The RIT woman’s hockey team finished the 2013 season at a 10-7, a winning record. However, they fell short of their goal: winning the Liberty League championship.

As the RIT women’s Lacrosse team began to prepare for next season, For the Tigers had the opportunity to talk to a freshmen player, Sage Sarkis (’17), who will be returning next year. We wanted to get her take on the prospect of next year’s team and the challenges they will face in the upcoming season.

For The Tigers: How will the team fill the void left behind by the graduating seniors?

Sage Sarkis: It’s going to be really tough for us to even begin to replace our seniors. We may have to replace them on the field, but we never will in our hearts. We learned a lot
from them and we will carry out what they have taught us throughout next year.

FTT: Shelby Vakiener (#24) owns the single-season records in points (115), goals (78), assists (37), and draw controls (73), according to RIT Athletics. How do you feel about Vakiener leaving?

SS: I’m really going to miss Shelby. She not only was she my teammate but off the field she is an ever better friend. If we were down in a game by a few points...I knew I could look to her for a little bit of hope that we could still win it.

I think it will impact the team a lot that she’s leaving, but we just have to make up for the goals we won’t have from her. And I know we can do it, because we are a strong team and we will want to make Shelby proud.

FTT: What are your goals for next year?

SS: Our goals for next year are to simply work harder. We need to run more, and work harder in practice. The main goal is to win the liberty league and show everyone who thinks we can’t do it that we can.

Although they face tough competition and steep challenges, coach Jeff McGuigan and returning players, such as Sarkis, are determined to make this next year even more successful than the last.

Author: Mohammad Alzuhair

RIT women’s lacrosse prepares to face-off against St. Lawrence University Friday, April 26 in what will be a tough Liberty League match.

RIT’s women’s lacrosse has two games left in their regular season, and both are shaping up to be tough in-conference games. The Tigers will face St. Lawrence University this Friday, April 26th. St. Lawrence is currently second in the Liberty League Standings, with an in-conference record of 5-2. The Tigers are fifth in the standings, with an in-conference record of 4-3. The Liberty League, comprised of ten teams, is very close this year. Both RIT and St. Lawrence have identical overall records of 9-5.

Players to Watch:

St. Lawrence

Senior Captain, Brigid Hurley, has established herself as St. Lawrence’s stand-out player. In their most recent game against Union, Hurley scored six goals. Hurley has 49 goals on the season, but cannot be credited as being much of a playmaker, having only one assist thus far. Her numbers are more than double that of the other point makers on the team.

Senior midfielder, Stephanie O’ Rourke has 17 goals on the season and 8 assists, giving her a tally of 25 points. It’s safe to say that St. Lawrence is not a playmaking team. Their third highest points player, freshmen midfielder, Michaela Maybee, only has one assist with her 20 goals on the season.

RIT:

Senior midfielder, Shelby Vakiener, is a goal-scoring machine for RIT. She broke the RIT record for most goals scored in a recent game, when she tallied nine goals against University of Rochester. So far Vakiener has 58 goals on the seasons, and 23 assists for a total of 81 points on the season.

RIT certainly has a more balanced distribution of goal scorers and playmakers than St. Lawrence. Number two in points for the Tigers, freshmen Sage Sarkis, has 37 goals on the season with ten assists, for a total of 47 points. Sophomore attacker, Marlee Vlassis, has a total of 34 points; having tallied 21 goals and 13 assists this season.

The Tigers will finish regular season play at home with back-to-back games, first facing St. Lawrence, and then playing Clarkson on Saturday April 27.


Author: Kristin Klock

The RIT men's lacrosse team faces a pivotal match-up with St. Lawrence with the Liberty League lead on the line.

It all comes down to this- RIT vs. St. Lawrence for the regular season Liberty League title and the top seed in next week's league tournament. There's a lot on the line when the third-ranked Tigers take on the No. 17-seeded Saints on Saturday.

The Tigers (13-2, 5-0) are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, their last loss coming against No. 1 SUNY Cortland on March 27. St. Lawrence (10-3, 5-0) suffered a three-game losing streak early in the season, but hasn’t lost since their game against No. 6 Middlebury on March 13.

Both teams blazed their way through Liberty League play, but with every different style. If you're looking for a strength-on-strength matchup, this is your kind of game.


St. Lawrence Saints

The Saints have been strong defensively all season, ranking in the top-20 nationally in defense with 6.38 goals allowed. Only two opponents have managed to score double-digit goals against St. Lawrence and they've only allowed 3.25 goals per game in their last four contests.

That strong defensive effort has masked a weak offense, which peaked with 12 goals in their win over Rensselaer last Saturday. The Saints rely heavily on freshman Jeremy Vautour for goals. Vautour has 23 on the season but only a single assist. Senior Davey Hovey leads St. Lawrence in scoring with 29 points on 8 goals and 21 assists.

Still, St. Lawrence has heated up as the season progressed, scoring in double figures in their past five games after a bizarre 4-3 win over Union. Junior Pierson Fowler has come on strong during that stretch, with six goals in the past two games.

