Two Newtown Lacrosse Standouts Commit To College Programs

Notre Dame-Fairfield senior co-captain and former Newtown Youth Lacrosse player Joe Banno has committed to play men’s lacrosse for Haverford College and was accepted early decision. The four-year starting Lancer — an ‘07 SWC Honorable Mention — is Haverford’s top goalie recruit athletically and academically.

The Black Squirrels rank #13 in Lacrosse Magazine’s Preseason DIII Rankings. Last spring the team earned its highest national ranking (#15), a #13 Laxpower.com rank and a first upset over a Top 5 team (Gettysburg) with the fifth-toughest schedule of 138 teams. The average total strength of ‘07’s opponents equaled or was better than those of LeMoyne, Bryant (DII), Salisbury and Lynchburg (DIII). Haverford’s fourth-straight winning season saw another upset over then-#10 Geneseo and three 1-goal losses to Top 15 teams: then-#6 Washington, then-#14 Hampden-Sydney and Gettysburg (in the Centennial semifinal, the strongest Division III conference).

 Newtown Nighthawks midfielder Will Mahony of Sandy Hook (‘07 SWC All Conference Second Team) committed to Union College and also was accepted early decision. Mahony — also a varsity co-captain — is a high honors student and multiyear starter (30G, 10A, 62 GBs in 2007 alone). Coach Paul Wehrum, named to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1999, brings great coaching experience to Union. As head coach at Herkimer Community College for 24 years, he led the lacrosse team to 21 consecutive National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association Region III Championships and 8 NJCAA national titles. He was NJCAA Coach of the Year four times. As Union’s 2007 season progressed under Coach Wehrum, the Dutchmen gave #5-ranked St Lawrence a close and competitive game, tying up in the third quarter then losing by only 3.

 Another Connecticut product, Mike Distler (Joel Barlow) is a senior starting attackman for Haverford and a Preseason All-Conference Team pick. In ‘08, The Black Squirrels will face two Top 5 teams and three Top 20 teams and Inside Lacrosse Magazine ranks Haverford #3 in the Centennial Conference Preseason Poll. Connecticut is represented on the Union Dutchmen team by Chris Collison (Trumbull). Union plays in the Liberty Conference, the sixth-best of 16 DIII conferences.

 Mahony and Banno were invited to both Connecticut Super Junior tryouts in June; both play on the IAS Select Club Lacrosse team in Massachusetts. They were starting Newtown CONNY Youth Lacrosse teammates for three years, both CONNY Senior All-Stars in their last two years, and helped win both All-Star games. With their teammates, Mahony and Banno helped defeat the topmost renowned teams in those years, including John Jay-NY, New Canaan, New Fairfield, Trumbull, Ridgefield, and Guilford.

 Banno said, “My three years starting in goal for Newtown Youth Lacrosse started it all. Other old Newtown teammates will play in college too: Monroe’s Ned Emerson and Derek Flynn are going to Quinnipiac. We had great teams back then, thanks to Coaches Jim Bauer, Jack Read, Charlie Hill, Raub Beitel, Paul Kelly, and Mark Feltch for all they did.”

 “I’m really excited to play for Coach Murphy [Duke ‘91] and Assistant Coaches Colin Bathory [HC ‘99], Doc Dougherty [3-time Major League Lacrosse Goalie of the Year, Philadelphia Barrage], Jamie Steele [Gettysburg ’94; 4 NCAA appearances as Widener head coach] and the other coaches,” Banno said. “Haverford also said that ND-Fairfield’s excellent academics helped me get accepted: my GPA at ND is stronger than being valedictorian at some other schools. My new teammates are all the greatest guys too, and many recent recruits come from Top 5, 10 or 20 programs in their states: St Paul’s [Md.], Manhasset [N.Y.], Tatnall, St Andrew’s and Brandywine [Del.], Mountain Lakes, Kinnelon, and Montclair [N.J.], Conestoga [Penn.], and St John’s [Texas].”

 Princeton Review’s Academic Ratings rank Haverford as high as or above the Ivy Leagues and schools like Middlebury. US News & World Report lists HC as a Top 10 Best Liberal Arts College. Banno, a National Honor Society, 13-time High Honors student, will major in history and pursue Secondary Teacher Certification. He says, “HC also has one of the few working, student-managed Honor Codes. Finals are self-scheduled and unproctored, no one cheats, steals or plagiarizes, and everyone respects everyone else and their belongings. With this kind of academic and personal integrity, great education and great lacrosse, Haverford is going to be an amazing place to go to college.”

 Union College is one of Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges in the Northeast” and ranks #1 in offering “More to Do on Campus.” It is also ranked #40 among Top Liberal Arts Colleges, according to US News & World Report, and the student body’s average GPA is 3.50.

 As a rising senior, Banno helped his IAS club men’s teams in the top men’s groups at Lake Placid’s Tournament and Vail Shootout. Rookie “The Coaches’ Eye” nearly upset #5-nationally ranked Crease Monkeys (UVa., UMd., Navy, Towson, Salisbury alumni). In Banno’s half, TCE tied and outscored CM 5-3 with his .79 save percentage and 11 saves, losing by only one. At Vail, Banno helped IAS Breakaway defeat Dunn Financial. As a high school junior, he helped Breakaway to Matty Demaine Men’s semifinals, opposite NCAA DI and MLL players (Boston Cannons, Duke, Georgetown, UMass, etc), losing by 1 in the last 7 seconds to Duxbury (Max Quinzani, Chris Nixon). “I got all this great competition playing for Coach Jeff Coulson and IAS Select. I owe an awful lot to Jeff,” Banno said.

Named to the ‘08 US U19 Team tryout nominations Connecticut standby list by US Lacrosse Connecticut High School Chairman Frank Barron, Banno was also the only state player on Fellowship of Christian Athletes Lacrosse’s National High School Tour. Highlights include a .62 SV percent in three games against NDP Tournament of Champions winner Ontario Edge, all three games won against two-year Champ Camp winner Dukes LC and Delaware state champ Salesianum, and .63 overall SV percent for the weeklong summer ‘07 tour during which several University of Maryland players joined one opponent.

 At two Connecticut Super Juniors tryouts, Banno posted .71 SV percentage and 6.77 GAA. With the Notre Dame Lancers’ schedule tougher than that of Somers, Old Lyme, Northwest Catholic, Avon and 10 other Division S schools in the playoffs, Banno’s SV percentage ranked #3 in the state (.69; of 31 top ‘07 starters with stats for 8+ games). Against Top 25 teams, his career SV percentage is .65 in 14 full games to date. “Coach Skawinski is great and very hardworking,” Banno said. “Because of him we had our first alumni/varsity game, first winter league and the team hopes to ultimately return to the league and state playoffs like in 2004.”