With the 2020 lacrosse season ending after only 3 games and the senior class being recognized, by the university, through a virtual graduation, the Wildcats are forced to say goodbye and thank you to 6 incredible seniors the same way…virtually.
Head Coach, Scott Eiseman, stressed, “No words can represent the impact these seniors had on our team, our entire program and me personally”. Since they were unable to have a banquet this year, Eiseman, wrote a bit about each senior and emphasized, “They are loved, will be missed and deserve to be thanked”.
Goodbye and Thank You Will Fogel, Matt Cancian, Tom O’Rourke, Kevin Kerrigan, Liam Costello and Teddy Dolan.
Will Fogel
#9
Face Off Specialist
Hometown: Newburyport, MA
High School: Newburyport High School
Major: Finance
When a player is willing to crouch down in the dead center of a lacrosse field, to enter a one on one fight, in front of everyone, just to try to give his 50 teammates a one possession advantage, this person would be called a warrior. Take on this challenge and win that fight 238 times and you are Will Fogel!
As a Face-off specialist, Will lived for that grueling act of selflessness. He practiced and studied his craft nonstop and turned that midfield brawl into total motivation for our entire team. Off the Field, everyone loves to joke around with him, but no one earns as much respect as #9, every time he addresses the face-off X on game day!
Will was elected captain and proved that he was one of the top face-off specialists in the entire nation. He was a key ingredient in our success. This season, Will won 15 of the 18 face-offs in the 8-6 season opening win against Buffalo. He stood out again, with 12 Face-off wins in the 11-8 win over # 1 South Carolina and fought to win 12 more in the 13-12 win against # 5 Georgia Tech, the very next day.
Everyone in Durham, NH will definitely miss this CLC All-Conference Face-off Specialist.
Matt Cancian
#11
Midfielder
Hometown: Easton, MA
High School: Sharon
Major: Business Administration
It was 17 minutes into day 1 of tryouts his rookie year at UNH, when we looked at each other, as coaches, and said “that kid is going to be the captain and a future star of this team”. He proved us to be right!
That kid did become a Captain and the President of the University of New Hampshire Men’s Lacrosse Team and that kid’s name is Matt Cancian!
Matt is as well rounded as a human can be on a lacrosse field! Being explosive in his dodging and nearly ambidextrous, with his stick, it is almost impossible to stop him! Defensive players from all across the country have tried, but none of them have succeeded! If they tried to play cautiously, by giving him space, he would step down and sting a shot from 15 plus yards away. If teams tried to over play him, their goalie usually found out quickly that his inside game is just as vicious. Some teams even tried to send an aggressive double team, but learned immediately that his vision and IQ might be the deadliest of all his weapons, as he would pass it off to an open teammate, for a doorstep goal.
Matt is 100% competitive every second he is on a lacrosse field. He had an unbelievable impact right from the beginning and somehow still continued to find ways to get even better every day. This year he was off to an explosive start, by putting up 6 goals and 2 assists in just our first three games! Unfortunately, this season was cut short and we can only imagine the points he was going to stack up in a full season. Matt recorded 36 Goals and 21 Assists, totaling 57 points, as a Wildcat.
To say he is a great leader and a huge reason why the Wildcats have been successful, would be a total understatement. His commitment, passion and powerful work ethic make it easy to see why he inspired everyone around him, including me.
Thank You Matt!!!
Tom O’Rourke
#41
Defenseman
Hometown: Bedford, NH
High School: Bedford
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Tom is the rare combination of physical and finesse! As a coach, you want a defenseman who can hold his ground, push people around and protect his goalie. Add quick feet and a very high lacrosse IQ and that is the guy I want as the anchor of our close defense! On top of these traits, factor in the artistry of anticipation and perfect timing and you have Tom O’Rourke.
His ability to anticipate and time opponents passes accounted for 87 batted down and picked off passes in games, during his time at UNH. Yes…87! This doesn’t include take away checks, forced turnovers or the over 70 ground balls he dug up for his team.
You can understand why Tom was named a CLC All-Conference Defensive Player, and will be missed by everyone in the UNH Lacrosse Family
Kevin Kerrigan
# 26
Defensive Midfielder
Hometown: Lee, NH
High School: Oyster River
Major: Business Administration
Growing up just minutes away from the University of New Hampshire and having older brothers play here before him, it feels like it was in Kevin’s blood to be a Wildcat. He has a lighthearted and fun personality off the field, but he played with an intense hometown pride, every time he stepped on the field.
As a defensive midfielder, there’s not a ton of pressure to score goals, but all the pressure in the world to defend your team and prevent the other team from scoring. Kevin took this challenge and his job very seriously. He worked hard all 4 years, increasing his field awareness, developing his footwork and mastering his defensive communication skills. This helped Kevin build a mentality where he feared no matchup.
Kevin will be remembered for being part of one of the best team defenses in the nation and for keeping everyone on our team smiling.
Liam Costello
#43
GOALIE
Hometown: Mansfield, MA
High School: Bishop Feehan
Major: Business Administration
Liam is a 4 year Goalie, who is a true leader, both on and off the field. He is one of those players who you not only wish you had on your team, but in fact you need on your team in order to be successful. Liam does all the little things right, and without being asked.
He is always mentally prepared and one of the first players on the field and ready to go every single day. He is a great teammate who plays with a level head at all times.
Respected and trusted by every player and coach on our roster, Liam is an extremely dependable goalie. Off the field, he runs one of the most amazing and colorful twitter campaigns in the country.
Liam is known around the MCLA for his 6’8” stature, but on our team he’s known for having an even bigger HEART!
Teddy Dolan
#99
Goalie
Hometown: Morristown, NJ
High School: Morristown
Teddy will be remembered for the composure he showed, right from the start, in his first year at UNH. When he was just a rookie, Teddy was asked to step in as the starting goalie and lead the Wildcat defense. He stepped in and stepped up BIG TIME!
He showed the explosive hand speed and poise of a veteran goalie, even in the biggest games! He lead the Wildcats in a win against Buffalo, with 11 saves, to secure a spot in the playoffs. Teddy made another tremendous statement, as the Cats went on to beat Boston College and he tallied 27 more saves.
Thank you for setting the tone and having such an impact, right from the start!