Six Incoming Lacrosse Recruits Earn All-State Honors
Jun 14 | Men's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Incoming freshmen Drew Englehardt (Far Hills, NJ), Justin Pennington (Flemington, NJ) and Brendan Porter (Maplewood, NJ) each earned New Jersey Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association First Team (NJILCA) All-State honors to lead a six-man contingent of future Scarlet Knights honored by the organization.
Sean Hover (Montgomery, NJ) earned Second Team - Division B honors, Gerhard Buehning (Essex Fells, NJ) earned Second Team - Division A honors while Tayler Vickers-Annis (Princeton, NJ) received Honorable Mention - Division A accolades.
Englehardt was the leader of a Ridge High School defense that allowed just 6.4 goals per game and was instrumental in the Red Devils posting a 16-4 record. He also scored four goals and added two assists on the offensive end. Englehardt was a key ingredient in Ridge advancing to the semifinals of the State Group III Playoffs.
Pennington earned First Team Division recently concluded a stellar high school career, leading led Hunterdon Central to its second consecutive Group IV state title with a 10-9 overtime victory over Montclair. He totaled 64 points (44 goals and 20 assists) and was named a New Jersey Boys Lacrosse All-American by U.S. Lacrosse, which also tabbed him New Jersey's co-Midfielder of the Year. Pennington is a two-time USILA All-America and was the only non-senior to be named to The Star-Ledger All-State First Team in 2005. Pennington will graduate from Hunterdon Central as the school's second all-time leading scorer.
Porter had a team-high 52 goals for Columbia High School of Maplewood this past season, which made him the 13th-leading goal scorer in the state of New Jersey. He added five assists. Along with Pennington, Porter was named a New Jersey Boys Lacrosse All-American by U.S. Lacrosse. As a junior, Porter had a team-high 29 goals when he was an Honorable Mention All-State and first-team All-Conference choice.
Hover, in addition to the earning Second Team - Division B honors, was one of eight New Jerseyans to be named an NJILCA Academic All-American. Hover, who has been on the Honor Roll every marking period since entering Montgomery High School, was a member of the National Honor Society, and attended Boys' State last summer. On the lacrosse field, he tallied 25 goals and dished out 11 assists in leading Montgomery to a 14-7 record and an appearance in the State Group II Championship game.
Buehning was New Jersey's 11th-leading goal scorer with 55 and added 21 assists, giving him 76 points for the season. An All-State and all-Conference performer as a junior last year, he followed that up with a terrific senior season, highlighted by a five-goal, two-assist outing in leading Seton Hall Prep to a victory over Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA Non-Public A Tournament.
Vickers-Annis anchored the state's top defensive unit which allowed just 4.3 goals per game. Thanks in large measure to the defensive play of Vickers-Annis, no team scored more than eight goals on Princeton (17-2) this season. Princeton advanced to the Group II semifinals where they suffered one of just two losses on the season, to Montgomery. A first-team All-Area selection by the Princeton Packet as a junior, he was called upon to shut down the opponent's best offensive player and handled this responsibility with great success throughout the season. He added one goal and three assists on the season.
The six incoming Scarlet Knights, who will be freshmen during the 2007 season, are among 12 high school seniors - including six from New Jersey - that signed National Letters of Intent with Rutgers last fall.
