Monday, April 14
Wingate and Saint Leo claim weekly DSC awards
Wingate, N.C.----Saint Leo junior attacker Benjamin Brigham (Scituate, Mass.) is this week’s Deep South Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Wingate University junior defender Clay Westbrook (Hilton Head, S.C.) is the Defensive Player of the Week while Wingate defender Kris Stanford (Stafford, Va.) is the Freshman of the Week, league officials announced Monday.
Brigham helped Saint Leo clinch a spot in the Deep South Conference Tournament with two goals and an assist in a 13-2 win over Rollins on Friday night. That performance followed a four-goal, one-assist showing in Tuesday’s DSC loss to No. 9 Wingate. The junior attack also added a total of five ground balls for the week.
Westbrook and Stanford teamed up to anchor Wingate’s defense for the week, as the Bulldogs picked up a pair of DSC wins to claim the regular season title with a perfect 4-0 league mark.
The two played were key members of Wingate’s man-down defense that held Saint Leo and Catawba zero-for-six on the week in extra man opportunities. The two also limited Catawba and Saint Leo midfielder to two goals in 120 minutes of action.
The Deep South Conference Players of the Week are voted on by the Sports Information Directors of the five member schools.
Monday, April 7
Wingate and Catawba claim weekly DSC awards
Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior attack man Kyle Costello (Wilmington, N.C.) is this week’s Deep South Conference Offensive Player of the Week, while Wingate junior defender Evan Schaller (Kirkville, N.Y.) is the Defensive Player of the Week honoree. Catawba first-year goal keeper Colin McClimans (Washington, D.C.) has been named the DSC Freshman of the Week, league officials announced Monday.
Costello racked up seven goals and three assists on the week, helping lead the ninth-ranked Bulldogs to a 2-0 record. Costello had four goals and an assist in Wingate’s 14-5 non-conference win at Lees-McRae College Wednesday. He posted three goals and two assists Saturday, leading the Bulldogs to a 13-8 road win over DSC foe Mars Hill. Costello also collected 10 ground balls on the week. This is his second consecutive Offensive Player of the Week award.
Schaller anchored the defense of the ninth-ranked Bulldogs on the week. On Wednesday, Schaller held Lees-McRae’s Kirk Rogers to a goal and an assist on three shots. Rogers leads the Bobcats in points. Schaller also scored a pair of goals on the day.
On Saturday, Schaller held David Hodgins of Mars Hill to two assists. Hodgins is the reigning Deep South Conference Player of the Year. Schaller also collected 13 ground balls on the week. This is his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Week award.
McClimans stepped in for injured starter Ben Huber and helped the Indians to a pair of league wins. On Friday, McClimans played into the third quarter in a 22-2 win over Rollins College. He had four saves, while only allowing two goals. On Sunday, the freshman had six stops while allowing only four goals as Catawba topped Saint Leo University to remain unbeaten in DSC play. For the week, McClimans posted 10 saves with a .625 save percentage.
The Deep South Conference Players of the Week are voted on by the Sports Information Directors of the five member schools.
Monday, March 31
Wingate and Mars Hill claim DSC weekly awards
Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior attack man Kyle Costello (Wilmington, N.C.) has been named the Deep South Conference Offensive Player of the Week, while Bulldog junior defender Evan Schaller (Kirkville, N.Y.) is the Defensive Player of the Week, league officials announced Monday. Mars Hill College freshman midfielder Eric Benesch (Bloomingdale, Ontario) is the Freshman of the Week.
Costello had three goals and three assists Thursday afternoon to lead the eighth-ranked Bulldogs to a 15-9 win over Queens University of Charlotte. Costello picked up two goals Saturday afternoon, as the Bulldogs fell to number four Limestone 14-11. For the week, the Laney High School product had five goals and three assists.
Schaller led the Wingate defense to a 15-9 win over Queens. He held Nick Mezzanotte to one goal on the afternoon. Mezzanotte leads the Royals in points this season. Schaller also collected seven ground balls in the Queens contest. On Saturday, Schaller held Limestone’s Jake Rogalia to one assist, while once again collecting seven ground balls.
Benesch had two goals and two assists in Mars Hill’s 15-6 win over St. Andrews Presbyterian College Saturday afternoon. He also collected seven ground balls and caused a turnover.
