Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Welcomes 13 Newcomers to Class of 2012
1/28/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Jan. 28, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell head men's lacrosse coach Frank Fedorjaka has announced that 13 student-athletes will join the Bison program in 2008-09. The members of the Class of 2012 come from seven different states and represent some of the top prep programs in the country, including seven schools that were listed in the final 2007 STX/Inside Lacrosse high school top-25 rankings.
The current Bucknell team features a young attack unit and a more experienced group on defense, and Fedorjaka has recruited accordingly, with a spotlight on defense. The new class features six defensemen, a face-off midfielder, three middies and three attackmen.
"We really placed a big focus on defense with this class," said Fedorjaka. "Having defensemen with good size and quickness is important for us in our system, and with four guys at 6'3" or better, we think we have brought in a very good group that will bolster our defense for years to come. In addition, we have another very good faceoff man in Matt Albert, which is going to be a priority position for us every year. We are also getting some very good speed in the midfield and another group of skilled players at attack.
"This class as a whole has outstanding academic credentials - they are all very good students - and we feel good that each one of them will fit into Bucknell University very well both on and off the field."
The incoming defensemen include Michael Clenshaw (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill), Doug Emrich (Haverford, Pa./Haverford School), Spencer Kaplan (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius), Jason Niethamer (Alexandria, Va./St. Stephens St. Agnes), John Scally (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) and Matt Spagnoli (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville).
Clenshaw, an Orange County, Calif., native, and a US Lacrosse High School All-American, plays both football and lacrosse at Foothill High School. He was the 2007 defensive MVP on a team that won the CIF Southern Section title. Clenshaw was a First Team All-Orange County selection and will become a two-year captain in 2008. In football, he was a 2007 Tustin News all-city pick after leading the league in receiving yards.
Emrich is a key defender for a Haverford team that went 19-5 last season and finished 19th in the Inside Lacrosse prep rankings. He helped lead his team to a league co-title and a semifinal appearance in the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association Tournament. Emrich was an Honorable Mention All-Delco and All-Main Line selection as a junior. He also has participated in track and soccer at Haverford.
Kaplan will become the second defenseman from St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco to play for Bucknell. The other was Michael Abou Jaoude, a two-time All-Patriot League selection who was later drafted by the San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse. Abou Jaoude returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach last season. Kaplan will captain the St. Ignatius team this spring. Last year, he helped them to an 18-0 record and a No. 23 ranking in the final Inside Lacrosse poll, making the Wildcats the first California school to garner an end-of-year national ranking. That team allowed less than four goals per game on the way to a perfect season.
Neithamer is a three-sport captain at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va. He was a captain and starting defenseman on the 2007 state championship lacrosse team. In football, Neithamer was a three-year captain and recipient of the team's Saints Award, and he helped both the football and basketball teams to a state semifinal appearances.
Scally plays defense at New Jersey lacrosse power Delbarton, the ninth-ranked team in the nation at the end of the 2007 season. Delbarton allowed only 4.1 goals per game last season en route to the state championship game. He will join two other Delbarton grads -- John Collett and Cam Seligmann - at Bucknell. Scally was also an all-county, all-conference and all-state selection in soccer this fall.
Spagnoli hails from an outstanding high school program at Ward Melville, where he was an all-league selection in 2007. He is also a league-champion wrestler and an all-league football player. Spagnoli received the National Football Foundation Golden Eleven Scholar-Athlete Award this fall.
Matt Albert (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) hopes to help Bucknell further strengthen its faceoff game when he arrives next fall. Albert will captain the Syosset lacrosse team this spring, a year after helping it to the Nassau County Class A championship game. Albert was also an all-conference soccer player in the fall.
Nick Gantsoudes (Redding, Conn./Avon Old Farms), Tom Thibeault (Cockeysville, Md./Boys' Latin) and Andrew Van Valkenburg (Garden City, N.Y./Lawrenceville School) will join the Bison midfield rotation next year.
Gantsoudes had 15 goals and 25 assists last season for an Avon Old Farms team that finished 12-3, making him the team's top-scoring middie. He attended the Nike Blue Chip showcase and was named a Connecticut Super Junior. Gantsoudes also helped the soccer team to New England championships in soccer in 2005 and 2007, and he was named a Connecticut Soccer Senior All-Star this fall.
Thibeault is the younger brother of Kendall Thibeault, a sophomore defender on the Bucknell women's lacrosse team. In 2007 he played on a powerful Boys' Latin team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the year before finishing No. 10 after falling in the state championship game. The previous season, the Lakers did win the state title and earn the No. 1 national ranking. Thibeault also won a state title with the Boys' Latin soccer team this fall. He served as captain of that championship squad. At Bucknell, Thibeault will join former Boys' Latin lax teammate Alex Lyons.
Van Valkenburg is a three-sport standout in lacrosse, football and hockey at Lawrenceville. As a sophomore he helped the lacrosse team to an undefeated season and final national rankings of No. 5 by laxpower.com and No. 10 by Inside Lacrosse. Last year's team finished 17-1 and was ranked 20th by Inside Lacrosse at the end of the year. Van Valkenburg was the team captain and quarterback of Lawrenceville's football team this fall. He was a third-team all-state selection and earned the team's Tom Dickens Award for leadership and courage.
Billy Eisenreich (Chatham, N.J./Chatham), Charlie Streep (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan/Loomis Chaffee) and Anthony Piazza (Long Beach, N.Y./Chaminade) will look to crack Bucknell's talented attack unit by the spring of 2009.
Eisenreich is a reigning first-team all-division and first-team all-conference selection at Chatham H.S. He had 51 goals and seven assists last season for the 15-5 Cougars. He was also an honorable mention all-county and all-conference pick in soccer.
Streep was a 2007 High School All-American at New Canaan High School, and he will spend 2008 in a postgraduate year at The Loomis Chaffee School. At New Canaan, Streep was also an all-state and all-conference selection while serving as team captain. He had 30 goals and 12 assists in 22 games last season.
Piazza comes from a strong Chaminade program on Long Island. The squad was ranked 13th nationally by Inside Lacrosse at the end of the 2007 season after posting a 15-3 record and winning the CHSAA Class AA title. Piazza is also a standout wrestler at Chaminade and won a state title at 140 pounds last year.
The Bison men's lacrosse team is ranked 17th nationally in the preseason heading into the 2008 season. Bucknell opens its campaign on Feb. 16 at Duke at noon.
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Class of 2012
Name Pos. Hometown/High School Matt Albert M Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset Michael Clenshaw D Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill Billy Eisenreich A Chatham, N.J./Chatham Doug Emrich D Haverford, Pa./Haverford School Nick Gantsoudes M Redding, Conn./Avon Old Farms Spencer Kaplan D San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep Jason Neithamer D Alexandria, Va./St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School Anthony Piazza A Long Beach, N.Y./Chaminade John Scally D Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton Matt Spagnoli D Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville Charlie Streep A New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan/Loomis Chaffee Tom Thibeault M Cockeysville, Md./Boys' Latin Andrew Van Valkenburg M Garden City, N.Y./Lawrenceville School (N.J.)
