SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Second-year head men's lacrosse coach Paul Wehrum, who guided Union to the program's first Liberty League playoff appearance and a modern day program-record 11 wins on the season, has received the Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Coaching Staff of the Year award with his assistants Erv Chambliss, Tucker Kear and Keith DeFelippo. Eight members of the Dutchmen squad were named All-League, led by unanimous first-team midfield selection Jon Miller (Yarmouth, Maine). Midfielder Scott Garibaldi (Summit, N.J.) and defenseman Dane Jorgensen (Ridgewood, N.J.) were named to the second team, while Chris Collison (Trumbull, Conn.), Chris Jacobson (Northborough, Mass.), Christopher Keinath (Wilbraham, Mass.), Tom Simmons (Salisbury, Conn.) and Derek Witheford (Wellesley, Mass.) all were named honorable mention.

In just his second season at the helm of the Union program, Wehrum guided the Dutchmen to their first winning season in seven years, and a program-record 4-2 league mark. The Dutchmen posted a staggering 7-1 record at home and compared to last season, allowed 41% fewer goals and held opponents to 22% fewer shots.

A captain this season, Miller started every game in which he played and led Union with 27 goals (third in the Liberty League), 31 points, and 11 multiple-point games, scoring in all but one game this season. Miller led Union and ranked second in the League with eight man-up scores, including two against both McDaniel and Skidmore. Miller recorded all three of Union's tallies against #12 St. Lawrence on 4/19. He twice posted a season-high four goals, first at RPI on 3/29, when he also won four of five faceoffs, and then again at Hamilton on 4/23.

Garibaldi played in all 14 games, starting one. He ranked second on the team with 14 assists, and scored 12 goals, three of which were man-up. He played a major role in Union's first win over RPI since 1995 with five points (two goals, three assists), including the game-winner in overtime. He also had three assists in the Dutchmen's upset win at #6 Ithaca.

A senior captain, Jorgensen, started 13 of 14 games and helped the Dutchmen to the lowest goals-against average in the league (6.83). He also had 27 groundballs.

Collison started every game at attack and recorded 22 goals and four assists. He registered four goals, including the overtime game-winner at #6 Ithaca on 4/9 and was named the Nike/insidelacrosse.com DIII National Player of the Week for his performance. Collison leads Union and is tied for the Liberty League lead with 4 game-winning goals. He earned Liberty League Player of the Week honors on 4/28 after an 8-point week (five goals, three assists), including a career-high seven points against Merchant Marine. Collison posted seven multiple-point games on the season.

Jacobson started every game at attack and recorded a point in all but one game, ranking second on the team with 29 points. He led the team with 21 assists, ranking tied for third in the Liberty League. Jacobson scored eight goals on the season, two coming as game-winners in Union's historic final two games of the regular season. Jacobson was Liberty League Player of the Week on 3/10 after a career-high seven points (two goals, five assists) against #14 RIT.

Keinath posted a 10-13 record in 13 starts with a 7.00 GAA and a .607 save%. He made 11 saves in the Dutchmen's overtime upset win at #6 Ithaca and stopped a season-high 18 shots in Union's season-opening win over Utica. He was twice named the Liberty League's Goaltender of the Week.

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2008-05-02