Fighting Irish Men's Lacrosse Receives Commitments From Nine Student-Athletes

Jan. 30, 2006

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame men’s lacrosse head coach Kevin Corrigan has announced the commitment of nine student-athletes who will join the program next season. The Irish will finalize their 2005-06 recruiting class during the late signing period in April. Three of the newcomers hail from New York, with two coming from Pennsylvania and Maryland and one each from Connecticut and Georgia.

“I think this is an excellent class,” states Corrigan. “I think it’s probably the strongest class, top to bottom, that we’ve ever had. Almost every guy is a very good athlete in another sport. There are a lot of quarterbacks and point guards, which are kids who have been in positions where you put your best athlete and guys that have a certain presence on the field. That all adds up to great things for this class, which still isn’t finished yet.”

Sean Callinan is defenseman from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He was a member of the Connecticut Senior All-Star Team and the Connecticut 2004 Super Juniors Team. Callinan was also on the 2004 Peak 200 Lacrosse Recruiting Camp All-Star Team and the Battle of the Hot Bed’s All-Star Team.

The Connecticut-native also excelled on the football field during his time at Deerfield Academy. He has garnered several all-state, all-conference and all-area honors throughout his scholastic athletic career. Callinan has also received honors for his play on the basketball court.

Corrigan on Callinan: “We think Sean is a terrific athlete. He’s big, strong and tough. He’s in a PG year right now so he’s going to come to us a little bit older and a little more experienced. We think that he’s going to be a very good addition with the potential to help right away.”

Matt Ciambella, an attackman, hails from New York powerhouse Orchard Park, where he was a team captain. He led WNY in scoring the last two seasons with 189 points on 121 goals and 68 assists en route to guiding his team to the state semifinals twice. He was named first-team All-WNY and also participated in the STX Blue Chip Camp, along with being named an Inside Lacrosse Young Gun. Ciambella played on the Western Empire Team for two seasons and was part of a bronze medal-winning squad in 2005. He also represented Orchard Park on the 2005 All-Academic team.

Along with his lacrosse accomplishments, Ciambella was a three-year starting quarterback and was named the Inter-Ac League offensive player of the year and was a team captain. He passed for over 2,500 yards, while leading the team to the state quarterfinals his final two seasons.

Corrigan on Ciambella: “Matt is a really tough and athletic kid. He’s a finisher who knows how to get the ball in the cage. He is a very savvy athlete. I watched him play quarterback and he was very good at that. He’s very good in lacrosse at getting to the goal and getting his shot off. We think he’s a kid who can score a lot of goals for us.”

Mike Creighton is a two-sport standout in lacrosse and basketball at Malvern Prep in Malvern, Pa. In lacrosse, the defenseman was a second-team All-State selection as a junior along with being named first-team all-Inter-Ac. He had a stellar junior campaign on the basketball court as well. Creighton was a team captain and named co-MVP of his squad along with earning first-team all-Main Line and second-team all-Inter-Ac honors.

Corrigan on Creighton: “Mike is another athletic kid. He was a point guard on his basketball team. As a lacrosse player, he’s still relatively raw but has a lot of potential and we think he can play. He has the athletic ability to play up to or down low or whatever we need him to do.”

Adam Felicetti is a standout in lacrosse and football at Central Bucks East in Doylestown, Pa. He helped to lead his lacrosse team to its first-ever state playoff appearance during his junior season. He led the team in groundballs (41) and was third in assists (14) to go along with 27 goals, which earned him team MVP honors. He was also named a first-team all-Intelligencer league midfielder and was a 225 camp all-star.

In football, Felicetti was tabbed as team MVP and defensive team MVP during his senior season. He was named the Intelligencer “Player of the Year” and also earned first-team Suburban One honors as a wide receiver and safety as he led the team in receptions and return yards and was second on the team in tackles.

Corrigan on Felicetti: “Adam is another very good athlete. He was an excellent football player as a wide receiver. He’s just really an athletic kid who we think has his best lacrosse in front of him when he really starts to concentrate all his efforts there.”

