Jostens and the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) honor institutions each year at the NCAA Convention for their excellence in community service. This year, Centenary College is a proud recipient of one of the two Award of Merit honorees. Director of Athletics, Billie Jo Blackwell, Associate Athletic Director Josh Huber, and Senior Woman Administrator, Iris Correa were presented the award by NADIIIAA President, Al Bean and Jostens’ representative Kelly McKenzie.

The Cyclones’ teams participated in many community service efforts in 2011, making them worthy of earning this distinction, however Centenary was chosen mainly in part for its efforts in helping a local child, Jacob Grimes, who suffers from A.L. Leukemia. Matthew Klank, Head Coach of the men’s lacrosse team observed a posting at a local grocery store about Jacob’s illness. The situation hit home for Klank who has a child of the same age, driving Klank to begin not only a fundraising effort for Jacob Grimes, but also a chance for Centenary teams to share their team camaraderie with the young boy. The men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer and women’s soccer teams all secured sponsors to donate an amount for each repetition of a lift-a-thon or similar event. The money raised was then donated to the Grimes family to assist in treatment costs. All in all, the teams raised over $8,000 and came away with an invaluable experience.

The Centenary College Athletic Department is honored to be recognized by Jostens and the NADIIIAA and looks forward to continuing its efforts to serve the community.

InsideLacrosse.com Pre-Season Rankings

Nolan finished second on the team in assists (13), points (36) and groundballs (55), while also placing third in goals (23). After just two seasons, he is already fourth all-time in assists and tied for sixth all-time in points. Nolan was a first team CSAC selection in 2010.

Nuzzolese finished the season with 28 goals, good enough for second on the team despite playing through injury towards the end of the season. He totaled 32 points on 75 shots, which comes out to a team-best .373 shooting percentage. Nuzolese also accumulated 28 groundballs on the season.

This season, McVay set career highs in minutes (583:30), goals against average (8.64), saves (141), save percentage (.627) and wins (five). His career-highs in goals against average and save percentage also set a new single-season program record. McVay battled a shoulder injury throughout much of the season, which makes his statistics even more impressive. For his effort, McVay was also named a CSAC Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Lowe has become a defensive force on this Cyclone team. He led the team for the second consecutive season in turnovers caused with 25 and finished third on the team with 45 groundballs. This is the second straight season that Lowe was selected All-CSAC Honorable Mention.

Sophomore Conor Nolan (Hillsborough, N.J./Immaculata) led the team with four points on one goal and three assists and freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) tallied three points on one goal and two assists. Seniors Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and Colin Aldino (Belmar, N.J./St. Rose) each found the back of the net once, as did sophomore Robert Nuzzolese (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset).

Goalies Kyle McVay (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Twp.) and Kyle Thompson (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) combined for 26 saves in the losing effort.

Centenary never led in the contest. The Cyclones trailed, 3-1 at the end of the first, when Nolan and Montalvo collaborated on two goals to cut NU’s advantage to one, 4-3, with 8:45 to go in the half. But the Knights scored three straight goals to end the second and started the third period with two more scores and never looked back, going on to win by seven.

Swantkoski scored two of his goals in the first three minutes of the game as the Cyclones jumped out to an early lead. The Dolphins scored twice to even the score, but after sophomore Conor Nolan (Hillsborough, N.J./Immaculata) found the back of the net, the Cyclones stayed in front for the remainder of the game.

Centenary took a 10-5 lead into halftime and a 13-7 lead into the fourth period. Mount Saint Vincent scored the first three goals in the final period to trim the Cyclone lead to 13-10, but that would be the closest the Dolphins would get as sophomore Robert Nuzzolese (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) ended the run with his fourth and final goal on the afternoon. Nolan tacked on his third and fourth goals of the day in the final minutes to conclude the scoring.

Freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) played one of the best games of his young career by totaling a career-high six assists, to go along with a goal in the victory. Junior Kyle Thompson (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) recorded 10 saves and earned the first victory of his career.

Centenary outshot Mount Saint Vincent (51-33), had more groundballs (41-37) and fewer turnovers (23-25). The Dolphins also racked up a stunning 17 penalties that resulted in extra man opportunities for the Cyclones, for which they converted on five of their goals. Mount Saint Vincent accumulated 15:30 in penalty minutes, compared to 2:00 for Centenary.

The Cyclones conclude their season on Saturday, April 30, with a road contest at CSAC rival Neumann at 1:00 p.m.

