Dan Sheehan, Le Moyne coach
* On Mercyhurst: “Obviously Coach (Chris) Ryan and his staff have done a tremendous job with his team this year. Mercyhurst isn’t new to this stage. They certainly have had an outstanding year. Anytime you can go through your regular season, your conference tournament and head into the NCAA tournament undefeated, and obviously their ability to squeak out close games, I think they’re a team that does just about everything very well. I think it’s a team that’s in great condition, shape. I think it’s a team that understands who they are and is playing very, very good lacrosse right now.
* On matchup: I think we’ve got two very similar teams. I’d like to think that we match up pretty well with them. I think defensively, it’s kind of what we do here at Le Moyne College in this time of year. This is probably the best lacrosse that Le Moyne lacrosse has been playing at this time of year in a long time. I’m expecting it to be one heck of a lacrosse game.
* On keys to success: I’m anticipating the first 5 minutes of the game is probably going to set the tempo. I think faceoffs and goalie play have a lot to do with what happens this time of year. I think if you’ve got the confidence that your guy can walk out to the X and get you the ball back or play make it take it allows you maybe to do some different things on the offensive end of the field. I think both defenses are going to have their hands full. I think you’ve got two very opportunistic offenses on the field. I think that both teams can come at you in a couple of different ways. So I’m kind of anticipating maybe a little bit of a chess match. We’re looking forward to watching it.”

- Victor Fernandes

NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship schedule
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Today – Division I semifinals
No. 4 Duke (14-5) vs. No. 8 Cornell (14-3), 2:30 p.m. ESPN2
No. 2 Syracuse (15-3) vs. No. 6 Denver (14-4), 5 p.m. ESPN2
Sunday – Division II and III championship games
Division II: No. 1 Mercyhurst (18-0) vs. No. 3 Le Moyne (17-2), 1 p.m. NCAA.com
Division III: No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology (19-2) vs. No. 4 Stevenson (21-2), 4 p.m. NCAA.com
Monday – Division I championship game
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m. ESPN
Note: All games will be broadcast live.

Ticket information*
Today’s games: $50-$90 (club level), $50-$75 (lower level), $50 (upper level)
Sunday games: $40 (club level), $20 (general admission)
Monday’s game: $25-$50 (club level), $25-$40 (lower level), $25 (upper level)
All-session: $70-$135 (club seats), $70-$110 (lower level), $60-$80 (upper level)
* Find more information on NCAA.com

Directions to Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
From Erie (approximately 7 hours): Take Interstate 79 South to Interstate 80 East, and then take I-80 East to Exit 277 (PA-940/I-476) toward Pennsylvania Turmpike/Wilkes-Barre/Allentown. Merge onto Interstate 476 South by taking the ramp on the left toward White Haven. Head south on I-476 to Exit 16 (Interstate 76) towards Philadelphia/Valley Forge, and merge onto I-76 East (towards Philadelphia) at Exit 16A. Take I-76 to Exit 349 (PA 611-Broad Street) towards Sports Complex. Turn right onto South Broad Street/PA-611 South, and then take first left onto Pattison Avenue to head to the stadium.

Kayla Shull

Clarion senior swimmer Kayla Shull, a Franklin native and graduate of Rocky Grove, was named as a Capital One First Team Academic All-District 2 selection.

Shull, a senior Speech Pathology and Audiology major, carries a perfect 4.0 GPA. She was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American this past season, placing fifth in the 100 backstroke in a school-record time of 55.40 seconds and also taking 16th in the 200 freestyle.

Shull, who earned Division II All-America status 15 times in her career, won a fourth consecutive PSAC title in the 100 backstroke this past season.

The Le Moyne men’s lacrosse team might have benefited most from the expansion of the NCAA Division II lacrosse tournament’s field to eight teams from four this season.
The Dolphins (16-2) suffered their second loss of the regular season, 10-9, at Adelphi April 6, which has forced them to win out in hopes of securing a playoff spot. Yet in the past, that defeat would have signaled the end to their season.
“In Division II, it used to be you lose one game and, boy, you were in a tough spot. You lose two (and) you’re done,” longtime Le Moyne coach Dan Sheehan said during a conference call Tuesday.
The expanded field still have the Dolphins a chance. They capitalized on it by winning seven straight games to end the season, including a 7-5 win at Adelphi in the Northeast-10 Conference championship game. They followed that with wins at LIU-Post and Adelphi in the first two rounds of the national playoffs to earn a chance to face Mercyhurst in the Division II title game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Mercyhurst coach Chris Ryan often has praised the new tournament format.
“It’s just been a huge boost for Division II (because) more teams got in,” he said. Ryan also said “it made a lot interesting for the players. These kids come to college to play games and play in the playoffs. If you’re going to attend Le Moyne College or Mercyhurst University, you come with the understanding that the goal is to play in May. So I think the kids welcome the challenge.”
* Ready for anything: Ryan said his team is ready for any adversity the national title game may provide. A regular season that he called “a year unlike any other” has created that level of toughness. Ryan pointed to the cold, wet weather early in the season that kept the team from practicing outside at times, as well as the comebacks and close finishes. The Lakers played four games decided in the final minutes and six one-goal games in all.
“We had a very high level of stress going into this last couple of weeks,” said Ryan, whose team needed overtime to beat Lake Erie and Limestone in the first two playoff rounds. The Lakers needed two goals in the final minute of regulation to force OT against Limestone last weekend.
“There wasn’t panic. There wasn’t desperation,” Ryan said. “The kids just knew they had to make a play. We had to make something happen.”
* High praise: Mercyhurst junior goaltender Michael Grace paid his defense a hefty compliment earlier this week. “I really do have the best defense in front of me in the country,” he said. “They make my job way easier.” The Lakers rank fifth nationally with 7.50 goals allowed per game. Le Moyne stands atop the list at 5.32 per game.
* News and notes: Mercyhurst ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense at 13.72 goals per game, three spots ahead of Le Moyne (seventh at 13.00 per game). … Both teams rank among the top 10 in nearly offensive and defensive category. … Le Moyne G Jeff White leads the nation with a 5.30 goals-against average.