The Deep South Conference Players of the Week are voted on by the Sports Information Directors of the five member schools.
(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)
Tuesday, March 25
Mars Hill sweeps Player of the Week Awards
Wingate, N.C.----The Mars Hill Lions swept the Deep South Conference Player of the Week awards, league officials announced Tuesday. Junior midfielder Jeff Cizdziel (Stafford, Va.) was named the Offensive Player of the Week. Junior goalie Nick Sigona (Auburn, N.Y.) was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Tyler Farmer (Calgary, Alberta) was named the Freshman of the Week.
Cizdziel had four goals and an assist while leading the Lions to a 2-0 week. He also won eight-of-11 face-offs and added six groundballs. Mars Hill picked up a pair of conference wins on the week, Cizdziel had a goal and an assist against Rollins, then racked up three goals against Saint Leo. It is the second time this year Cizdziel has been named the Offensive Player of the Week.
Sigona allowed only eight goals in the two victories for the Lions, while collecting 22 saves. He had nine saves while allowing only three goals in the 18-3 win over Rollins. Sigona then racked up 13 saves while surrendering just five goals in the 9-5 win over Saint Leo. For the week, he had a .733 save percentage.
Farmer had two goals and two assists on the week for the Lions. He scored a goal and had an assist in the 18-3 win over Rollins. He also had a goal and an assist in the 9-5 win over Saint Leo. Farmer wins the Freshman of the Week award for the second time this season.
Monday, March 17
Catawba and Rollins Claim Weekly Awards
Catawba’s Kurt Green (San Diego, Calif.) was named the Deep South Conference Offensive Player of the Week, while Matt Puccio (Oakton,Va.) was named the Defensive Player of the Week. Rollins' Zach Cole (Rumford, R.I.) was named the Freshman of the Week, league officials announced Monday.
Catawba College senior attacker Kurt Green was named the offensive Player of the Week. Green had five goals on the week, including the overtime game-winner in a league-opening win over Mars Hill. Green snapped a seven-all tie with a tally coming at 9:48 left in the game. Then, after Mars Hill tied the game in the closing seconds, Green gave Catawba the win on a score at 2:16 of overtime. Also, Green had three goals in a loss to Notre Dame de Namur. On the season, Green leads Catawba with 15 goals and has also added five assists.
Catawba’s senior defender Matt Puccio helped Catawba to a win during its league opener, assisting on one goal and grabbing eight ground balls. Puccio also caused four turnovers in the win over Mars Hill. For the week, Puccio had ten ground balls and caused six turnovers as the Indians split a pair of games. On the season, Puccio has registered 24 ground balls and caused 13 turnovers in six games. Puccio’s assist was his first point of the season.
Rollins College freshman goalkeeper Zach Cole was named the Freshman of the Week. Cole has kept the Tars ahead or within reach of attaining wins all season long. This past week, his 17 saves against University of New England and 18 saves against Franklin Pierce kept the Tars a threat and in contention during both contests.
Monday, March 10 
Bulldogs sweep weekly DSC awards
Wingate, N.C.--- The Wingate University Bulldogs swept the weekly Deep South Conference awards, league officials announced Monday. Wingate junior attacker Ryan Otterblad (Dumfries, Va.) was named the offensive Player of the Week. Bulldog redshirt sophomore Adam Krinsky (Hicksville, N.Y.) was named the Defensive Player of the Week while Billy Mutton (Mechanicsville, Va.) was named the Freshman of the week. The trio helped the seventh-ranked Bulldogs go 2-0 on the week, improving to 4-1 this season.
Otterblad had five goals and four assists on the week. He had three goals and three assists in Wingate’s 14-2 Deep
South Conference win over Rollins. Otterblad collected two goals and an assist in the 11-7 victory over Belmont Abbey. Otterblad had nine shots on goal for the week, while also winning seven groundballs.
Krinsky held his man without a goal or an assist in both Wingate’s wins during the week. Krinsky helped anchor a defense that held that shutout Rollins in the first half, holding them to just two goals in the game. Krinsky’s defensive unit allowed just four goals in the first three quarters Saturday against Belmont Abbey.