Boxscore

The Cyclones played a strong first half, with sophomore Conor Nolan (Hillsborough, N.J./Immaculata) and freshman Steve Orsini (Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.) each scoring a pair of goals en route to giving the Cyclones a 6-4 halftime lead. Immaculata burst out of the intermission by scoring scoring five unanswered goals, with junior Dante Tuscai scoring two of his game-high five goals in that span. Centenary rallied in the final minutes of the third behind Nolan, who scored two consecutive goals in an 11-second span and freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) who concluded the period with a goal tying the score as the game entered the fourth period.

Immaculata freshman Joey Shallow scored the go-ahead goal with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game and a trio of late goals by the Mighty Macs sealed the victory.

Prior to the game, Centenary honored the two senior members of its men's lacrosse team, Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and Colin Aldino (Belmar, N.J./St. Joe's). Swantkoski scored a goal and added two assists, while Aldino was inactive due to injury. Centenary's junior goalkeeper, Kyle McVay (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) played admirably through a shoulder injury and recorded 17 saves.

While the Mighty Macs led by a slim margin in groundballs (34-33), they held a distinct advantage in shots (44-29) and had 13 fewer turnovers (13-25).

Centenary returns to action on Wednesday, April 27, with a home game against non-conference foe Mount Saint Vincent at 4:00 p.m.

Boxscore

SUNY Maritime built an early 3-0 lead behind two goals from sophomore Matthew Messina, but the Cyclones answered with a pair of goals by senior Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central). The teams traded goals during the second and third periods as both sophomore Anthony Ciaston (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) and freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) registered goals for Centenary. With under two minutes remaining in the third period, the Privateers held a slim 5-4 advantage over the Cyclones. From here, SUNY Maritime rattled off three goals to end the third period followed by three more to begin the fourth to put the game out of reach.

Swantkoski finished with a team-high four goals, while Ciaston had two and Montalvo one. The Privateers had seven different players score and goalie Keith Messina recorded nine saves in earning the victory. Junior Kyle Thompson (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) made his first start of the season in net for the Cyclones and tallied three saves.

The Cyclones held an advantage in shots (31-27) and grounballs (34-33), but the Privateers won 15 out of the 20 faceoffs on the afternoon.

Centenary returns to action on Monday, April 25, with a home game against conference foe Immaculata at 4:00 p.m.

Boxscore

SUNY Maritime built an early 3-0 lead behind two goals from sophomore Matthew Messina, but the Cyclones answered with a pair of goals by senior Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central). The teams traded goals during the second and third periods as both sophomore Anthony Ciaston (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) and freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) registered goals for Centenary. With under two minutes remaining in the third period, the Privateers held a slim 5-4 advantage over the Cyclones. From here, SUNY Maritime rattled off three goals to end the third period followed by three more to begin the fourth to put the game out of reach.

Swantkoski finished with a team-high four goals, while Ciaston had two and Montalvo one. The Privateers had seven different players score and goalie Keith Messina recorded nine saves in earning the victory. Junior Kyle Thompson (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) made his first start of the season in net for the Cyclones and tallied three saves.

The Cyclones held an advantage in shots (31-27) and grounballs (34-33), but the Privateers won 15 out of the 20 faceoffs on the afternoon.

Centenary returns to action on Monday, April 25, with a home game against conference foe Immaculata at 4:00 p.m.

Boxscore

Sophomore Conor Nolan (Hillsborough, N.J./Immaculata) led the way with four points on three goals and one assist. Senior Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and sophomore Robert Nuzzolese (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) each scored twice and freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) tallied an assist. Sophomores Anthony Ciaston (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) and Sean Lowe (Westminster, Md./Westminster) recorded four groundballs apiece and junior goalie Kyle McVay (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Twp.) finished with 15 saves.

Cabrini scored the first seven goals of the game and built a 13-4 lead with 10:34 remaining in the third period. Centenary refused to break, as consecutive goals by Nuzzolese and Nolan cut the Cavaliers’ advantage to 13-6. But five-straight goals by Cabrini put the game out of reach.

Centenary returns to action on Wednesday, April 20, with a home game against non-conference foe SUNY-Maritime at 4:00 p.m.

Boxscore

Upon trailing 4-0, Nuzzolese responded with three consecutive goals to cut the Hornet lead to 4-3 at halftime. Senior Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) scored midway through the third quarter to bring the Cyclones all the way back at 4-4 and after Shenandoah again took a brief one goal lead, freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) scored to tie the game at 5-5 heading into the final quarter.

Junior goalkeeper Kyle McVay (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Twp.) stopped 19 shots in earning the victory, while Shenandoah goalie Andrew Fleischmann stopped nine. Nuzzolese's four goals gives him 21 on the season, tying him with Swantkoski for the team lead.

