men’s lacrosse for this past academic year. He was also a second-team all-conference midfielder for the second year in a row, and was fourth on the squad in scoring. Michael Ammann, Steve’s brother and fellow UAlbany midfielder, was also selected by the Pride in the fifth round. Michael also graduated in 2008.
In addition to several promising recent graduates, a number of veteran MLL players were also taken during Wednesday’s Supplemental Draft including midfielders Joe Yevoli, Brad Heritage, A.J. Shannon, Kyle Dowd, Benjamin Grinnell, Devon Britts, and Chris Colliniates. Yevoli, who began his MLL career with the Dragons in 2006 before spending the past two seasons as a member of the New Jersey Pride, was taken by San Francisco with the 12th overall pick. Shannon was selected by the New Jersey Pride with the 25th selection. He spent his three MLL seasons with the Rochester Rattlers before appearing in four games last season for the Boston Cannons.
Earlier this offseason, the Long Island Lizards released goaltenders Dan Loftus and Nick Murtha after each struggled between the pipes for the Lizards. Long Island reacquired Loftus with the 44th pick, before selecting goaltender Stefan Schroder, a 2008 Ohio State graduate at the 54th slot.
The only other goalie selected was Bruce Bickford, a 2008 graduate of Drexel University. Bickford was chosen by the Philadelphia Barrage with the 67th pick.
The San Francisco Dragons and Rochester Rattlers held the most picks with eight (8) selections each.Teams whose rosters were less than thirty (30) players at the conclusion of the Supplemental Draft were then eligible to select additional players to bring their rosters up to thirty. The Chicago Machine, Washington Bayhawks, and Boston Cannons each made one selection from the Player Pool. The Machine selected midfielder Pat Hogan, a 2003 graduate of Syracuse University and former member of the Boston Cannons and Chicago Machine; the Bayhawks selected attackman Mike Phipps, a 2007 graduate of the University of Maryland; and the Cannons selected midfielder Thomas Jackson, a 2008 graduate of Amherst College.
Beginning on Thursday, December 11th at 12:00 PM ET, teams may claim players remaining in the Player Pool in order to bring their Pre-Season Active Roster count to thirty-five (35) players. MLL teams may also conduct one open tryout prior to April 12, 2009. The 2009 MLL season is set to begin on Saturday, May 16th.

New tournament is arriving late spring '09

warontheshorelax.com

Jesters crushed again courtesy of Rhinos

Rich Nessim, pictured here, frowns after losing to Rhinos and bruising his beer belly

Ronkonkoma, NY--The Rhinos finally looked like world-beaters. Brett Jeffares scored two goals against his favorite punching bag and Rob Martin had three goals and two assists including one to Scott Fitzgerald, to give the Rhinos a 28-20 victory against the LI Jesters on Thursday night.

It was the Rhinos' 11th straight win over their arch rivals in a series dating back to the birth of lacrosse play at CIS in 2006.

The Rhinos (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in five games. Once considered favorites to win the CIS Fall '08 Championship, they're still going to need a miracle to reach the playoffs. They trail Schlitz Faced by 2 games in the standings.

"It's a win and we take it no further than that," captain "Broadway" Brett Jeffares said.

"We don't want to make it more than it really is. It's one win; we got three games to go with two tough games. But it was a good confidence boost."


The Rhinos rebounding with such a fine showing didn’t surprise offensive star Scott Ferguson (Oswego '99) . The former All-American had six goals and six assists on the night. "We got a real good group of guys here that have a lot of pride and play for one another and I think that is evident when you are 2-3 and play with the energy and excitement and the care for one another that we did.”

The Rhinos were down 12-7 at the half. However in a momentum shifting series of plays to start the half, Jester's midfielder Rich Nessim was stripped twice by Scott Fitzgerald. Nessim also lost his stick on one of the checks, leading to 3 quick points for the Rhinos. Nessim was knocked down and didn't get up after getting stripped for the second time and was later taken to the locker room on a cart with an injured ankle and a bruised beer belly.

Tom " The God Father" Brazell tried to replace Nessim's intensity at the start of the second half. After dishing out an assist he was shut down by Rob Stossel until late in the game where managed another assist on a garbage time goal.

The Jester's (1-5) reached another losing record for the sixth straight year. They are 3-89 since being routed by Team HLL and former Checkmate coach Kevin Morris in the Cantiague Lacrosse Championship in Hicksville on August 15, 2003.


Martin's third goal of the night midway through the second half was the 7th of his brilliant two-year career.