Mutton scored two goals on the week for the Bulldogs. He scored a goal at Rollins Wednesday, then added another goal Saturday against Belmont Abbey. Mutton was efficient, scoring the goals on his only two shots on goal. He also won three groundballs on the week.
Monday, March 3
Saint Leo and Wingate claim weekly DSC POTW awards
Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University’s David Suthers (Manassas, Va.) is the Deep South Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending March 1, league officials announced Monday. Saint Leo University’s Benjamin Brigham (Scituate, Mass.) is the DSC Offensive Player of the Week, while Lion teammate Mike Delbuono (Southington, Conn.) is the DSC Freshman of the Week, league officials also announced Monday.
Bulldog senior goalkeeper David Suthers held the third-ranked Lakers of Mercyhurst (Pa.) College to six goals Saturday afternoon in Wingate’s 7-6 overtime victory. Suthers racked up 14 saves on the day, including a key save in overtime right before Wingate’s game-winner. The Bulldogs are 2-1 overall on the young season.
A junior attack, Benjamin Brigham scored five goals and added two assists to lead the SLU Lions to a 17-5 non-conference road win over Rollins College. On the season, Brigham has a team-high eight goals. He has added two assists for the Lions (2-1 overall).
In only his third collegiate game, Mike Delbuono put together a very solid performance in Saint Leo’s 17-5 road w
in at Rollins. The SLU freshman midfielder was 11-for-12 in face-offs. His hard work helped slow Rollins’ momentum when the RC Tars pulled within four goals (SLU 9, RC 5) in the third quarter.
Mars Hill and Catawba claim weekly DSC awards
Wingate, N.C.----Catawba College’s Kurt Green (San Diego, Calif.) was named the Deep South Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 24, league officials announced Monday. Mars Hill College’s Kris Frier (Tully, N.Y.) was named the DSC Defensive
Player of the Week, while Lion teammate Tim Burns (Downington, Pa.) was named the DSC Freshman of the Week, league officials announced Monday.
Green scored four goals and added an assist to help Catawba to an 11-9 win over St. Andrews Presbyterian College Saturday and a split of its opening two games. Green had the tying and go-ahead goals against the Knights over a span of 14 seconds. He tied the score at nine with 6:01 left and then scored again with 5:47 remaining for the eventual game-winner. Green also scored twice in the opening quarter to help Catawba to an early 5-1 lead.
Frier was named the Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Frier caused eigh
t turnovers and won 11 ground balls to lead Mars Hill to a 15-12 win at Pfeiffer University Saturday. Burns had four goals in the Lions’ 15-12 win at Pfeiffer. He also won two ground balls in the contest.
LIONS SWEEP DEEP SOUTH CONFERENCE AWARDS
Wingate, N.C.----The Mars Hill College lacrosse team sweeps the first weekly awards of the season in the Deep South Conference, league officials announced Tuesday. Jeff Cizdziel was named the Offensive Player of the Week, Kris Frier was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Tyler Farmer was named the Freshman of the Week.
A junior midfielder from Stafford, Virginia, Cizdziel racked up five goals and one assist in two Mars Hill victories. He had three goals while winning seven ground balls in the Lions’ 15-13 win over NCAA Division I Presbyterian College. Cizdziel followed with two goals and an assist in a 15-6 win over Lees-McRae College. He also won eight ground balls and 16-of-21 face-offs in the Lees-McRae victory.
A junior long stick midfielder from Tully, N.Y, Frier was the defensive anchor as the Lions compiled a 2-0 record so far this season. He won three ground balls and caused four turnovers against Presbyterian. He won five ground balls and caused four turnovers against Lees-McRae, while also collecting two assists.
A freshman midfielder from Calgary, Alberta, Farmer had six goals and an assist in two games for the Lions. He had three goals (on three shots) and an assist in his college debut against Presbyterian. Farmer tallied the game-winning goal against Presbyterian. Farmer added another three goals against Lee-McRae, while boasting a solid .923 shots-on-goal percentage.
The DSC lacrosse league has a new look in 2008, with five members: Catawba 
College, Mars Hill College, Rollins (Fla.) College, Saint Leo (Fla.) University and Wingate University. One of the oldest and most prestigious lacrosse leagues in the South, the Deep South Conference is dedicated to the highest quality of competition and sportsmanship.
(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)
2010 News
08 Players of the Week
