Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Trio Earns Preseason Honorable Mention All-America Recognition from Inside Lacrosse
12/11/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Dec. 11, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - College lacrosse season is still about two months away, but three student-athletes from the Bucknell men's lacrosse team were selected as Honorable Mention Preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook on Monday. Junior defenseman Billy Haire (Darien, Conn./Darien), sophomore attackman Austin Winter (Boonton Twp., N.J./Mt. Lakes) and junior goalie Nick Sciubba (Sea Cliff, N.Y./Salisbury School) were all cited, while the magazine picked Bucknell to finish second behind defending champion Navy in its preseason Patriot League rankings.
Navy, Bucknell and Colgate, all 11-game winners who where nationally ranked for all or most of the season a year ago, were picked 1-2-3 in the Inside Lacrosse rankings. Army, Lehigh, Holy Cross and Lafayette rounded out the list.
Haire, Winter and Sciubba joined junior midfielder Perry Menzies (Upperco, Md./Hereford) on Inside Lacrosse's 15-man preseason All-Patriot League Team. That Bucknell had one player picked at each position - all of them still underclassmen - speaks to the balance of young talent that coach Frank Fedorjaka has returning in 2008. Bucknell and Colgate each had four preseason all-league selections, trailing only Navy with five.
All four preseason all-conference selections also earned all-league certificates at the end of the 2007 season. Winter, the 2007 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, joined Haire on the All-Patriot League First Team, while Sciubba and Menzies were second-team picks.
Haire was the No. 1 close defenseman on a Bucknell defensive unit that ranked second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 6.33 goals per game. Haire started all 15 games in 2007 and finished second on the team with 36 ground balls. Typically assigned to the opposition's top attackman, Haire was a major reason why the Bison allowed more than six goals only four times all year.
At the other end of the field, Winter made a quick leap into the college game. He earned a starting berth from day one and made an immediate impact, leading the Patriot League in both points (49) and assists (29) as a freshman. Winter ranked eighth nationally in assists per game and 24th in points per game, and he became the first Bucknell freshman to earn First Team All-Patriot League honors. He had a point in every game last year and multiple points in 14 out of 15.
Sciubba, in his first year with the team after transferring from Massachusetts, finished the 2007 season as the NCAA Division I leader in both save percentage (.641) and goals-against average (6.24). Sciubba proved to be one of the league's most significant newcomers in 2007. He opened the year as Bucknell's No. 2 goalie, but he came off the bench to help save the day against Hobart in the second game of the season and never relinquished the starting role. He allowed six goals or less in all but three of his appearances and had more saves than goals allowed in every outing but one. Sciubba's .641 save percentage was the ninth-best in school history, and his 6.24 goals-against average was the second-best mark since that statistic began to be recorded in 1992.
Menzies scored a career-high 19 goals as a first-line midfielder last spring. He led the Patriot League in shot attempts with 109, and he has scored a number of big goals late in close games. Perhaps none was bigger than his third tally of the day in Bucknell's 11-10 overtime win over Hobart, when he tied the game in the final minute of regulation. He also scored the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter of a 6-5 win at Army. Menzies also scored three goals against Colgate and two each against St. John's, Ohio State and Lehigh.
Featuring a number of prominent underclassmen in the starting lineup, Bucknell finished the 2007 campaign with an 11-4 record, falling just one victory shy of the school record. The Bison return nine starters and a number of other key reserves from that team. Bucknell will be tested quickly, with the 2008 season opener coming on Feb. 16 at reigning national finalist Duke.