Stars aligned to lead Bantams to playoffs
Two high-scoring lacrosse stars from this area hope to lead Trinity College into the New England Small College Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time in several years.
Senior captain Curtis Kahn of Cohasset and junior Kris Tedeschi of Norwell are the top returning scorers for the Bantams this season.
"They have a ton of talent, and both are hard workers," said James Finley, Trinity's second-year coach, whose goal is to upgrade the program. "Kurt is a little beat up right now, but I'm sure he'll be OK when the games begin."
Trinity opened its season March 10 with a 14-4 victory over Salve Regina University. Kahn did not play, but Tedeschi carried the load, scoring five goals and picking up three assists.
Last year, Trinity finished with a 6-7 record and the Bantams again did not qualify for the NESCAC playoffs. The last time the Bantams qualified for the playoffs was 2002.
"This might be the toughest college league in the nation," said Finley. "What we have to do is work harder than everyone else if we are going to improve."
Kahn and Tedeschi provided the firepower last year.
As a junior, Kahn had 26 goals and 18 assists for 44 points to lead the Bantams. Tedeschi was second on the team with 25 goals and seven assists for 32 points as a sophomore.
Kahn and Tedeschi accounted for more than half of Trinity's points last season. According to Finley, both players "have proven their ability to score goals since their rookie seasons and will be depended upon to do the same this year."
Finley has 14 returning veterans from last year's squad, led by Kahn, who was elected as captain. A 5-foot-11-inch, 165-pound attacker, Kahn had four game-winning goals last season. His best performance was against Eastern Connecticut State University, when he had four goals and an assist.
Before this year's season-opening performance, Tedeschi's best game was as a freshman, when he scored four goals against Roger Williams College.
Another local player on the squad is Zach Trudeau of Norwell. The former Milton Academy standout plays midfield, and in the fall he is the goalie for Trinity's men's soccer team.
Milton hurler is devilishly good
Alex Hassan of Milton is off to a terrific start at Duke University.
The former Boston College High School baseball standout has done his part to lift the Blue Devils to a 15-3 start this season.
Hassan has starred at the plate and on the mound.
He is batting.354 with 17 hits in 48 at-bats with three doubles and two triples. On the mound he is 2-0 in four appearances.
Hassan has a 1.84 earned-run average and has held opposing batters to a.204 average.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 185-pound freshman is a heady base runner as well. On March 1, he scored on a squeeze play to break a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth as Duke overcame a 4-1 deficit to beat Temple, 7-4, in Durham, N.C.
After a 14-1 start, Duke was swept by Boston College in a three-game series March 9-11. Hassan pitched the final game. Before leaving with the game tied, 2-2, in the seventh inning, Hassan did his part. Besides stifling BC hitters, he clouted a two-run triple to make it a 2-2 game.
Duke started the season with a 14-1 run, matching the program's second-best 15-game start in the last 25 years.
Bear of a road trip for Bridgewater State
Bridgewater State College's softball team opens the season this weekend with a 10-games-in-five-days swing through Florida. The Bears elected a pair of local women as captains of the 2007 squad.
Former Brockton High School star Katie Holbrook, who earned Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference first-team All-Star honors after batting.372 with a team-leading 32 runs batted in, and catcher Lindsey Allison of Easton, who played at Oliver Ames High School, will serve as captains on this squad. There is not one senior on the roster.
Last year the Bears finished with a 36-21 overall record and breezed through the MASCAC with a 14-0 mark, earning coach Janet Maguire the league's Coach of the Year honors.
The Bears were scheduled to open the season yesterday in Kissimmee, Fla., with a doubleheader against Central College and Carleton College.
Today they face the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wellesley College in another doubleheader in the Rebel Spring Games.
Bridgewater State College opens its New England phase of its schedule at home on March 27 with a doubleheader against Clark University.
