Aug. 11, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Five Penn State men's lacrosse alumni wrapped up their 2014 Major League Lacrosse campaign this past weekend with New York Lizards' Drew Adams (Class of 2009) and Greg Gurenlian ('06) two moving onto the playoffs. Along with Adams and Gurenlian, Matthew Mackrides ('12), Austin Kaut ('14) and Shane Sturgis ('14) also competed in the MLL this year.
Adams and Gurenlian shined for the U.S. National Team this summer en route to silver medals, but were even more impressive during the 2014 MLL season. Gurenlian was first in the league with 201 faceoff wins and faceoff wins per game (15.5). His 61.1 win percentage at the X also topped the MLL charts. Gurenlian earned the 2014 FOGO Award presented by The Faceoff Academy, an honor determined solely by statistical success.
In net, Adams was third in MLL with an 11.67 goals against average, helping the Lizards to a 9-5 record. They take on the Denver Outlaws (9-5) in Colorado on Saturday, Aug. 16 at 5:30 p.m. That game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network. The winner of that contest will play Rochester (10-4) or Ohio (8-6) in the MLL Championship Game at Kennesaw, Ga. on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.
Mackrides, who won the 2013 MLL title with Chesapeake, helped the Bayhawks to a 5-9 record and a sixth-place finish in 2014. Mackrides tallied 17 goals, including a two-pointer, with 10 assists and 28 points in his third season for the Maryland side. Mackrides was also a finalist for the U.S. National Team and collected a career-high 13 ground balls.
Kaut provided backup duties for the Boston Cannons this season, seeing the field four times in his rookie campaign. Kaut went 0-1 in 53 minutes of duty, making 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a save percentage of .519. His former PSU teammate Sturgis earned a mid-season call for the July 19 game against New York, a 15-14 thriller that went the Lizards' way. Sturgis tallied two shots and dished an assist in his first MLL appearance.