Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Game Day: Salem State

Here was our conference game against Salem State where everyone was able to get in the game and show what they had. It was an impressive showing from trop to bottom.

Game Day: FDU

I have been late on the game day updates because we have tried to do soemthing new with game film and personal film. Liam Murphy has done a wonderful job editing these videos. We hope you enjoy and a few more are coming very shortly.


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Long lost video

A few weeks back we put on a clinic for a local youth lacrosse group. We had kids raging from 6-12 year olds. At the end of the clinic junior midfielder Mike Devine and junior attack Trevor Morrissette put on a shooting competition and let the campers decide who won. The video of this competition was lost then through intensive investigating journalism it was found.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Game Day: Wesleyan

Since the game this weekend we have been healing up and are starting to have a full roster once again. This past weekend we lost to our conference rivals Keene State 7-6. It was a tough game on both sides of the field. We had some communication lapses on the defense, we didn't finish our chances on offense, and we were not clearing the ball efficiently. Having those three happen in one game is not State Style lacrosse and will not win many games. The positive thing about those three things is they are fixable and everyone understands their role to make that happen. We have all used this loss to fuel our fire not put it out. We have been clicking more each day and hope to improve our showing with a win against Wesleyan tonight. They have been known to run a tough zone defense but with some tweaks to our offense it doesn't look to be unbeatable. We are playing tonight at 7:00pm at the Mansfield Complex. We hope to see everyone there routing us on as we face against a tough NESCAC opponent.

*Shout out to Blake Smaldone for his impressive showings in his first two collegiate starts. With 6 saves in his first start, first win against conference opponent Salem State, and an amazing 17 saves against conference rival Keene State. Leaves us holding our breath as he runs down the field but seems to have a good vision of the field and so far hasn't been "that guy." Keep up the good work, and keep standing on your head.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Brothers Of Eastern Lacrosse

         On our 45 man roster we are becoming a close nit family. However some are more genetically close then others. We have 3 “legacy” families on our team. We have the Gillotti’s consisting of junior midfielder Mike and freshman goalie Brendan. Then there is the duo of senior goalie Drew Dean and freshman midfielder Angus Dean. Then finally we have senior midfielder Kevin Fechtmann and freshman attack Sean Fechtmann.
Kevin/Sean:
Kevin
 Are you excited to play with Sean? I'm definitely excited to play with Sean this year. My brother Brian played lacrosse here for 4 years (08-11) and I got the chance to play with him for two years and that experience really helped me become the type of player I am today. 
Did Sean come here because of you and Brian? I can't take full credit for Sean choosing Eastern because after going to every weekend game for the last 5 years to watch either Brian or I play I'm sure this place started to grow on Sean. Also he probably didn't want to be "that guy" that broke tradition.  
Any last thoughts? Because of our age difference I've never been able to play with Sean in either high school or college so far and I'm sure it will be a great year. Coach Axel is a very family oriented man and always takes time after the game to talk to all the parents. My junior/senior years of HS I had the chance to talk to coach after my older brother's games and that definitely drove me to come here and I'm sure the same thing happened with Sean as well.
Sean
 
What other colleges did you look at? I was looking at SUNY Farmingdale and SUNY Plattsburgh.
Why Eastern? I chose eastern because 2 of my brothers before me came here and both loved it.
 Have you played with your brothers before? I have never had the chance to play with Kevin on the lacrosse field in the past but watching him play I knew it would be a great experience. Kevin is a great leader and always helps me to become a better player and teammate. I enjoy playing the game my whole family grew up playing along side my older brother and hope to one day play and lead like he has.
Drew/Angus:
Drew
Are you excited to play with Angus? I really enjoy having Angus here at Eastern and on our team.  We got to play together (hockey and lacrosse) for a year in high school and it went way to fast.  We started playing together again this past summer with Shocker, and the experience has been great.  
Did he choose Eastern because you were on the team?  I believe Angus chose Eastern not just because I was on the team but our other brother Aiden is here as well.
Are you guy’s closer because you've played together? We are very close; we share a lot of the same interests and like to do the same kind of things.  As far as lacrosse goes, he's helped me improve a number of ways.  I appreciate Angus putting in the extra hours with me outside of practice, and I truly value the opinions and advice he offers.  Having played with him this year will be the best memory I take away from Eastern Lacrosse.
Angus
Were you looking anywhere else?  I had the choice between Eastern, Stonehill College, an Assumption College, and I found Eastern to be the right fit
Why did you choose Eastern? I chose eastern because it provides me with great academics along with an environment to succeed in.
Have you played with Drew Before? I had the chance to play hockey and lacrosse with him in high school and I am just glad that I get to go through that experience again. Eastern is a great school both academically and athletically and I am glad I get to share that experience with him

