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Birds Clinch Playoff Birth with Victory Over No. 8 Eckerd

Mar. 4, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG, FL The No. 17 Eagles knew a lot going into their Sunday afternoon contest with the Tritons of Eckerd College. They knew if they came out on top, they would secure themselves the top spot in the southern region of the SELC B division, going into the playoffs. At the same time they also knew that this was not an easy task considering they would have to defeat the defending conference champion.

Eckerd, a newcomer to the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference last year, showed the lacrosse world what their team was about when they made it all the way to the 2006 National Final Four in their inaugural season as a MCLA program. Not only did the Tritons make it to the Final Four last year, but there loss to Saint John's (MN) in the national semifinals was their first and only loss of the season. That's right, the new kids on the block went undefeated in regular season play, swept the conference playoffs, and prospered in Dallas for two rounds until falling to the eventual national runner-up.

Despite losing some key players to graduation, Eckerd kicked off their 2007 season with a 4-0 start including a ten goal victory over Kennesaw State a day prior to playing Emory.

Coach Reed and his undefeated squad from Atlanta knew they were coming down to Tampa to take on a formidable opponent, but with tough defense and balanced scoring, the Dirty Birds improved to 7-0 pulling out a 16-5 win.

At the midfield, David Morrison (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich), Tyler Sant (St. Louis, MO/Chaminade), Curt Simmons (Wilmington, DE/Tantall) and Daniel Goetzel (Bethesda, MD/Winston Churchill) all had solid performances. Morrison proved why he is currently the top scorer in the conference, tallying four goals on the day, while Simmons and Sant each buried two. Goetzel was especially active in the transition game, playing solid defense and with that, creating unsettled situations on the offensive end. Michael Kowalczyk (River Forest, IL/Oak Park and River Forest) was also outstanding, notching a goal and an assist while also being incredibly affective on the clear.

The only way to describe the Eagles attack these days is stacked and dangerous. Following up a breakout performance against Kennesaw, Academic All-American, Alex Leung (Short Hills, NJ/Millburn) had yet another big day scoring five goals on the afternoon. Freshman, Adam Smith (Memphis, TN/White Station) took advantage of some extra playing time and had the best game of his young college career, racking up two goals and two assists. Meanwhile, Jarrett Levy (Boca Raton, FL/St. Andrews) and David Franklin (Jericho, NY/Jericho - Drew) continued to display their selflessness setting up their teammates all over the field. Levy finished with an amazing four assists while Franklin left St. Pete's beach with three helpers to his credit.

Once again Ryan Covert (St. Louis, MO/Chaminade), Stephen Crump (Houston, TX/Lawrenceville), Ian Paeth (Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale), and Evan Cropper (New York, NY/Trinity) delivered solid, veteran long pole performances, while youngster, John Seibert (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Pine Crest) helped out, seeing some extended PT down in his home state.

In a somewhat surprise move, Reed decided to start his senior keeper, Andrew Dunn (Needham, MA/Needham) saving sophomore sensation , David Laub (Pine Brook, NJ/Montville) for the second half. Dunn gave one of the best performances of his career in the first half, making six great saves while only allowing one goal. Laub stepped in for the second half, also making six saves.

By clinching the southern region title of the conference, Emory is now guaranteed a bye in the first round of the conference playoffs. Whether they are declared the one or the two seed in the SELC Tournament depends on the conference record of the north regional champion. Regardless, the Eagles will be making a return to Northview High School in Duluth, GA for the first time since the inception of the B division national championship in 2005.

The next Shamrock Top 25 poll is expected to be released on Wednesday morning, where the still undefeated Eagles will be hoping to crack the top ten. The next game for the blue and gold will be at home on Thursday evening in an non-conference contest versus Stonehill College.