Joshua Onujiogu (No. 91), who played defensive end at Framingham State, was recently signed by the Seattle Seahawks. (PHOTO COURTESY: Frank Poulin Photography)
The Framingham State University defensive end that racked up a career-best 44 solo stops last fall, including 13.5 sacks and 25 tackles for a loss, was signed yesterday by the Seattle Seahawks.
According to D3Football.com, Onujiogu is the only NCAA Division III student-athlete to ink his name on a contract with an NFL team.
The Wareham, Massachusetts native gained attention from the Houston Texans and New England Patriots following an impressive pro day workout earlier this year at Holy Cross. He also visited with the Patriots ahead of this year’s draft.
Onujiogu has been a staple of coach Tom Kelley’s defense since his initial season with the Rams in 2016. He registered 228 total tackles in 47 contests to go with 36 sacks, 67 tackles for a loss, and three forced fumbles.
Prior to his team’s initial NCAA postseason contest against Muhlenberg College, Onujiogu was named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named to the New England Football Writers’ (NEFW) Division II/III All-New England team while securing a spot on the D3Football.com All-Region 1 squad.
Baylee Barker and the Rhodes College women’s lacrosse team will attempt to win its seventh-straight SAA crown on Sunday. (PHOTO COURTESY: Rhodes College Athletics)
By Matt Noonan
Since their inaugural season in 2014, the Rhodes College women’s lacrosse team has been a squad to watch in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA).
Franklin & Marshall defeated the Lynx in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Rhodes enters its seventh-straight conference championship riding a six-game winning streak, which began last month with a 19-8 victory over Transylvania University. Prior to their win over the Pioneers, Rhodes scored some impressive non-league wins against Colorado College (11-10 OT) and Illinois Wesleyan University (18-5). Additionally, Rhodes survived a shootout last month with Rowan University (17-15).
Emily Bruner is one of many players to watch on the Lynx – the junior attack from Gaithersburg, Maryland leads the team in points (103) and assists (90). Baylee Barker leads the squad in goals (62) while Payton Bennett has chipped in 51 goals and 21 assists.
Bruner’s 103 points are the most recorded by any SAA student-athletes while Barker and Bennett are in the Top 10 goals scored.
Fogarty concluded her team’s contest with the Colonels by tallying five goals on 11 shots to go with a season-high six ground balls.
Fogarty and the Tigers rank second in the SAA in goals scored with 287 but will face a challenging test on Sunday against the league’s best defense, which has yielded 124 goals in 16 contests (that is an average of 7.75 goals per game). Rhodes’ defense held Sewanee to a season-low six goals in last month’s meeting with the Tigers being shut out in two frames (second and third quarters).
In addition to Rhodes’ impressive attack and midfield, fans should certainly keep their eye on the squad’s goalies: Emma Bradley and Olivia Wood. The duo combined for nine saves in this previous meeting with Sewanee, and lead all SAA goalies in goals-against average.
Sunday’s championship, which will take place at Mason Field in Memphis, Tennessee, is scheduled to commence at 1 p.m. eastern.
Will Hubbs and the Centre College men’s lacrosse team are two wins away from capturing their second-straight SAA title. (PHOTO COURTESY: Teresa Poplin)
By Matt Noonan
Another busy and exciting weekend of NCAA Division III lacrosse has officially arrived with the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) set to crown a men’s lacrosse champion.
The six-team tournament, which began last Saturday with a pair of quarterfinal matchups will resume later today with two semifinal contests with the winners advancing to Sunday’s championship in Danville, Kentucky.
Top-seed Centre College, which won all its league matchups this season, is two wins away from capturing its second-straight league title.
The Colonels will welcome Rhodes College to campus this evening with a face-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
Centre beat Rhodes earlier this month by a score of 11-4. Will Hubbs highlighted the win with four goals – he also scooped one ground ball – while Ridr Knowlton located the back of the net twice. In addition to the Colonels’ offensive output, Centre’s defense limited Rhodes to just one goal in two periods while pitching a shutout in the opening frame.
Since beating the Lynx, the Colonels have won two more games, beating Hendrix College (13-10) and Sewanee (16-9).
Centre has not competed in nearly two weeks, but perhaps the extra rest could help the Black and Gold, which captured its first SAA Tournament title since 2014 last spring when they beat Rhodes.
