By Chris Fitz Gerald, The Troy Record


Greg Rogowski chose to play college lacrosse at the Division II level after mulling over several options to attend and compete for a Division I school.

A senior attackman for Merrimack College, Rogowski’s decision to play at the Division II level has ultimately proved to be a perfect fit.

Rogowski, a Cohoes native and Christian Brothers Academy graduate, is enjoying the full college lacrosse experience in his final college season. Merrimack has reached the Division II NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

“I looked at some other schools,” said Rogowski, who ultimately chose Merrimack over Hobart and also attracted attention from both Army and Navy. “But the first time I stepped on campus, I knew this was where I wanted to be. And after four years, I couldn’t have had a better experience at a better place.”

Merrimack College (14-2) will compete at top-ranked Le Moyne College (15-0) in a national semifinal on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.

This will be a busy weekend for Rogowski. In addition to playing in the postseason on Saturday, he will graduate on Sunday.

“It’s been kind of weird being on campus when everyone else has left,” said Rogowski, who ranks fifth the nation in both goals (an average of 3.25 a game) and points (5.13) this season. “As a team this is uncharted territory for us — but we’re really prepared. We’ve seen them before and we know what we have to do.

“Right now we’ve done the work to get ready,” added Rogowski, a three-time All American, 2009 Turfer/NEILA All New England Player of the Year and a two-time Northeast 10-Conference Player of the Year. “We all have the goal of going up there and winning the game and winning the national championship.”

The civil engineering mahor has generated impressive and notable offensive numbers. With 211 career goals, Rogowski stands third all-time in Division II history and ranks fourth all-time with 311 points.

Entering his 63rd career game on Saturday, Rogowski is four goals shy of moving into second place all-time in Division II scoring.

“In terms of recruiting, here’s a kid who could have gone Division I,” Merrimack coach Michael Morgan said. “He’s certainly helped us in terms of wins and losses, but he’s been great for us in terms of recruiting. It’s been a perfect fit here for both him and us.”

By the strength of their 14-2 record, the fourth-ranked Warriors received an at-large bid to the four-team Division II field.

Standing at just 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, Rogowski’s attributes aren’t only as a goal scorer and prolific point producer.

“He has a great work ethic and he’s a tough kid,” Morgan said. “I think in the four years he’s been here, he never came off the field. He has taken a beating and is the toughest player I’ve been around both in coaching and my playing days (at Merrimack).”

As a senior, Rogowski helped guide Merrimack to a school record 14 wins both this season and in 2008 (12 wins) and its highest national ranking.

“I can’t ask for any more than what we’ve accomplished,” Rogowski said. “It’s been a great four years and I’m kind of the sad that it’s almost over. But I want to try and go out with a big bang and see what we can do.”

Rogowski helped set up Merrimack’s postseason run by scoring an unassisted triple-overtime goal in a 6-5 victory over seventh-ranked Bentley on April 22 to secure the second seed in the NE-10 championship tournament.

“His skills remain the same and he’s always had a great knowledge of the game,” Morgan said. “He has all the intangibles as well, with his scoring skills and I think he’s one of the best attackmen in the country.”

Rogowski scored seven goals on two occasions this season and six goals three times. He totaled a season-high 12 points (7-5) in a 19-9 victory over Notre Dame de Namur.

Rogowski, an All-American while at CBA, helped guide the Brothers to their first Section II appearance in 2005 in Class A.

During his senior season, he recorded 147 points to lead the state and totaled 335 career points (187-148-335) with CBA.

The Warriors’ roster also features another CBA grad — junior defender Shane Mahar, who grew up in Slingerlands.

“Just in general, the leadership has been great with the captains and the seniors,” Rogowski said. “We’ve done so well as a team and we make sure the underclassmen understand their roles. We’re all business in practices and it’s no time for joking around. This is a great opportunity.”

Merrimack’s only two losses this season have come to Le Moyne — the top-ranked team in the nation — including a 10-2 defeat in the Northeast-10 Conference championship game on May 3.

Dolphins’ senior goalie Doug McIver is an Albany Academy grad and an Altamont native.

“They’re a very good team,” Rogowski said of Le Moyne, which also defeated the Warriors, 5-4 in the regular season. “But we know what we have to do to win and what not to do against them.”