UMass Dartmouth finishes second varsity season
one game short of Pilgrim League playoff berth
(Dartmouth, MA) -- For a second straight year, UMass Dartmouth's men's lacrosse team came within one game of qualifying for the Pilgrim League playoffs. And for the second time in as many years, it was a loss to Plymouth State College in the final week of the regular season which knocked the Corsairs out of the playoff hunt.
Regardless of the season-ending 13-8 loss to Plymouth State, however, Coach Jeff Feroce's squad finished its second year as a varsity team with an impressive 8-3 overall record and a 3-2 mark for third place in the Pilgrim League's Northwest Division. In two seasons, UMass Dartmouth has put together an overall record of 18-6 and 6-4 in the Pilgrim League.
One sign of the Corsairs' continued development as a varsity team was the inclusion of three UMass Dartmouth players on the Pilgrim League's Northwest Division All-Star Team plus other post-season honors. The Corsairs were represented by two of their three senior captains, attacker Mike Monturio (Weymouth, MA) and goalie Steve Brandt (Newton, MA). Junior defenseman Tony Ferro (Granby, MA) was the third Corsair to earn All-Star honors.
In addition to being a Northwest Division All-Star selection, Brandt was the Corsairs' representative on the All-Pilgrim League squad. Brandt also earned Honorable Mention on the 1999 New England Intercollegiate Division III All-New England Men's Lacrosse Team.
Monturio concluded his collegiate career by scoring four goals plus an assist to earn game Most Valuable Player honors at the 1999 New England Senior East/West All Star game at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Competing for the West All-Stars, coached UMass Dartmouth's Feroce, Monturio was the game's high scorer as the West defeated the East, 16-10. Monturio was joined at the season-ending All-Star game by Corsair teammates Brandt and Mike Cusolito (Falmouth, MA), the Corsairs' third captain for the season.
With 39 goals and 27 assists for a total of 66 points, Monturio led the Corsairs' offensive unit, which outscored its opponents by a 158-97 count. UMass Dartmouth averaged 14.4 goals per game, while holding opponents to 8.8 goals per game.
Monturio's average of 6 goals per game ranked him 10th overall in NCAA Division III and he was 20th nationally in assists per game with 2.45. Sophomore Michael Beaton (Pittsfield, MA) was UMass Dartmouth's second leading scorer with 35 goals and seven assists for 42 points, followed by Cusolito with 22 goals and 18 assists for 40 points. Among the Corsairs' other top scorers were three first-year players, Jared Gray (Weymouth, MA) (18-5-23), Jim Ruggeri (Waltham, MA) (10-6-16) and Bryan Wallace (Wilbraham, MA) (7-7-14).
Brandt keyed the Corsairs' defensive unit which allowed more than ten goals in only four of 11 outings. In eight games in UMass Dartmouth's net, Brandt made 155 saves, an average of 9.1 saves per game and allowed a total of 73 goals for a 9.13 goals against average. Brandt's .680 saves percentage ranked him 9th nationally among Division III goalies. Brandt's backup in goal was Adam Centofanti (Waltham, MA), who averaged eight saves with an 8.00 goals against average and a .733 saves percentage in three games.
Assistant Director, Sports Information and Daily News
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
Dartmouth,MA 02747-2300
Phone: News (508) 999-8965 Sports (508) 999-8720
Fax: (508) 999-9200
JMullins@UMassD.edu