Overall, St. Lawrence has a knack for getting involved in low-scoring games. They don't score a lot, but have limited the competition from doing so as well. More importantly, they're in the middle of an eight-game winning streak and playing some of their best lacrosse.


RIT Tigers

The Tigers have been locked into third in the USILA Division III Coaches poll for the second consecutive week, still looking up at a Cortland team that beat them in an epic double-overtime game. The Liberty League title is important, so the Tigers must avoid looking ahead to the NCAA tournament.

While St. Lawrence has been locked into a series of tight games with low scoring, RIT has been lighting up the scoreboard. The Tigers rank fifth in the nation in goals per game at 15.27, which is three points higher than St. Lawrence has scored in a single game.

RIT has managed to score 25 goals in three games this season, including a 25-3 beat down of Vassar and a 25-15 win over rival Nazareth. Scoring has come from all over with junior attacker Jack Krzyston leading the way with 63 points on 39 goals and 24 assists.

In fact, top goal scorers Kyle Aquin (42) and Krzyston have managed nearly as many goals (81) as St. Lawrence has as a team (83). The Tigers aren't slouches on defense either, not allowing any Liberty League opponent score more than seven goals in a game.

Their average margin of victory in league play has been over 10 goals per game. It's been a dominant season so far, but the Saints will represent their biggest challenge in the Liberty League.

Both teams have secured a home game in the tournament next weekend but home field advantage is still up for grabs. The Tigers are undefeated at home this season, which is added motivation to close out league play with a win on Saturday.

The game against St. Lawrence will be on the Turf Field at 12 pm on Saturday, April 27.

Follow our reporter, Steven Howe, on Twitter for live tweets during the game.

Author: Steven Howe

Loren Azlein on the Challenges of being a Cinematographer and a Varsity Lacrosse Player

Matthew Pickett 

Author: Matthew Pickett

Jack and Jay Krzyston talk about being brothers on the same lacrosse team. 

In the world of sports, teammates stereotypically form close bonds with each other from hours of practicing and playing numerous games together.  In a sense, they become a close-knit family.

An undated photo of Jack Krzyston playing for his lacrosse
team at Bishop Guertin High School.
(personal photo/For the Tigers)

For Jack and Jay Krzyston, two players on the RIT men’s lacrosse team, it’s not a stereotype.  Originally from the suburbs of Bedford, N.H., these two brothers came from a family with a lot of love for the game.

Their father, John, used to play lacrosse in college, and they often remember how they went to Syracuse games with him when they were younger.

“Our dad really taught us everything,” said Jack, with his brother nodding his head in agreement.

Their first sport was hockey, another one of RIT’s most popular pastimes.  In addition to lacrosse and hockey, they have played baseball, soccer and numerous other sports. 

“When we were five, we played hockey and…we’ve always been playing [sports] ever since,” said Jay.

Attending lacrosse camps, such as the New Hampshire Tomahawks, Jack was discovered by RIT lacrosse coaches, who were impressed with him.  Lacrosse coach Jake Coon said they recruited him, because Jake was “a good student, a good goal scorer, good shooter and…a leader.”

“Coach [Gene] Peluso was the one who sent me my first letter, but Coach Coon was the one who brought me here,” said Jack, who was named Liberty League’s Offensive Performer of the Week last month and is the team’s top scorer.

A few years later, his brother was recruited as well.  Coon remarked how Jay’s physical strength and size; skill set; and overall athleticism played a role in his recruitment.

An undated photo of Jay Krzyston playing for his lacrosse
team at Bishop Guertin High School.
(personal photo/For the Tigers)

The brothers both have good personalities – on and off the field.  Jack and Jay have proven themselves to be quiet, hard working, polite and studious players, according to Coon.

“They are both chippy…in that they carry a chip on their shoulder when things don't go their way,” said Coon, referring to the way that they try to constantly improve themselves.

In a way, they realize it too.  An older brother first, a teammate second, Jack admits that he pushes his younger brother to do well out on the field.

“I definitely feel like I’m sometimes harder on him – just because I’m his older brother,” said Jack.

When asked if this ever caused a bit of sibling rivalry on the field, Jay says no.

“I don’t think it’s as much as a rivalry, but we definitely do compete against each other,” said the younger Krzyston.


Author: Michael Roppolo

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - In the wake of a rough mid-week loss, the RIT men’s lacrosse team cruised to a 25-15 win over their cross-town rivals Nazareth College on Saturday, March 30. Four RIT players scored a combined 16 goals, with another nine players contributing a single tally.

Coach Coon of the Men's Lacrosse Team
Matthew Pickett

The 25 goals scored against Nazareth is the most that they have ever allowed in a single game and the combined total of 40 goals is most ever in the long-standing RIT vs. Nazareth rivalry.

“It’s bragging rights for the town,” said RIT lacrosse coach Jake Coon. “I think the boys have always fought and clawed in this game...and both teams have been competitive for about 20 years now.”

When he was a student in 1997, Coon led Nazareth to the Division III Lacrosse Championship title. He says that he still has a lot of friends who are part of the Nazareth athletic community and that every rivalry game is bittersweet.

“It brings back a lot of memories every time I step out on to the field against Naz,” Coon said.

Matthew Pickett 

Author: Matthew Pickett