Stockton University Athletics

Ospreys Won ECAC Championship and Finished 12-4

Men's Lacrosse | 6/1/2018 11:00:00 AM

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The Stockton men's lacrosse team continued its run of recent success with 12 wins while playing an independent schedule, culminating with their first ECAC Tournament title since 2002 and the second in school history. The Ospreys finished strong by winning nine of their last 10 contests to post a 12-4 record that makes them 43-12 over the last three years.
 
Head coach Kevin Zulauf had a squad that was balanced, with seven players scoring 20 or more points and 14 playing all 16 games. Stockton finished with a double-digit win total for the fifth straight time and the positives continued after the season with news that the Ospreys will join the Colonial States Athletic Conference next year and competed for the CSAC title and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
 
The Ospreys were stingy defensively, led by Colin Wharton, who became the first Stockton player ever to be named USILA All-America Honorable Mention twice as he received the recognition for the second straight year. The junior, who also was an ECAC Honorable Mention selection, scooped 43 ground balls with 19 caused turnovers, both third on the team, while marking each opponent's top scoring threat.
 
Junior Chris Holleritter blossomed in his first year as a starter, totaling 48 ground balls and a team-high 21 caused turnovers. Sophomores Max Pukenas (18 GB, 20 CT) and Will Kane (19 GB, 10 CT) were key contributors to Stockton's 8.81 goals against average along with Ryan Bradley (41 GB, 9 CT), Jamar Hall (7 CT) and Shane Park (25 GB, 6 CT).
 
Junior Justin Ruiz had yet another fine season in net for Stockton. The junior made 149 saves, including a season-best 15 against Elizabethtown on April 11, and received one ECAC Defensive Player of the Week nod. Ruiz fashioned an 8.96 goals against average and moved into fourth in school history in career goals against average (8.48), fifth in save percentage (.559) and seventh in saves (302) with one year to play.
 
Tommy Gallo became the fourth Osprey ever to be selected USILA All-America Honorable Mention after scoring 23 goals and dishing a team-leading 22 assists for 45 points The junior also scooped 37 ground balls and provided one of the season's biggest highlights by scoring the game-tying goal, his fifth marker of the night, with just 2.1 seconds left against DeSales. Gallo later assisted on the game-winner in OT.
 
Offensively, rookie Luc Swedlund led the way by scoring a team-high 41 goals in his first year in Galloway. Swedlund assisted on nine goals for 50 points and also scooped 27 ground balls and caused seven turnovers. He was named ECAC Rookie of the Week three times in his freshman campaign.
 
Senior Mike Caposella finished his fine career in style, netting 30 goals with 20 assists for 50 points to tie Swedlund for the team lead. Caposella placed his name in the record book with 141 goals and 211 points, both good for fourth all-time, plus 70 assists, which is tied for fifth. The senior became just the fourth player in Stockton history to surpass the 200-point plateau and garnered the MVP award in the ECAC title run.
 
Eric Ellis had a good first season at Stockton after transferring from Salisbury. Ellis, a sophomore, scored 25 goals, good for third on the team, with nine assists for 34 points. He was joined by Joey Tiernan (23 goals), Zack Aho (20 goals, 14 assists) and Erik Anderson (20 points) to round out a formidable offense that averaged 12.06 goals per game.
 
Faceoff specialist Anthony Brigati led the team with 50 ground balls and won 119 draws with an outstanding .598 winning percentage in his first full season. Brigati was chosen ECAC Rookie of the Week once this year.