Michael/Brendan:
Mike 
Are you excited to play with Brendan? I am extremely excited to play with him; I’ve been looking forward to it for years
Why do you think Brendan Chose Eastern? I might have had a little influence on his decision be he really likes Coach Axel as do my parents.
Have you guys played together before? We have played together since youth all the way through high school. It adds another special aspect to the game and I thoroughly enjoy playing with him.
Brendan
Why did you choose Eastern? I chose eastern because it had everything I was looking for in a school great education in my major, great lacrosse and just an all-around nice campus.
Do you like playing with Mike? I think it's awesome that I get the opportunity to play with my older brother. I enjoy having him on the team and doing something we both love together. I was lucky to have had the chance to play with my brother for two years in high school before he graduated




Friday, March 22, 2013

Fallen Warrior


        We have a culture on our team that bonds us all together as a family. I believe once a warrior always a warrior. This past Monday a member of my freshman warrior class passed away. His name was Roger Muchnick. He played here at Eastern in 2009 before he left school and joined the Marines. He was the type of kid that no matter how bad my day was going I could go back to the dorm, hang out with him for 5 minutes and be in the best mood with no worries on my mind. Many people have fond memories of Roger and here are a few from some of the players that played with him that year.
          Michael Sullinger another member of our freshman warrior class says, "He was an outgoing, fun loving guy who always had a smile on his face. He never worried about the small stuff and tried to share that idea with everyone."Kyle Savage was a senior captain our freshman year and had this to say about Roger, "Roger was the ultimate team player. When he first came in as a freshman, everyone gravitated towards him. He always had a smile on, cracking jokes, and finding the fun in every and any situation. It made being around him truly enjoyable. He had the unique ability to bring out the fun in even the most grueling practices and situations. A piece of Roger will always be in the hearts of all us alumni who had the honor of playing alongside him." He was a true friend and an astonishing lacrosse player. He will be missed by all that knew him and those future warriors will always know, for we will pay tribute to him by having his number on the back of our helmets. Below is the link of the accident so you can further read about Roger and the other fallen heroes.


http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20130319-7-marines-killed-in-training-explosion-accident-in-nevada.ece

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Game Day: Gordon

On March 2nd we took on Gordon College for our home opener and I had Mike Dellano follow the team around and show what we do to get ready for games. Here is the video that Liam Murphy put together of that footage.

Today we take on Amherst College at Amherst, Massachusetts at 4:30pm. Our record is 1-3 however, we are still feeling very strong about our season and are looking forward to our game today. Senior Defenseman Conor Helberg said, "The past few games do not depict who we are as a team." I would have to agree with him and add we are still early in our season and have full faith we can pull it together and have a memorable season where great things are achieved.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Eastern Lacrosse Experiences

        As you can see in the page tabs one of them is labeled Eastern Lacrosse Experiences. This page was created to give any player, alumni, coach, parent, or even fan to express what the Eastern Lacrosse team has meant to them, whether it is a story or just an all-around feeling you have for the team this page is dedicated to that. The alumni games have always been a favorite of mine to hear the old war stories and to hang out with those who created the culture before me.
        We as a team try to have the best reputation in our surrounding community and enjoy hearing how that affects others in a positive way. If you would care to leave a piece on that page or spread the word to other parents, players, or alumni’s that the opportunity is there I would appreciate it. I checked it this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see alumni had already posted something. If you can leave your name as well we would all love to read what the team has meant to you. Thank You.  

