Great Competition in 2008
March 15, 2008 -
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Last year at this time we stated that there was some serious talent among the Class A teams.
Although heavyweights like Mike Manley and Grant Catalino are missing from this year's rosters, the general level of talent shared by a number of teams in the section is better than last year.
It is, therefore, more difficult than ever, to predict an obvious winner in any class but Class C, where Penn Yan will continue to be the de facto choice for another Sectional championship.
Canandaigua lost about a third of their team from last year, and eight of the ten graduates have continued their lacrosse careers in college which speaks loudly to the skills and love of the game that are taught in "the chosen spot".
Even with the loss of some key players, CA returns all four of their stat leaders from last season. Connor Henderson, Brian Scheetz(19g-39a) and Justin Tomzak(15g-27a) return in the attack. Henderson (59g-22a) led the team in goals and points.
The midfield is a bit thin although Austin Rogers and Andrew Knoblauch both return but the Braves always have players who move up quickly.
In the defense, Scott Bement (68%) will be back in the cage. Canandaigua has a solid foundation with which to work. He will be joined by Evan Roth and Ben Knapton (both 1st FL) who return in defense.
Coach Mulheron has put together an aggressive schedule that includes out of league games with Corning East, Orchard Park, Hamburg, Thomas, Schroeder, and Fairport. The Braves could lose some games but will be better prepared for the sectional tournaments at the end of the year.
The Irondequoit story is very similar except that they will be working with an relatively untested goalie. In front of the cage, however, are Ian Nash, Sean Davern and Jimmy Walsh who return and are expected to limit the number of shots faced by the new starter in the goal.
Drew Coholan(54g-20a) led the team in goals last season and will work in the attack by senior Greg Wright(42g-35a), who led the team in assists and points last season. Wright and Coholan will make the Irondequoit attack a force to be reckoned with this season. Leading the midfield will be Mike Wallenhorst and there will a number of players with whom he will be able to play.
Coach Whipple has also put together a some challenging out of league games that includes West Genesee and Ithaca. Based on his performance last year, no one can count the Eagles out of the repeat performance.
Penfield, Thomas and Schroeder are also clearly in the mix this year. Although Penfield may have some depth issues in the attack, this could be the year that Connor Rice has been waiting for, and the defense is one of the strongest around with Alex Nowak, Robert Solomon, Kevin Randall and Jon Wheaton in front of Brady Del Pozzo.
Thomas is sometimes taken a little less seriously because they play in MC2 and where they have done very well, going 8-0 last year, and winning the last two divisional championships. With twelve returning players with honors, they will do well within the division, although the MC2 division will be much stronger this year. In addition, Coach Ruller has scheduled games with Schroeder, Fairport, Canandaigua and Penfield. Wins against these teams should silence any critics.
In the attack Max Gurowsk(13g-33a), Nick Scalzo(39g-15a) and Jack Hinderland return. At midfield, Kyle LaVallee, Billy Gurowski and Pat Morrill return and Pat Maloney returns to face off. In defense are Jake Zielger, Joe Amico, AJ Glagolov and Bryan Clifford. and in the cage the Titans also have back starting goalie Austin Fox(58%).
Schroeder lost 16 seniors (ten of which are playing in college) and they will certainly miss a long list of extraordinary players, but there are still excellent players left, including Mike Tota(53g-11a), Chris Topping, Anthony Stirpe, Eric Horeth and Nick Mooney. Brian Enck will take the cage but only saw 36 minutes last year. Coach Petz has a challenging out of league schedule including Canandaigua, Penn Yan, Amherst and Hamburg.
In Class B, we are once again picking Geneva for the preseason nod. After winning the last two Championships, the Panthers lost about a third of their squad, but they return their top scorers in Alex Love(63g-26a) and Kyle Boncaro(42g-44a). The 
midfield will return two strong veterans in Jim Warner(28g-8a) and Willie Rago. Offense is in good shape but the defense is thin with loss of Torruella, DeRaddo and Schutz in the cage. Mike Reale is the lone starter returning.
Aquinas could provide competition in Class B this year. They lost their goalie but will return Alex Grey and Mike Owens in front of the cage. They are much stronger in the offensive end of the field where midfielders Anthony Bianchi(25g-15a) and Marc Brondon(22g-15a) will get the ball to Austin Gorman(37g-16a) in the attack. Coach Dawes has added Victor, Geneva, Churchville-Chili, Brockport, Eastridge and Pittsford to the GRALL schedule.
Eastridge is on the move after a 12-6 season last year the Lancers will return all their stat leaders from 2007. Back are Brandon Moynihan (50g-9a), Alex Austin (32-36) and Matt Driffill (28g-32a) in attack. Kevin Mahler(33g-15a) returns to the midfield and Josh Valletta and Nathan Wirt return in front of goalie, Eugene Ferrera (58%).
At Penn Yan, winning is a tradition and so is the love of the game. All nine graduates have continued to play lacrosse in college. The long list of exceptional talent will be missed but there is still a quite a bit left, and Coach Brian Hobart is amazing at drawing 
talent out of young players.
Adam Trombley (39g-57a), who led the Section in assists, and was the MVP of the Class C Tournament, returns to the attack. He will work with Cole Castle (48g-3a) and Matt Osgood (47g-28a).
At midfield, John Linnan(24g-14a) will need support and in the defense, where the Mustangs will need to learn to live without Mike Manley and RJ Wickham, Dana Wilber will lead.
It will be a bit more difficult for the Mustangs to make it to the state tournament this year but Coach Hobart has added games with Amherst, Carthage, Schroeder, Fairport, Hamburg, LaFayette and Williamsville North to prepare.
Waterloo continues to be a the closest challenger to Penn Yan's supremacy. The return of goalie Shawn Andrus in the cage will be the strongest part of Waterloo's roster. Joining Andrus on the defense will be Kevin Wright. Offensively the Indians return Curtis Brosius(18g-7a), Mike Ruiz IV(22g-10a) and Peter Vacca(17g-15a).
Livonia has a new coach this year and even though they lost ten players to graduation, they still have Tyler Russell (56g-33a). Russell finished last season fifth in scoring and tied for fourth in points in all of Section Five. Joining Russell are Aaron Miller and Chris Bausch (26g-13a). Livonia will look to Matt Girolmo to lead an untested group of midfielders. Justin Becker (59%) returns in the goal. Coach Brett Wood has games with Victor, RH, Geneva and Penn Yan which he hopes will prepare the boys for the final four in Class C.
There will be some great competition, this year. Monroe County D2 will be more competitive than ever and Churchville-Chili, moving up from D3 will make things interesting. It will be more difficult than ever for a team to have a perfect season in Section Five this year, so early season losses may not be a meaningful as in some years.
More in depth stories are available for each of the thirty-two Section Five teams.
