The month of July is the busiest on the lacrosse recruiting calendar.
With summer travel teams in action and showcase tournaments held at multiple venues, college coaches are busy evaluating players. They’re also finding time to get some verbal commitments.
Shawn Honovich, midfielder for Lakeland/Panas in New York’s HudsonValley, will be following his brother Billy’s footsteps by attending Fairfield University.
“I knew that Shawn had wanted to go to Fairfield since I was a freshman at Fairfield,” said Billy Honovich, a defenseman who graduated from Fairfield in May after serving as team captain this past season. “So when I heard Shawn could potentially play at Fairfield, I was excited.”
A rising senior known for his athleticism and speed, Shawn Honovich also drew interest from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. He had three goals and one assist in an 11-10 overtime loss to Yorktown in the Class A sectional final and three goals in a 13-12 overtime win at John Jay.
“Having Billy play there was a plus for me since I’ve been on the campus for four years and know every aspect of the campus,” Shawn Honovich said. “Also having my brother on the team made it easier for me to meet and get to know the team even before they were interested.”
Though he wound up continuing what is now a family tradition, Billy Honovich said the choice was strictly his brother’s.
“I had told Shawn that I wasn’t going to tell him to go to Fairfield or make him decide,” Billy Honovich said. “It was going to be up to him. I helped him way the positives and negatives of schools that Shawn was potentially looking at because Shawn was looking at similar schools that I was looking at when I was doing the recruiting process.”
Rye pair make commitments
Donald Keough and Rob Santangelo, two of the leading players on the Rye, N.Y., team saw its run of four straight sectional titles end this past season, have made their college choices. Both concluded their careers at Rye, but will be teammates for one more season — at Westminster Prep —before joining their college programs in 2010.
Keough, a defenseman, will attend Notre Dame. Santangelo, an attackman, also considered Penn and Bucknell.
Levings bound for Yale
Dylan Levings of Plainedge, N.Y., a midfielder and faceoff specialist, has verbally committed to Yale.
Manhasset’s Koufakis decides on Dartmouth
Manhasset, N.Y., standout attackman Zac Koufakis committed to join new head coach Andy Towers’ program at Dartmouth. Koufakis also drew interest during the recruiting process from Yale, Harvard, Middlebury, Maryland, Bucknell and Notre Dame — among others.
Koufakis, who has worked hard to return to action after suffering an ACL injury, helped the Indians win the Class C state title this past season. He will enroll at Dartmouth as a freshman in the fall of 2011 after spending a season at the Deerfield Academy.
Joe Lombardi, who has been a fixture on the lacrosse scene during the sport’s rapid growth in the New York metropolitan area, produces editorial and video content for LaxLessons.com. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com.