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Helping Hand

I have enlisted the aid of two freshman Liam Murphy and Mike Dellanno. Liam is a Sports and Leisure Management major. He is from Dover, New Hampshire and attended Dover High School where he started playing lacrosse his freshman year. Mike also is a Sports and Leisure Management major. He is from Wakefield, Mass and has been playing lacrosse for the past 7 years, including 4 years at Wakefield Memorial High School. They have both showed interest in helping me showcase our team for the season. For their first piece I have asked them to create a video of our team gear that we have received. Here is the video they have created.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Pre-Season Scrimmage

This Saturday we played Springfield for our first game which we ended up losing 8-6. We had a good show and we know what we need to work on going into our season opener against Castleton this Wednesday. Our second game was against Weslyan where our second team showed what they had. They all played very well proving to ourselves and other teams that we have a great deal of depth to our roster making everyone very excited for the upcoming season. Below are some interviews with our players during the warm-ups of the Weslyan game.

Coach Sullinger added, "They played well, it was a good start but we have work to do if we want to take it to the next level."

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Conversation: Chris Brown

Junior Captain Defenseman Christopher Brown has improved tremendously from last season.   When asked about his feelings of preseason, “We have all been playing pretty intense.” he said “It was nice while we were outside, but had to make the switch quick to playing in the gym.”  Coming off of a phenomenal sophomore season tallying 55 groundballs, 15 caused-turnovers, and 1 goal, Christopher has all the potential to exceed those numbers.  Having a different team every year, there are a lot of little things that we need to change in order to continue the success built upon the past teams.  Chris says the biggest difference between last year’s team and this one is, “We are more focused on playing as a team instead of waiting for one player to make things happen.”
            There have been a lot of new rules for NCAA lacrosse that will create a more fast paced game, and a more continuous flow.  As a face-off, Defensive Midfielder I like the new rules because it will force all “offensive” midfielders to stay on the field and play defense as well.  For the game of lacrosse it will shape younger lacrosse players to become two-way midfielders instead of only focusing on offensive skills. Chris added, “With the new rules our team will have to improve [our] transition game.”
            This Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 11:00 we have our preseason scrimmage against pre-season ranked #14 Springfield College and Wesleyan College in Springfield, Massachusetts.  I asked Chris what he was excited about going into this weekend and he responded, “I can’t wait to see how the underclassman perform in a game like scenario as well as see how our team plays together against another opponent.” I am also excited to see how the new crop of Warriors can handle a top tier opponent, and have no doubt in my mind it will be a successful weekend that will say a lot about our future as a team.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Pond Hockey On Our Day Off

Yesterday we had a day off from practice due to poor weather. It was snowing all morning and made the field unplayable. So not to miss an opportunity to work as a team, a group of us traveled down to a pond right by campus and had a fun time playing pond hockey until we couldn't see anymore. Even when we have a day off we still get after it, preparing for our amazing 2013 season that is coming closer and closer. Here is a video of the time we had. Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Introduction

My name is Josh Dubinsky, I am member of the Eastern Connecticut State University’s Men’s Lacrosse team. I am a senior and have been on the team for four years. My position is a midfielder and currently the starting face-off player.
Lacrosse has always been an important part of my life. It started with taking trips to North Carolina with the team coached by my dad, from going to my first sleep away lacrosse camp, to being a mentor and coach for the game to players that are just starting. Lacrosse is growing tremendously and has only just begun.
This semester I have decided to take on the assignment of completing an independent study. My task is to incorporate modern day mediums (forms of communication) into the increasingly popular sport of lacrosse. I have created a blog as a first step to reach out and gain more notoriety for lacrosse and my experiences. I will be posting videos and articles about our team regularly throughout the season. I will keep you updated on our progress throughout the pre-season, during the normal season, and all the way up until the final whistle is blown to end our post-season journey.
I look forward to this opportunity to gain more interest and acknowledgment for the Eastern Connecticut Men’s Lacrosse team, as well as, for the sport of lacrosse. Please feel free to leave any comments/questions you may have on the blog page or you can email me, dubinskyj@my.easternct.edu. Thanks!