Rhodes has won two of its last four contests, including its SAA quarterfinal tilt with Berry College last weekend. The Lynx topped the Vikings, 19-10, and enter tonight’s semifinal matchup riding a two-game winning streak.
Coach Dave Zazzaro’s Lynx have won just four games this season but have faced some challenging competition that could help the Red and White attempt to claim its first postseason crown since 2018.
The other SAA semifinal pits Sewanee visiting Birmingham-Southern College with a face-off scheduled for 4 p.m. (ET).
Birmingham-Southern enters today’s semifinal match riding a four-game winning streak, which included an end-of-season victory over Rhodes.
Reid Harrison secured the two-goal (14-12) win over the Lynx by netting his second tally with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, which halted a three-goal run by Rhodes.
Like Centre, Birmingham-Southern has not competed since April 14, so it will be interesting to see if the squad’s momentum remains with the Panthers, which saw its bid toward an SAA crown conclude last April in the conference semifinals.
The Tigers of Sewanee have won six games this spring and defeated Hendrix in its opening-round matchup last weekend. Luke Valentine led Sewanee with four goals and one assist to go with three ground balls and one caused turnover. Davis Gillenwater notched a hat trick and Phelps Thomas stuffed the stat sheet with five points on three assists, two goals, and one ground ball.
All three student-athletes will be players to watch today in an important matchup with the Panthers.
Jane Earley and the Middlebury College women’s lacrosse team clinched the top spot in this year’s NESCAC Tournament with a 15-5 victory over Williams College. (PHOTO COURTESY: Colin Bourque)
By Matt Noonan
The Middlebury College women’s lacrosse team has not lost a game in three years.
The 10-goal win is Middlebury’s 40th consecutive victory dating back to a 16-1 victory over Springfield College on March 8, 2019.
Middlebury secured the top spot in this year’s New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament, which begins this Saturday, April 30 with four quarterfinal matchups. The Panthers will welcome Amherst College to campus with the opening draw set for 12 p.m.
Colby College secured the second seed with a 13-2 overall record, including a 9-1 mark against NESCAC opponents, and will host seventh-seed Bowdoin College on Saturday. Tufts University, which is the third seed, will host Trinity while the fourth seed Wesleyan University will entertain Hamilton College.
All three matchups are scheduled to commence at 12 p.m.
Middlebury has appeared in 20 consecutive NESCAC Tournaments, winning 10 titles in 12 championship appearances. They have won two of the last three NESCAC titles with Tufts claiming the league crown last year en route to an appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship against Salisbury University (the Sea Gulls edged the Jumbos, 14-13).
Following the conclusion of Saturday’s quarterfinals, the four winning teams will advance to the highest remaining seed, which will host both the semifinals (Saturday, May 7) and championship (Sunday, May 8). The winner of this year’s NESCAC Championship will secure the league’s automatic bid for the upcoming NCAA Division III Tournament, which is scheduled to begin Saturday, May 14.
Tufts has secured the top spot in seven conference tournaments and enters this spring’s postseason as the defending NESCAC Champion after beating Williams College last May by a score of 18-11.
The Jumbos secured a quarterfinal meeting with Connecticut College this Saturday, April 30 with a face-off scheduled for 3 p.m.
Connecticut College enters this year’s NESCAC Tournament as the eighth seed, boasting a 5-8 overall record to go with a 3-7 mark against league foes.
Bowdoin, which secured the second seed, will entertain Hamilton College on Saturday while third-seed Amherst College will host rival Williams. Both games are scheduled for 1 p.m.
Wesleyan University, which earned the fourth seed with an 11-4 overall record, will compete against Middlebury College. This game will also begin at 1 p.m.
Following the conclusion of Saturday’s quarterfinal matchups, the four winning teams will advance to next weekend’s semifinals, which will be played on Saturday, May 7 at the highest remaining seed. The NESCAC Championship will then occur on Sunday, May 8.
Tufts has won 10 NESCAC Championships in 12 appearances. They have won three of the last four conference tournament crowns with Wesleyan capturing its second title in program history in 2017 with a win over Middlebury.
The winner of this year’s NESCAC Championship will secure a spot in next month’s NCAA Division III Tournament, which is scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 11.