Neal Hicks is a three-year starting attackman at Lovett School in Atlanta, Ga. and helped his team to state titles his sophomore and junior seasons. He earned All-American and first-team all-state honors as a junior by leading his team with 83 points on 48 goals and 35 assists along with collecting a team-high 75 groundballs. He also led his team in scoring during his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a sophomore, he garnered honorable mention all-state honors by totaling 59 goals and 23 assists. He posted a total of 41 points on 29 goals and 12 assists as a freshman.

Corrigan on Hicks: “Neal has great quickness and great field presence. He just has a savvyness about him. He reminds me a lot of (current freshman) Peter Christman in the things he can do and the way he plays. He’s a very versatile player.”

Grant Krebs, a midfielder, is a four-year varsity member in lacrosse at St. Mary’s in Maryland, where he was voted the most athletic student. He earned all-county honors as a sophomore along with being named to the Maryland Freestate Team and was named to the 205 all-star team. As a senior, he was voted team captain. He also competed in ice hockey and soccer in high school and played all three sports as a freshman. He was named first-team all-county and voted team MVP for his ice hockey team as a sophomore. Krebs also excels in the classroom as he has the distinction of being a Maryland Distinguished Scholar with a 4.1 grade-point average.

Corrigan on Krebs: “Unfortunately Grant missed his junior year, but we felt he was one of the better sophomores in the state of Maryland the year before. He clearly was when he made the Freestate Team. We just think he’s a tough, athletic two-way middie who can do a lot of things well.”

Chip Lanser is a three-year starting defenseman at Dulaney High School in Maryland. Lanser is serving as team captain this season.

Corrigan on Lanser: “He’s a very big kid, 6-6 or 6-7. He’s still developing and yet we really like his athleticism and he has a lot of potential.”

Kelly McKenna is a four-year letterwinner in lacrosse at Penfield High School in Penfield, N.Y. The is a three-time all-county selection and garnered all-sectional team honors as a sophomore. McKenna captained the Penfield squad during his junior and senior seasons along with being a three-time scholar-athlete. He played with the Western Empire Team in 2004 and 2005 and captained the squad to a bronze medal finish in 2005. During the summer of 2005, he also took part in the STX Blue Chip Lacrosse Camp in McDonough, Md. along with being named an Inside Lacrosse Young Gun.

McKenna was also a three-year varsity member on the Penfield football team. He was named all-Greater Rochester as a junior and senior in addition to captaining the squad during his final campaign.

Corrigan on McKenna: “Kelly is much like some of the other guys because he was a very good football player. He’s a very strong athlete, who again, once he’s only playing lacrosse he’s going to continue to get a lot better. This midfield group is a very athletic group for us.”

Brett Vecchio is a three-sport athlete at Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. He was selected as an all-county performer in lacrosse as a sophomore and junior. Vecchio is an alternate on the Long Island Empire Lacrosse Team. He was also an all-county athlete in football during his senior season along with being named all-conference in basketball as a junior.

Corrigan on Vecchio: “Brett is a kid whose played some attack and he’s played some midfield. He’s very skilled and once again, he was a very good quarterback for his high school football team. We think he offers us some versatility as to where we can play him and what he can do.”

To stay updated on the Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse team and all of the varsity sports at Notre Dame, please log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.

2005-06 Notre Dame Men's Lacrosse Recruits
NAME                POSITION            HIGH SCHOOL
Sean Callinan       Defense             Deerfield Academy (Mass.)
Matt Ciambella      Attack              Orchard Park (N.Y.)
Mike Creighton      Defense             Malvern Prep (Pa.)
Adam Felicetti      Midfield            Central Bucks East (Pa.)
Neal Hicks          Attack              Lovett School (Ga.)
Grant Krebs         Midfield            St. Mary's (Md.)
Chip Lanser         Defense             Dulaney (Md.)
Kelly McKenna       Midfield            Penfield (N.Y.)
Brett Vecchio       Midfield            Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.)