(Photo by Lance Wendt)

ATLANTA – He led Colorado State to a critical victory over No. 3 Grand Canyon and now Rams junior goalie Frank Culhane has earned MCLA Division I Commanding Performance of the Week powered by Under Armour for the period ending March 25.

The Rams entertained the defending national champions on Thursday evening in Fort Collins and despite a slow start by the Colorado State offense, Culhane held the Lopes to just two first half goals.

In the third quarter, Culhane was still sharp, keeping Grand Canyon to just two more, allowing for the thrilling, six-goal Ram four-quarter explosion that resulted in a 7-6 CSU victory.

Culhane finished with 17 saves on the day against just six goals (73.9 sv%).

"Frank Culhane is a leader of our defense. Day in and day out he puts in the hard work with tenacity, commitment and determination,” said Colorado State coach Ryan MacDonald. “The way that he played was a direct result of the persistent will to get our season back on track. With his leadership, our team as a whole will continue to bring this defense to the next level.”

“He showed that he is willing to put it all out on the line and I know that it transcended the entire team on Thursday night,” MacDonald continued. “As coaches, parents and alumnus have witnessed, it truly was a completely different team than we had seen all season long. However, this did not come as a surprise to me because I have believed in this team's abilities since the beginning, and know that we will continue to persevere past our adversities with heart and determination."

For his efforts in earning the Commanding Performance of the Week powered by Under Armour, Culhane will receive a new Under Armour Command Head – a $100 value. Under Armour is the proud sponsor of the MCLA.

Under Armour Honor Roll

Chris Cacciatore, Sr. & Danny Harris, Sr. – Central Florida
In a weekend sweep of Texas State and LSU, the goalie duo combined for 41 saves against 13 goals allowed (75.9 sv%).

Paul Cundiff, Jr. – Florida
The Gators’ netminder made 18 saves and allowed just four goals (82.0 sv%) in the victory over Auburn.

Drew Duarte, Soph. – UConn
The Huskies went 3-0 at the Battle of the Beach thanks to a combined 34 saves from the netminder (79.1 sv%)

Sam Gregory, Jr. – Liberty
In a 1-1 weekend in Delaware that featured an upset of No. 4 Michigan State, Gregory had four goals and five assists.

Austin Koury, Fr. – Auburn
In a narrow loss to No. 17 Florida State, Koury buried five goals as well as coming on in relief at faceoff, winning six of his nine chances.

Kevin Leis, Sr. – San Diego State
In a 1-1 weekend in the desert, Leis dropped seven points (5g, 2a) on Arizona and followed up with three more (2g, 1a) against ASU.

Brian Mark, Fr. – Indiana
In a sweep of Vanderbilt and Oakland in Bloomington, the rookie attackman had five goals and three dimes.