Loyola Men’s Lacrosse Welcomes Newcomers To Program

BALTIMORE – With last weekend’s Alumni Game at Ridley Athletic Complex, 13 newcomers had their first opportunity to play against outside competition for the Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse team. Twelve freshmen and one transfer student-athlete are new faces on the Greyhounds’ roster for the 2011-2012 season.

Following is a brief outline about the group:

Sean O’Sullivan comes to Loyola after sitting out the 2011 season following two seasons of action as a midfielder at the United States Military Academy. O’Sullivan, who played in high school at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., scored 16 goals for Army as a midfielder in 2010. He was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team following his sophomore season. That year, he set a career-high with four goal, coming on just four shots, against Rutgers. O’Sullivan also posted three goals against Holy Cross and had two-goal, one-assist efforts against Lehigh and Colgate in Patriot League action. He will have two seasons of eligibility with the Greyhounds.

Greg Catalano scored 31 goals and had 11 assists for the New York State Class A Championships at Farmingdale (N.Y.) High School. Catalano, a midfielder, earned All-Conference honors his junior and senior seasons, as well. He tallied 21 goals as a junior for Farmingdale, helping the team record an undefeated conference championship season.

Jeff Chase earned Under Armour All-America honors following his senior season at Boys’ Latin School in Baltimore despite missing most of the year due to injury. The midfielder was invited to the USA Lacrosse U-19 Team tryouts and earned the Most Athletic Award at Boys’ Latin. An excellent football player, as well, for the Lakers, Chase rushed for over 800 yards and 12 touchdowns, earning All-MIAA Second Team honors. Back on the lacrosse field, he was named an All-Metro honoree by The Baltimore Sun following his junior season when he scored 22 goals and had eight assists for the Lakers. Chase also earned Under Armour Underclass All-America honors and was ranked in the top 20 of the Inside Lacrosse Young Gun rankings.

James Collins was a team captain and offensive most valuable player at the Episcopal School of Dallas (Texas) where he scored 33 goals and assisted on 41 as a senior. Collins, a midfielder, earned All-Texas and All-Southwest Preparatory Conference honors following both his junior and senior seasons for the Eagles.

Paul Hummer was invited to the USA Lacrosse U-19 tryouts following his senior season at Brooke Point High School in Stafford, Va. The midfielder scored 40 goals and assisted on 22 for the Black Hawks, earning All-District First Team and All-Metro honors. He was an ESPNRise Showcase Games participant, as well, during his senior year. As a junior at Brooke Point, Hummer scored 53 goals and assisted on 44.

Alex Klincewicz was named an All-Central League defender after his senior season at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa. A defender, he led the Aces in ground balls as both a junior and a senior and scored a combined five goals and had nine assists during those seasons. Klincewicz was an outstanding swimmer at Lower Merion, earning All-State recognition in the pool.

Mike Kutzer was a team captain and All-New England honoree at Berkshire High School in Canaan, N.Y. The midfielder scored 21 goals and assisted on 31, picking up 76 ground balls, as well, as a senior. He played in the Central New York All-Star Game following both his junior and senior seasons and was an All-Central New York honoree, as well. Kutzer was a standout on the soccer pitch, too, picking up All-State honors for Berkshire.

Devon Lepsch, a face-off midfielder, garnered All-State, All-Region and All-Conference First Team honors following his senior season at Holly Springs (N.C.) High School where he won 72-percent of faceoffs and picked up 70 ground balls. Lepsch scored 20 goals and assisted on 17, as well. He was an All-State Third Team honoree as a junior when he won 75-percent of faceoffs and scored 25 goals with 20 assists.

David Manning received USLacrosse All-America laurels as a defender following his senior season at Chapel Hill (N.C.) High School where he was the team’s defensive most valuable player. Manning earned All-State and All-Region First Team recognition as a senior and participated in the ESPNRise Showcase Games. Following his junior season, he also picked up All-State, All-Region and All-Conference First Team honors as the Tigers’ defensive MVP.

Pat McEnerney garnered Washington Post All-Metro First Team honors following his senior season as a goalkeeper at Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Olney, Md. McEnerney, who also was named to the All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference First Team and the Montgomery Gazette All-Area First Team, played to a 6.6 goals against average and a .720 saves percentage, making 205 saves in 2011.

Adam Pomper scored 19 goals and had seven assists as an attacker at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, N.Y., despite missing considerable time during his senior season due to an injury. Pomper helped the Friars win the Catholic High School Athletic Association title as a junior and senior, and he tallied 24 goals and 18 assists during his junior campaign.

Nikko Pontrello was a standout attacker at St. Augustine Prep in Richland, N.J. He earned a slew of postseason honors following his senior season, including USLacrosse All-America, All-Metro First Team honors from the Philadelphia Inquirer, First Team All-State, All-Conference and All-South Jersey, and he participated in the ESPNRise Showcase games. Pontrello graduated as St. Augustine’s all-time assist leader, scoring 174 points combined during his junior and senior seasons. He also was an All-State, All-Conference and All-Philadelphia Inquirer First Team performer as a junior.

Justin Shaw was a member of the Darien (Conn.) High School team that won the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference title in 2011, although he missed the year with an injury. A long-stick midfielder for the Blue Wave, Shaw scored five goals as a junior and helped Darien win its fifth-straight Connecticut Class M title.