Michael Corrado has announced the addition of nine freshmen to the 2009 roster at Villanova. Matt Bell, CJ Burke, Kevin Cunningham, Dan Gutierrez, Ryan McDonagh, Joe Payne, CJ Small, Michael Vigilante, and Nolan Vihlen will join the Wildcat program.

"We feel this is a very athletically gifted class that also possess outstanding lacrosse skills. This class includes players from many of the top lacrosse programs in the country that are used to winning. Several players are from non-traditional lacrosse areas, including our first recruit ever from the state of Tennessee. This just shows the tremendous growth of the sport of lacrosse. I can't wait to start working with this group"

Matt Bell (Severna Park, MD) is a 5"10" attackman from St. Mary's HS in Annapolis, MD. Matt led St. Mary's in scoring, his 52 goals and 18 assists helped St. Mary's advance to the quarterfinals of the MIAA play-offs. Bell was named 1st team All County, Honorable Mention All Metro and led the MIAA in goals scored.

"Matt is a very quick, skilled attackman that has a great knack for scoring the ball. He has gained invaluable experience playing in the ultra competitive MIAA. We are hoping that Matt will be able to compete for playing time right away"

CJ Burke (Pittsburgh, PA) is a 5'9" two time all Western Pennsylvania midfielder from Pittsburgh Central Catholic HS. During his senior year Burke led his team in scoring with 37 goals and 25 assists. His senior year culminated with his selection as a high school All American and the Western Pennsylvania Player of the Year.

"CJ is an outstanding athlete that possesses the skills to be a great scorer or feeder at the next level. He had a great high school career and we are confident he is going to be able make the jump to college play very quickly"

Kevin Cunningham (Garden City, NY) is a 5'9" midfielder from Kellenberg HS. Cunningham scored 43 goals and had 25 assists his senior year and named to the NSCHSAA first team. Cunningham earned four varsity letters in lacrosse and three in basketball.

"The fastest of the freshmen, Kevin has great vision. He runs and sees the field well, plays extremely hard, and is a great groundball guy. "

Dan Gutierrez (Chevy Chase, MD) is a 6'1" goalie from Georgetown Prep. Dan was a three year member of the Georgetown Prep team that went 62 and 4 and was ranked as the number one team in the U.S. his sophomore year. He was 23-1 as the starter his junior year.

"Coming from one of the best programs in the country, Dan has faced the best high school competition out there. He stops the ball extremely well and will be working hard on his clearing throughout this year."

Ryan McDonagh (Huntington, NY) a 6'2" defenseman helped to lead St. Anthony's to the New York CHSAA Final his junior and senior years. St. Anthony's finished the season 14-4. Ryan was a team captain and member of the National Honor Society. He also received the St. Anthony's High School Marine Corps Award and the Adam L'Eplantenier Memorial Award in recognition of lacrosse achievements, and leadership ability.

"Ryan has good size and plays a rugged style defense. He works hard on the field and in the weight room. Ryan is an excellent communicator and will be great leader as he his role increases."

Joe Payne (Birminham, MI) is a 6' 190lb midfielder from Brother Rice HS. During Payne's senior season he scored 5 goals and dished out 25 assists for the number one ranked team in the country. He helped Brother Rice win it's 6th straight Michigan HS lacrosse championship as well as winning the Midwest MSLCA championship.

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2008-09-12