April 28, 2009

BALTIMORE, Md. — After leading the Midshipmen to a pair of 9-8 victories over the weekend to claim the program’s fifth Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Tournament crown, Navy senior goalkeeper Tommy Phelan (Towson, Md.) has been selected as the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Div. I Player of the Week.  Phelan was named the Patriot League Tournament’s Most Valuable Player after turning in a combined 19 saves in avenging the Mids’ two one-goal losses to league foes Colgate and Bucknell during the regular season.

In Friday’s Patriot League semifinal contest against second-seeded Colgate, Phelan anchored a defense that subdued two of the top scorers in the country this season.  Ranked No. 1 and 4 in points per game, Brandon Corp and Kevin Colleluori managed a goal each as the two entered the game scoring better than eight points combined.  Phelan played his part by turning away nine of the 17 shots he faced, including six in the second half.  Meanwhile, he stopped the Bison on 10 of their 18 shots in the championship game, including making a clutch one-on-one save against Patriot League Rookie of the Year Charlie Streep with 25 seconds remaining in the game, securing the win for the Mids.

Phelan has arguably been Navy’s most valuable player this spring.  The Mids own a 5-1 record since he was inserted into the lineup on March 28 against Georgetown.  With Phelan in goal, Navy has beaten three nationally-ranked opponents (Maryland, Colgate and Bucknell), while Georgetown and Army have been ranked over the course of the season.

Having reached double figure goals in five of the six games he has seen action in, including a career-high 16 stops in back-to-back wins over Maryland and Army, Phelan owns a 63.3 save percentage making 81 saves to date.  Additionally he owns a 7.69 goals-against average.

In addition to acknowledging Phelan’s efforts, IL’s Geoff Shannon selected junior Jaren Woeppel (Camillus, N.Y.) to represent Navy’s corps of long stick defensive midfielders on Inside Lacrosse’s Team of the Week.  Woeppel and classmate Zack Schroeder (Deer Park, N.Y.) played a yeoman’s role in helping shut down two potent offensive units.  The duo completely shut out Streep in the championship game, while Schroeder forced numerous turnovers and Woeppel played a pivotal role on the faceoff wing.

The 12th-ranked Midshipmen have this week off to focus on final exams but will return to action the weekend of May 9-10.  Navy will find who it plays in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening when the 16-team tournament field is unveiled.  ESPNU will have live coverage of the 2009 NCAA Div. I Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show between 9-10 pm and will be re-aired on ESPNEWS from 10-10:30 pm.   

### Go Navy ###