Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Baran, Mele Earn Patriot League Weekly Men's Lax Honors
4/24/2006 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 24, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior goalie Matt Baran (Wilmington, Del./Tatnall) was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week, while freshman attack Joe Mele (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Monday after the duo shined against a pair of top-20 opponents last week.
Finishing up his career with an 11-10 victory at No. 13 Penn State and a close 8-6 loss to No. 20 Colgate, Baran was outstanding in both games. At Penn State on Wednesday, he made a career-high 18 saves, including two difficult stops in the final minutes to preserve the one-goal lead. The last of those two saves came with 14 seconds left. Against Colgate on Sunday, Baran made 13 saves, giving him a .633 save percentage for the week.
Baran finished the 2006 season with a solid .575 save percentage and a 7.28 goals-against average. He also brought his career saves total to 465, sixth-most in Bucknell history.
Mele recorded a total of seven points against the two top-20 foes last week. He had two goals and an assist in Bucknell's 11-10 thriller at No. 13 Penn State, then he logged three goals plus an assist in the 8-6 loss to No. 20 Colgate.
Mele, who won rookie of the week honors three times this season, led Bucknell in both goals (26) and points (28) in 2006. He is the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Chris Cara in 2002.
