PENFIELD
  March 18,2006 - It’s hard to vote against Penfield as the top team in Class A as they have had near perfect seasons for two years. In 2004 their only pre-tournament loss was to Pittsford in the last game of the schedule, and in 2005 they were undefeated until the Sectional finals where they lost to Canandaigua in a hard fought 12-10 game. In fact, since 2003 the Patriots are 51-7.

On the other hand it’s been five years since the Patriots have won a Sectional Championship. This year, it is unlikely that Canandaigua will reach the finals, but Fairport and Schroeder are both strong contenders and Penfield lost some important players to graduation.

Penfield was undefeated in the regular season in 2005 (12-0 league, 16-0 over all) and won the Monroe County-1 championship for the second year in a row. The Patriots were seeded first in the sectionals and beat R-H (16-1) and Schroeder (15-9) before losing to Canandaigua (12-10) in the finals. They finished 10th in the New York State poll and 26th in the Laxpower national poll. They placed 2nd in defense in Section Five (4.79 goals against average) and 3rd in offense (12.16 average) in 2005

Senior middie, Mike Thon, senior attackmen Tim Pfeffer and Jason Knerr and senior defenseman Luke Prattico were each selected to the All Tournament team. Making the first team All League list were attackmen Tim Pfeffer and Trevor Rice, midfielders Mike Thon, junior Kelly McKenna, and Evander Wilson (Long stick), defenseman Luke Prattico and junior goalie Brian Dell who was also named SportsFive defensive Player of the Year. Thon was also named to the All America Team.

Almost half the team graduated in 2005 (16 players) including some very strong players. Gone in attack are Tim Pfeffer (Marist), Trevor Rice (Canterbury Prep) and Jason Knerr. The defense lost John Butt (West Point), Matt Damieder (MCC) and Luke Prattico (Adelphi) who was one of the best defensemen in the Section in 2005. The midfield lost All American Mike Thon (Bucknell), Evander Wilson (MCC) as a long stick middie and Alex Del Pozzo (Georgia Tech).

Losing half your team is a tough thing, but Coach Rice lost half his team in 2004 and still went undefeated in 2005 and he retains a number of extraordinary players for this years campaign. At the top of that list are Kelly McKenna (early to Notre Dame) and Michael Arvan (Villanova) in the midfield and Brian Dell (Canisus) in the goal.

Returning in attack are seniors Dave Malone, Scott Serron with juniors Kevin Green and Dan Huntington. Junior Mark Hill moves up from JV. Senior midfielder Ben Foster is expected to join McKenna and Arvan while senior Mike Cummins, sophomore Connor Rice and junior Kevin Roe (up from JV) may form a second midfield line. Senior Paris Williams, junior Paul Leonard and sophomore Alex Smith are an athletic defensive midfield group, while senior Tim Servati and sophomore Alex Nowak will be looking for long stick defensive midfield time.

All four starting defensemen graduated in 2005. Seniors Joe Clay, Andrew Ng and junior Paul Van Thof are expected to see time along with sophomores Kevin Randall, Jon Wheaton and Rob Solomon.

Can the Patriots make it to the finals of the Class A tournament for the third year in a row? Don’t count them out, but it most certainly will not be as easy as it has been in the last two years. With a number of the best players in the Section they will have a shot, but the degree to which the rest of the team can come together will determine the success of Penfield this year.

Top Returners:

Kelly McKenna – 12 – Mid
Mike Arvan – 12 – Mid
Brian Dell – 12 – Goal
Ben Foster – 12 – Mid
Mike Cummins – 12 – Mid
Connor Rice – 10 – Mid
Paul Leonhard - 11 - Mid
Joe Clay – 12 – Def
Andrew Ng – 12 – Def
Paul VanThof – 11 – Def
Dave Malone – 12 – Att
Scott Serron – 12 – Att
Kevin Green - 11 - Att

Top New Players:

Kevin Roe – 11 – Mid
Parris Williams – 12 – DM
Alex Smith – 10 – DM
Kevin Randall – 10 – Def
Jon Wheaton – 10 – Def
Rob Solomon – 10 - Def