Bison Athlete of the Week: Sam Grinberg

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

Sam Grinberg ’15 found himself in a unique position in the men’s lacrosse game against Colgate on April 20. Trailing 7-5 in the second half to the Raiders, Grinberg, the number two goalie for the Bison, was called into the game by head coach Frank Fedorjaka to replace Kyle Feeney ’13, the 2012 First Team All-Patriot League goalie.

The Bison began the game in impressive fashion and took an early 4-1 lead in the contest, an important one for the Patriot League Tournament seeding, and seemed poised to put it away early in the second half. Colgate was not ready to give in so easily and opened the second half on a 4-0 run. With no momentum and the once seemingly assured victory slipping away, Fedorjaka decided to replace his star goalie with Grinberg, a backup who had played 29 minutes and recorded one save for the Bison this season. This bold move was made to inject some energy into the team and turn the tide to gain the victory.

Fedorjaka’s risk paid off as Grinberg put on a spectacular performance in the final 22:07 of the contest. In this span, Grinberg stopped six shots, including five in the fourth quarter, while allowing only one goal. His presence in the net also created that spark Fedorjaka had hoped for and less than two minutes after the switch, the Bison scored two quick goals to tie up the game. These goals represented the beginning of an 8-1 run that broke open the game for the Bison, who never looked back.

For his great work under adverse conditions, Grinberg was named the Patriot League Goalie of the Week. The 13-8 victory for the Bison locked up the No. 2 seed in this week’s Patriot League Tournament and also tied the team with Duke and Cornell for the most wins in Division I men’s lacrosse. The Bison will begin their Patriot League Tournament today against third-seeded Army.

Goals against average: 6.95 goals per game.