Mercyhurst junior defenseman Andrew Wagner has been named winner of the William C. Schmeisser Award as USILA’s outstanding defensive player for the second straight year. Wagner, who has recorded 25 groundballs and 11 caused turnovers this season, spearheads a defense that has held 16-of-18 opponents under their scoring average by consistently covering teams’ top offensive performers. Wagner is the school’s first two-time winner of this award. He joins senior attackman Brian Scheetz and former Laker Gregory Bensman as winners of major USILA awards.

West Chester beat out Indiana (Pa.) to win the Dixon Trophy for the 2012-13 season. The award, given in each of the past 18 years to the PSAC’s top athletics program, is the first for West Chester.

The Dixon Trophy is awarded to the PSAC school that accumulates the top score based on results of conference playoffs and/or regular-season records.

Edinboro placed fifth overall, while Gannon was eighth and Mercyhurst finished 11th out of 16 teams. The Gannon women led all PSAC women’s sports programs with an average score of 11.75. The Knights claimed a PSAC crown in women’s volleyball.

Edinboro won conference titles in wrestling and men’s cross country, while Mercyhurst had a PSAC title in men’s soccer.

Check out the Dixon Trophy totals here.

Among its 22 sports, West Chester had an average score of 10.77 while IUP compiled a 10.74 for its 19 sports program. Shippensburg, with a 10.05 average, took third, while Slippery Rock (9.94) and Edinboro (9.85) were also in the top five.

West Chester won four conference championships (men’s and women’s swimming, field hockey and women’s lacrosse), while runner-up IUP won league titles in football, men’s golf and men’s basketball.

Shippensburg won more PSAC titles than any other school with crowns in men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and women’s cross country.

Shippensburg has the most Dixon titles with seven since the trophy was first awarded in 1996. Bloomsburg and Lock Haven have won three apiece.

Gannon sophomore swimmer Michael Decsey and junior water polo standout Daisuke Takagi have been named to the Capital One Academic All-District II men’s at-large first team. With the honors, Decsey and Takagi are now eligible for the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.

Decsey, a political science major, compiled a 3.89 cumulative grade point average and won three individual titles and two relay gold medals this past season. He posted 13 PSAC-qualifying times and earned all-conference honors as the opening leg of the 200-yard medley relay team, which finished third at the PSAC Championships.

Takagi, a computer science major with a 3.54 cumulative GPA,  recorded 45 goals, 47 steals, 34 assists and 27 earned kick-outs this season. Takagi is only the third Gannon player ever to earn All-Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) honors. He ranks third all-time at Gannon in assists (90), sixth in goals (131) and eighth in steals (125).

Mercyhurst women’s volleyball standout Elyse Texido and Luis Leao of the men’s basketball team were named the Lakers’ Senior Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively, at the university’s annual Senior Sports Banquet this past weekend.

Elyse Texido

Luis Leao

Texido, a defensive specialist/libero, racked up a school-record 666 digs and was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year and All-PSAC first team selection. She helped Mercyhurst go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. Texido finished third in program history in digs (1,627) and aces (126).

Leao, a 6-foot 5-inch forward, was the first Lakers’ player ever to be named to the NABC All-American Team. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this past season. Leao also was named PSAC West Athlete of the Year to go along with numerous other accolades.

Leao  finished ninth in program history in scoring (1,221 points).

Gannon’s Shayne Herold, Mercyhurst’s Ben Rawding and Penn State Behrend’s Vinny Rice each were named to all-region baseball teams Monday.

Herold made the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region first team. The redshirt senior right-hander finished the regular season with a 9-0 record and 1.09 earned-run average.

Rawding, a senior left-hander, made the Rawlings/ABCA second team after finishing 9-3 with a 2.66 ERA.

Herold and Rawding each were named to earlier all-region teams.

Rice, meanwhile, made the D3baseball.com Mideast Region third team. The senior first baseman had a .378 batting average with 45 hits and 26 RBIs.

Anne Carlson

Edinboro hired Anne Carlson as the head track and field coach/director of cross country operations today, replacing retired coach Doug Watts.

Athletic director Bruce Baumgartner said Carlson will serve as the men’s and women’s track and field coach and will oversee the incoming cross country head coach. Edinboro will begin searching for a cross country coach soon, Baumgartner said.

Watts announced his retirement in April after coaching Edinboro’s running programs for the past 44 years.

Carlson has been an assistant women’s track and field coach at Edinboro since June 2011. She is a former Central Missouri All-American and won the pentathlon national championship in 2009.

“Obviously, Anne has some big shoes to fill,” Baumgartner said. “But we are supremely confident that she is a young coach with a bright future.”

Watts supported the choice of Carlson for the job.

“In the two short years she’s been here, Coach Anne has proven to be a superior technician and an excellent role model,” Watts said. “Having her inherit the program made it easy for me to pass the reins of this outstanding tradition of excellence to her.”