RUSH-HENRIETTA
March 18,2006 - Rush-Henrietta finished tied for 6th in the Monroe County-1 division with a 1-11 league record and 6-12 over all. Seeded 8th in the Class A tournament, the Royal Comets finished 8th after beating Spencerport (21-7) and then losing to Penfield (16-1).

Rush lost nine players to graduation including defenseman A.J. LaLonde (Potsdam), attackman Brian McShea (Geneseo) and midfielder John Gause (MCC).

Top returners include senior midfielders Tony Henriquez (RIT) and Tim Barth (Morrisville) and junior midfielder Justin Rose. At attack, junior Matt Moran, who was the leading scorer last year (17 goals and 31 assists) returns with junior Brian Hantzis back from an early season leg injury in 2005. Junior long stick middie, Jake Messimer also returns with junior goalie Matt McShea.

Seven new sophomores could see significant playing time including defensemen Jon Neri and Marc Favro and attackmen Nate Delone and Bobby Pattridge.

Last year was a growing year for the Royal Comets and they enjoyed winning some games that would have been lost in the past. Four of the top five scorers return this season and there is experience at the offensive side of the field. Rush-Henrietta plays in a tough MC-1 division but they have scheduled out of league games with Athena/Odyssey, Eastridge, Gates and McQuaid Jesuit.

Coach Gottko has 32 players on the Varsity roster, which is the largest squad in ten years. All of this points to the fact that Rush-Henrietta is on the move and should expect to see more wins and more growth throughout the season. Perhaps even better news is that the majority of starters are juniors so the Royals Comets are looking at two years of growth.

Top Returners:

Tony Henriquez – 12 – Mid
Matt Moran – 11 – Att
Justin Rose – 11 – Mid
Brian Hantzis -11 – Att
Jake Messimer – 11 – LSM
Tim Barth – 12 – Mid
Matt McShea – 11 – Goal

Top New Players:

Jon Neri – 10 – Def
Marc Favro – 10 – Def
Nate Delone – 10 – Att
Bobby Pattridge – 10 – Att