Penn gets Midfielder from Dallas, TX

[Sonny]

Penn Men's Lacrosse Announces Freshman Class

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Penn men's lacrosse program has announced its freshman class for the 2006 season. The 12-man group includes three attackmen, eight midfielders, and a goalkeeper, and features eight players who were awarded U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America honors last spring.

"I am really excited about this class, in my opinion it is by far the deepest we have brought in," said Penn head coach Brian Voelker, who enters his fourth season at the helm. "We are expecting this group to help us get back to the form we had two years ago when we made the NCAA Championship.

"This is a talented group of athletes," he continued. "We concentrated quite a bit on the offensive end, and we managed to bring in some guys who we think can score goals. We got what we were looking for."

In addition, the Quakers have announced their 2005 fall schedule. Penn will host its alumni game on Friday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. on Franklin Field. One week later – on Saturday, Oct. 15 – the Quakers will host a scrimmage day at Franklin Field with Drexel and Marist that will begin at 11 a.m.

Bios on the Quaker newcomers are below.

Craig Andrzejewski
Midfield
St. Paul's School/Baltimore, Md.
Lettered in lacrosse, soccer and ice hockey ... Captain of all three as a senior ... Led St. Paul's to MIAA semifinals ... Led all midfielders in scoring and was presented the Alphonse Kelz Memorial Cup, awarded to St. Paul's top midfielder ... Named to Maryland State Lacrosse Coaches Association High School Senior All-Star Game ... As a junior, switched from attack to midfield ... Helped St. Paul's capture 2004 MIAA "A" Conference championship ... In hockey, helped team to 2005 MIAA championship and earned All-MIAA honors ... Received the St. Paul's Twelve Season Award, recognizing participation in three seasons of athletics all four years ... Joins his brother D.J. on the Penn roster.

Ricky Choi
Midfield
St. Alban's School/Potomac, Md.
Face-off specialist ... Other strengths are his shot and ground-ball ability ... Had one of the top face-off percentages in the D.C./Virginia Metro area in 2005.

Drew Collins
Midfield
St. Mary's Ryken/LaPlata, Md.
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... First-team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) ... Washington Post Second-Team All-Metro ... Played in 2005 Maryland Senior All-Star Game.

Patrick Glynn
Midfield
St. Joe's Prep/Villanova, Pa.
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... Two-time first-team all-state ... Three-time first-team All-Catholic League (2003-05) ... Helped team win Catholic League championship in 2003.

Garvey Heiderman
Attack
Worcester Prep/Ocean City, Md.
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... MVP of the South Team at the 2005 National Senior Showcase in St. Louis ... Also played in Maryland Senior All-Star Game ... Graduated from Worcester Prep holding school records for career assists and points ... Conference MVP as a senior ... Two-time captain ... Two-time finalist for the Kelley Award, given to the Player of the Year in the state of Maryland ... Two-time team MVP ... Also captained soccer and basketball teams as a senior ... Conference Player of the Year in basketball ... All-conference in soccer.

Drew Lassiter
Midfield
St. Mark's School/Dallas, Texas
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... Participated in 2005 National Senior Showcase in St. Louis ... Three-time all-state selection ... Three-time All- Southwest Preparatory Conference.


J.J. Lian
Midfield
Lakeland/Shrub Oak, N.Y.
Two-time captain at Lakeland ... Participated in 2005 National Senior Showcase in St. Louis ... Played in New York Senior All-Star Game ... Three-time all-section and all-conference ... Holds school record for career ground balls ... Scored more than 100 goals in his career ... Leading midfield scorer in conference with 42 goals in 2005 ... Journal News first-team all-area ... Helped team to 2003 sectional title and regional final ... Lakeland also was a sectional finalist in 2002 and 2004 ... Two-time captain of Empire States Game team ... Also played football, earning all-league and second-team all-section ... Two-time member of NCN All-Star Team ... Winner of Karl Kinzler Award ... One of 12 in the section selected for the Golden Dozen Award.

Greg Murray
Goalkeeper
West Chester East/Thornton, Pa.
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... Four-year starter for West Chester East ... Boasted a 69-percent save percentage as a senior to earn Suburban League MVP honors ... Three-time first-team all-league (2003-05) ... Was a Top 205 All-Star in the summer of 2004.

Casey O'Rourke
Attack
Haverford School/West Chester, Pa.
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... Captained state championship team and winningest team in Delco history ... MVP of state championship and state semifinal games ... Finished with 62 goals and 23 assists in 2005 ... 2005 Inter-Ac Player of the Year ... 2005 Main Line Life Player of the Year ... First-team all-state, All-Delco and All-Eastern PA ... Team MVP.

Greg Sih
Midfield
Germantown Academy/Horsham, Pa.
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... Academic All-America ... 2005 second-team all-state and first-team All Inter-Ac ... 2005 team captain and team MVP ... Recipient of George Kruz Inter-Ac Sportsmanship Award ... Graduated second on Germantown's all-time list with 180 career goals ... Captain of football team his senior year ... Recipient of football team's DiAngelo Integrity Award.

Alex Weber
Attack
Fox Lane/Pound Ridge, N.Y.
U.S. Lacrosse High School All-America as a senior ... Three-time all-section ... Graduated with 326 career points, which is third-most in N.Y. Section 1 history ... Team captain and MVP ... Also captain and MVP of hockey team ... Helped hockey team to 2003 and 2004 sectional titles ... Recipient of Russ Simmons Sportsmanship Award in 2005 ... Fox Lane's Male Athlete of the Year in 2004-05.

Brian Weiss
Midfield
McDonogh School/Baltimore, Md.
Three-year varsity letterwinner ... Part of McDonogh team that won MIAA title and was ranked No. 1 nationally in 2005 ... Recipient of Michael L. Pursley Award as team's unsung hero ... Four-year letterwinner in track, two-year letterwinner in football ... Two-time all-conference in track ... Cum Laude Society member ... Rollins-Leutkemeyer Scholar.