A major milestone was reached when Rhinos' midfielder Scottie Fitz scored his goal early in the first half. It was the first of his illustrious career and was received with great fanfare by his teammates. “We’re excited to finally get back on track,” Scottie said. “It’s taken a while. We’ve had to go through a lot of ups and downs.”

Good and Tender Meats mince Rhinos 25-14

Ronkonkoma, NY-- In Tuesday night play at Center Island Sports, Good and Tender Meats (5-0)remained undefeated and handed the skidding Rhinos (2-3) their third loss in as many games.

The Meats led for the majority of the contest. They had a modest lead early in the first half at which one point the Rhinos managed to tie the contest at 6-6. However, Meats pulled ahead 12-7 to end the half.

Second half action saw the Meats turn their level of play up a notch scoring an additional 13 goals. The Meats destroyed the Rhinos in the transition game, like Jay Cutler's Broncos picking apart the New York Jets' secondary. Rhinos players often looked confused and clueless as they watched ground balls roll right past them, substituted instead of playing defense (in transition), stood still on offense, and played matador defense.

In set defensive sets the Rhino Close-d led by Kenny "The Marine" Costa, played great despite having their hands full. The unit surrendered one goal if that. Again, most if not all of the Meats goals came in transition and unsettled situations.

Despite the Rhinos' offensive struggles their where a few bright spots that are worth mentioning Scott Ferguson, Brett Jeffares, Chris Amplo and last but not least Rob Martin. Martin has increased his goal scoring by 400% from the previous indoor season. He has has four goals in five games. Rob's recent success is attributed to a sharp decline in Marlboro Reds and his partaking of Bikram yoga.

In other action on Tuesday night Remnants defeated Bruno's 18-14. The Remnants improve to 2-3 on the season while Bruno's Detroit Lion-esquely remain win-less at 0-5. This win for the Remnant's sets the stage for next weeks highly anticipated match-up versus the Rhinos. The Remnants are looking to avenge a 8-7 overtime loss suffered June 17, 2008 to the Rhinos in Nor'easter lacrosse play and controversial comments posted on LI Lax Blog about their play.

Former UVa Star Will Barrow Found Dead

Will Barrow, a captain and key player on the University of Virginia's lacrosse team from 2005 through 2008, was found dead in his apartment on Saturday. Although no official details have been provided as yet, foul play is not suspected. Barrow was considered a top defensive midfielder, and this past spring he helped the Cavaliers advance to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Syracuse in a thrilling double overtime match. In his 63 games at Virginia, he scored 18 goals and assisted on seven others.

Former Syracuse University great Tom Marechek going into hall of fame

Syracuse. NY -- This just in from Mike Morrison, the men's lacrosse contact at Syracuse University:
Syracuse lacrosse great Tom Marechek (1989-92) will be enshrined in the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame this weekend. The induction ceremony will begin at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. Marechek, a four-time All-American, was a member of two national championship teams (1989, 1990) with the Orange.
Marechek joins Roberta Brennan (Boston Women's Lacrosse Association/U.S. National Team), Lynn Craun (James Madison '75), Pat Dillon (Towson '72), Chris Sailer (Harvard '81), Virginia head coach Dom Starsia (Brown '74), George Tracy (Navy '63) and Dick Watts (Johns Hopkins '56) as part of the 2008 Hall of Fame class.
Marechek etched his name SU record books, earning first-team All-America accolades three times in the course of his storied collegiate career. He still ranks second in career goals (182) and seventh in career points (258). Marechek recorded two of the top goal-scoring seasons in school history. He tallied 53 goals in 1991, the fourth-best season total at Syracuse, and he scored 47 in 1992 which is tied for 10th on the Orange's single-season list.
While at Syracuse, Marechek, a native of Victoria, British Columbia, and the Gait brothers - Gary and Paul - were tabbed the "Canadian Connection." Marechek was a four-time member of the Canadian National Team and earned an International Lacrosse Federation All-World Team distinction in 1998.
As a professional, Marechek played 12 seasons with the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, earning eight All-Pro honors, winning four league championships and retiring as the league's third all-time leading scorer with 773 points. He became the first Wings player to have his jersey number retired by the organization. In addition, Marechek played seven seasons of Major League Lacrosse with the former Baltimore Bayhawks and was a four-time all-star. He also won two league championships.
The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame was established in 1957 to honor men and women, past and present, whose contributions to the game of lacrosse were significant, both on and off the playing field. More than 325 lacrosse greats are honored in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, which is housed in the Lacrosse Museum at U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters in Baltimore.
Marechek is the 21st person with ties to the SU lacrosse program to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.