February 15, 2011

Laurinburg, NC- Head Coach Mike Lawson announces seven additional athletes to his roster at St. Andrews Presbyterian College. These new student athletes arrived at St. Andrews from all over the country, from both traditional and nontraditional lacrosse regions.

“I’m excited to have these young men as members of the program. All of them bring some unique qualities to the team. It is a good thing to have guys from so many different regions, it allows for various styles of the game to mesh and compliment the other. That has definitely transferred into practice and it creates situations in practice that are more game like,” Lawson commented.

Ryan Konig is freshman attackman from Ellicott City, Md who played for Mt. Hebron HS. “Ryan has a repertoire of dodges, good hands, and both physical and mental toughness. His ability to make plays with the ball will have him in the attack rotation for sure,” Lawson commented.” He has done a great job comprehending the college game while adjusting to the speed. That will have him competing for a starting job all season long.”

As a senior Konig tallied 25goals, and 25 assists, earning himself 1 st Team All- Howard County honors.

Stephen Murphy is a junior midfielder who transferred in from SUNY-Delhi Community College. “Stephen has done a great job in the brief time he has been here. He brings a lot of college face-off experience to the X, which we need at the moment to allow some our younger guys to develop.” Lawson added, “Stephen provides a lot more than just face-offs, he has a good defensive mindset, contributes with his stick on offense, and has the mentality and personality ever coach wants on their team.”

As a sophomore at SUNY-Delhi Community College, Stephen was a standout during faceoff’s winning 76.9%. He tallied 8 goals and 7 assists that same year. Stephen is also an academic standout earning Academic All-Region and Academic All-American honors with 3.2 grade point average.

Tyler Smetanko is freshman midfielder from Hillard, OH. While attending Hilliard Darby HS, he was coached by St. Andrews alum Ethan Young, a standout for the Knights at faceoff. “Tyler arrived on campus, with great fundamentals for the game, especially face-offs.” Lawson added, “Tyler has done a great job adjusting to this level. He is a force in the weight room which translates well onto the field.”

Smetanko’s senior season was cut short by an injury. Tyler earned All Conference honors every year since his sophomore year, including pre-season All-Conference his senior year. As a sophomore and junior Tyler compiled 35 goals, and 26 assists.

Rob Thomas joins the program as a freshman from Greensboro, NC coming out of Page HS. “Rob has been impressive from day one. He has been doing a lot of the small things very well, and consistently building on top of that” commented Lawson. “Rob’s strength, speed, and work ethic have him contributing in many facets of the game.”

Prior to arriving at St. Andrews, Rob Thomas earned his way on to the 1 st All Metro-4A Team. He scooped up 95 groundballs, recorded 22 points 13 goals, and 9 assists, and won 58% of his faceoffs.

Austin Trockenbrot is a freshman defender from Centennial HS, in Roswell Ga. “Watching Austin develop has been a pleasure, he’s tough mentally and wants to know what to do in order to improve. He brings a physical presence to practice, which is a key for us defensively,” commented assistant coach Sherman.

Austin was a starting at defender while in HS. In his senior year he had a nose for the ball picking up 42 groundballs. He was honored with his team’s career achievement award, and earned 3 varsity letters in lacrosse.

Cameron Walsh is a Long Island product, from Farmingville, NY. He joins the Knights from Sachem East HS. “A strong dodger, and ball handler, Cameron is in the in the attack rotation and also competing for a starting job. His fearlessness to attack open space and take a hit has impressed me,” said Lawson. “Cameron’s skill sets have helped him ease the transition of playing college level lacrosse.

In his senior year, Cameron produced 47 points for Sachem East in his senior year, scoring 31 goals and 16 assists, he also was the recipient of his team’s Coaches Award.

Wilton “Chase” Woods is a freshman from Blythewood, SC a standout defender from Blythewood HS. Chase has done a lot to his off-field commitment and work ethic to push his teammates and himself for playing time. “Chase wants a starting job and he is pushing every other defender, and they know it,” said assist coach Sherman.

Chase earning 1 st team All Region and 1 st Team All State. He picked up 65 groundballs, and provided 9 assists in his senior year, which helped him earn his teams MVP award for his senior year.