2007 Hebron Lacrosse Preview

After falling a game short in the Prep Small School New England Championships in ‘06, Coach Jay Keough says his Lumberjacks simply need to come back this season ready to work and build off last years 15-4 record and MAISAD Conference Championship. “This year’s group is going to be more about doing. This group’s motto is ‘Well done is better than well said.” Keough is pleased that coming into the ‘07 season the team shows much more talent then the ‘06 team, it’s just going to take time to see if they come together like last year’s Lumberjacks.

Attack: Nowhere is the competition for playing time more intense than at attack. With all of the attackmen (except for one) from last season returning, plus several highly touted incoming players, the lineup could get reshuffled. At the top of the attack list is senior co-captain Cameron Gosney (Raymond ME.), last season C. Gosney was tough to cover with his dodging and feeding ability from behind the goal, he had 77pts. Charlie Cummings (Norway ME.) is coming off a huge junior campaign with 26pts, but knows he is going to have to come up with bigger goals in the tougher games this season. Senior man-up specialist with seven goals in ’06, Halsey Keiler (Minot ME.) is looking to crack the lineup on a regular basis. There are four to five players fighting for those last three spots in the attack lineup. Junior Bobby Thoits (Grand Rapids MI.) brings size and showed he can be a contributor at this level from his performance at tournaments this fall. Senior Dave Woods (Huntington Beach CA.) is looking to build off his breakout hockey season and do the same in lacrosse. An unknown might be sophomore Terry McLellan (Lewiston ME.), he brings youth, height and this season could be a good learning experience for him.

Midfield: During the ’06 season this is where the Lumberjacks showed their inexperience, however what a year makes with the amount of depth and athleticism they have in ’07. The midfield list is long and the Lumberjacks should have two crafty offensive units and two extremely tough defensive platoons. Leading the way is senior co-captain Roman Gosney (Raymond ME.), last season R. Gosney was such a major part of the team playing midfield, taking face-offs, and even running a lot of attack in different offensive sets, he looks to improve on his junior campaign of 69pts. Junior Austin Grande (Rockport MA.) comes of a blazing finish to the “06 season where he stepped up his game to be a leading contributor in the conference playoffs and NE Championship stretch. Grande should be able to give significant time on the first offensive line of midfields if he stays focused. Midyear transfer Dave Rothenberg (Clarks Summit PA.) has come to Hebron with an impressive lacrosse background, his speed and head for the game should get him plenty of playing time at midfield and possibly attack position. The Lumberjacks bring in a face-off specialist post–graduate Ryan Gormley (Canton MA.), who should bring leadership and someone who can win 80% of the face-offs he takes. Fellow post-graduate Brendon Beer (South Windsor CT.) could also give the Lumberjacks the leadership and depth they will need in a difficult ’07 campaign, Beer has previous big game experience coming from a very tough Conn. high school league conference. Returning to the team is top speedster Cam “Killer Laurie (Montreal CAN.) and newcomer Joe “Snap” King (Denver CO.), both should be two of the fastest players around, having clocked times lower then 4.5s on their 40 yard dash tests and both have a set of hands to go with those legs, both boys should be vacuums in the midfield with groundballs. Ross Thayer (Auburn ME.) enters his junior year with the Lumberjacks and looks to come out of his shell from his sophomore year, Thayer has the skills needed to play but will have to match it with his intensity, Ross scored a couple of impressive goals last season especially the one in the semi-finals of the NE Championships. Two new faces to the program junior Luke Hayes (Mission Viejo CA.) and sophomore John Whelan (Cranston RI.) bring youth but plenty of experience from playing lacrosse at many different competitive levels, including Whelan at a NE Junior Boarding School, Hayes and Whelan will be huge wildcards in the Lumberjacks ’07 schedule. Last years motivational leader HK Kim (Suwon, Korea) is back for his senior year and hungry to see more playing time, Kim should be able to eat up ground balls with his fast feet and low center of gravity at 5”10” 220 lbs. Also trying-out and hoping to crake the lineup will be William Ziegenfus (Oakland ME.), James Tyler (Camden ME.), Costa Tsitouras (Montréal CAN.), David Gormley (Freeport ME.), Derek Gilbreth (North Chelmsford MA.), and Cole Caron (Glendale RI.).

Defense: In the ’06 season Hebron was not only known for their team defense but the core of impressive players they had wielding long poles, nothing changes in ’07 except they might not be as deep. Back are two of the big boys, 6”1” 210lbs senior Carmine Zegarelli (Montreal CAN.) and 6”3” 180lbs Blair Campbell (Kennebunk ME.) Both players bring shutdown capability defense with their foot speed, strength, toughness, scoring potential and take away check ability; the Lumberjacks will be looking at them for leadership as well. Jumping into the lineup after a year of learning the game more is junior Jason Goodman (Montreal CAN.), Goodman bring great foot speed and has a knack of getting ground balls and making the smart easy plays when getting the ball up field. Junior Will Sandkuhuler (Kailua HI.) is looking to build on the little playing time he had in the ’06 season, Sandkuuler however brings huge hit qualifications. Transferring back to Hebron after making the team as a freshman is the big junior defensemen Mike Orsini (Raymond ME.), Orsini at 6”2” 220lbs should be tough to get around. Finally depending on the health of his knee is Dmytro Naida (Kiev, Ukraine), Naida also bring size at 6 “3” 210lbs, but a long season of hockey might keep him out of the line-up, lets keep our fingers crossed. LSM: Replacing the ’06 Team MVP is a tall order, but post-graduate Anthony Dragonetti (Essex MA.) hope to do it. Dragonetti a leading contributor on the Lumberjack Football team brings speed and a good work ethic.

Goalie: The top spot goes to junior Keith MacDonald (Storrs CT.) to start the season, MacDonald wasn’t tested as much being the back-up last season but when in goal he posted a .68 save percentage with a 4.65 GAA. MacDonald will face a challenge for time from post-graduate Jon Gendron (South Portland ME.); Gendron is coming into the season from off-season foot surgery due. Also in the mix will be junior Danny Sommer (Bethesda MD.) who was carried on last year’s roster and saw very limited action in a game.

RETURING LEADERS: OFFENSE: Cameron Gosney: 40G 37A 77Pts Roman Gosney: 32G 37A 69Pts Charlie Cummings 14G 12A 26Pts Austin Grande 11G 8A 19Pts

GROUNDBALLS: Carmine Zegarelli 106 GBs Roman Gosney 102 GBS Cameron Gosney 99 GBs Blair Campbell 78 GBs

GOALIE: Keith MacDonald 4.65 GAA .68 SV%

2006 TEAM STATS: Record: 15-5 GPG: 10.5 GAA: 4.4 MAISAD Championship New England Runner-ups MAISAD Conference Record: 7-1 All MAISAD: Greg Harrington, Cameron Gosney, Roman Gosney, TJ Thayer. All New England: Greg Harrington, Cameron Gosney, Roman Gosney. All New England All Star Game: Greg Harrington, TJ Thayer, Brent Miller All Maine All-Star Game: TJ Thayer Team MVP: TJ Thayer