Kent Lacrosse Expects Playoff Success

The Kent Roosevelt boys lacrosse team prepares to go deep in the Division 2 playoffs with a senior laden squad that finished the regular season with an 11-3 record.

Roosevelt is the No. 2 seed in the Central Region. Playoffs begin this Friday night at home at 7:30 p.m. versus the winner of the play-in game of Archbishop Hoban and Columbus Academy. If the rough riders win, they will also host another home game on Wednesday, May 23, in the second round.

The Rough Riders gained a great deal of respect from other coaches as eight players received post-season accolades. Leading the way for Kent is senior Captain Midfielder Troy Haren who earned 1st Team All Region honors with 43 goals and 26 Assists. Troy has more goals and more assists than any midfielder in the region. Also earning 1st Team honors is senior Captain Attackman Pat Valerius (54G 15A), who leads all players in the region in goals scored and is fearless pushing the goal line. Junior Michael Ruller is the final Rough Rider earning 1st Team All Region at close defense. Mike is assigned the leading scorer of the opposing team and has excellent footwork to compliment his great stick checks.

Junior Kyle Manning (36G 18A), who converted from midfield to attack this year, earned 2nd Team honors at attack. Kyle is a very smart player and can score off the dodge or with time and room. Also earning 2nd Team All Region is senior Goalie Tyler Gallagher. Tyler is having a tremendous season with 128 saves and a save percentage of 63 percent, which is the second highest in Kent Roosevelt history. He takes charge of the defense and throws great outlet passes.

Roosevelt also had three players earning Honorable Mention as follows: senior Eli Kepner (3G 1A) at Long Stick Midfield, senior Bobby Danner (20G 5A) at Midfield, and sophomore Matt Sommers at Defense. Eli is an excellent wing player and can scoop up a ground ball on the run and lead a fast break. He set a school record with three goals at the position. Bobby Danner is the text book two way midfielder who will continue his lacrosse career at the University of Mount Union. He plays offense, defense, man-up, man-down and takes faceoffs. He leads the team in ground balls and is a strong defender. Matt Sommers, who earned 1st Team All Region last year, is reaching his full potential after recovering from a season ending in Roosevelt’s football playoffs last season.

The Rough Riders have high expectations for the post season and are focused and confident and have one goal in mind: a state championship. Their season slogan this year is “Ride Together” and is being , who was killed in action in Afghanistan last year.