Shenandoah had an advantage in most major categories including shots (41-27) and ground balls (39-21), while also having less turnovers (17-24) than the Cyclones, but Centenary still gutted out the victory. The Hornets also won 11 of the game's 14 Faceoffs.

Centenary returns to action on Saturday, April 16, with a home contest against CSAC opponent Cabrini at 3:00 p.m. 

Boxscore

Swantkoski’s goal total was his highest since tallying the same amount against Wells on April 11, 2009. He was one of three Cyclones to score against Marywood, as sophomores Conor Nolan (Hillsborough, N.J./Immaculata) and Anthony Ciaston (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) each found the back of the net once. Nolan also recorded an assist and freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) finished with two assists. Junior goalkeeper Kyle McVay (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Twp.) stopped 11 shots in the loss.

Faceoffs proved to be Centenary’s undoing, as the Cyclones won just five-of-26 on the game. CC took 22 shots to Marywood’s 44, and the Pacers grabbed 65 groundballs while Centenary finished with 35.

CC took just two shots and had 10 turnovers in the first quarter, and Marywood took advantage to build a 9-0 lead. The Cyclones outscored MU 7-3 in the second and third periods and entered the fourth trailing just 12-7. But 10 CC turnovers in the final quarter helped Marywood score three goals to the Cyclones’ one, and the Pacers went on to win by seven.

Centenary returns to action on Saturday, April 9, with a road game at CSAC opponent Shenandoah at 1:00 p.m. 

Centenary was outshot, 42-20, and recorded 25 groundballs and 19 turnovers to the Griffins’ 34 and 17, respectively. CC was also done in by faceoffs, as the team won just five of the 18.

Sophomore Robert Nuzzolese (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) scored twice and senior Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and sophomore Anthony Ciaston (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) each netted one apiece for the Cyclones. Defensively, freshman Brandon Rossi (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) tallied a game-high five caused turnovers and Nolan led the team with five groundballs. Junior goalie Kyle McVay (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Twp) stopped nine shots and recorded three groundballs in the loss.

GMC twice built two-goal leads in the first half, at 2-0 and 3-1, but the Cyclones’ Nuzzolese and Nolan collaborated on a score with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter and the home team went into halftime down by one, 3-2. In the third period, the Griffins again built two separate two-goal leads, 4-2 and 5-3, but Nolan found the back of the net for his first score of the game with just five second remaining in the third and CC again trailed by just one.

Nolan opened the fourth with his second goal of the game to tie the game at five apiece. But the Griffins again built a two-goal lead with consecutive scores to go up, 7-5. Ciaston tallied on a Nolan assist to cut the advantage to one, but CC was unable to score the equalizer and Gwynedd-Mercy put the game away with a goal with 3:23 remaining in the contest.

CC returns to action on Saturday, April 2, with a home game against non-conference foe Kean at 3:30 p.m. at Cyclone Field. 

Sophomore Robert Nuzzolese (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) led the way with five points on a game-high four goals and one assist. Fellow classmate Conor Nolan (Hillsborough, N.J./Immaculata) recorded three goals and one assist and senior Joe Swantkoski (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) found the back of the net three times. Sophomore Anthony Ciaston (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) tallied twice.

Senior Colin Aldino (Belmar, N.J./St. Rose) and freshman Tom Montalvo (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) each finished with a goal and an assist and freshman Steve Orsini (Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.) contributed an assist. Junior goalies Kyle McVay (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Twp.) and Kyle Thompson (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) split time between the pipes and combined to record 12 saves in the victory.

CC took 55 shots while holding the Crusaders to 22 and recorded 45 groundballs to Alvernia’s 35. The Cyclones forced 11 of AU’s 25 turnovers and won 13 of the 20 faceoffs. Centenary was 2-of-4 in extra man opportunities while holding Alvernia without a goal in its four extra man situations.

Defensively, Orsini matched his career-high with 11 groundballs and tied for the team lead with two caused turnovers, along with Nolan and sophomore Sean Lowe (Westminster, Md./Westminster).

Nuzzolese, Nolan and Swantkoski combined to score seven of CC’s eight first-half goals as the home team went into halftime with an 8-0 lead. In the second half, Alvernia netted two consecutive goals to cut the lead to 8-2, but Centenary five-straight scores, including two by Nuzzolese, to put the game out of reach.

The Cyclones return to action on Thursday, March 31, with its first Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) matchup of the season, against Gwynedd-Mercy at 4:00 p.m.