Liberty League announces 2017 Men's Lacrosse Awards
The Liberty League has announced its 2017 All-League awards for men's lacrosse as voted by league coaches. The major award winners and all-league teams are listed below.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ryan Lee, Sr., Attack, Rochester Institute of Technology
RIT senior Ryan Lee was selected as the Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year as the Tigers captured their sixth straight Liberty League title. Lee is one of RIT’s top offensive weapons with 50 goals and 36 assists for 86 points on the season. He leads the league in points per game (4.78) and is ranked third in goals per game (2.78). This season he became the program’s all-time leading scorer and is the first to score 200 or more career goals for the Tigers. He tallied 348 career points—scoring 222 goals and dishing out 126 assists over his four years. He has recorded a point all but two of his 81 collegiate games.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: J.D. Hall, Sr., Defense, Rochester Institute of Technology
RIT senior J.D. Hall was selected as the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year as he helped the Tigers to an 16-2 overall record and a 6-1 mark in Liberty League play en route to winning a sixth straight league title. A starter in 17 of RIT’s 18 games this season, Hall leads the team with 26 caused turnovers and scooped up 40 ground balls. He is among the league’s top-ten in ground balls per game (1.44). Hall has also been a key contributor to the offense with 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points. He also had two game-winning goals on the season.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ryan Gabriel, Midfielder, Clarkson University
Clarkson University midfielder Ryan Gabriel earned Rookie of the Week honors following a season where he and the Golden Knights advanced to the Liberty League semifinals finishing at 9-6 and 4-3 in the Liberty League. Gabriel was the team’s primary faceoff specialist, going 132-for-312, for a team-best .583 faceoff percentage. As a team, the Golden Knights were ranked third in the league for faceoff percentage (.565). He also had a team-high 62 ground balls, averaging 4.13 per game, good for fourth among league leaders.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Vassar College – Head Coach Marc Graham; Assistant Coaches John McCreery and Andrew Nicol
Vassar College head coach Marc Graham and his staff were named Liberty League Coach Staff of the Year in a vote by the league coaches. Graham, who is assisted by John McCreery and Andrew Nicol directed the Brewers to one of its most successful seasons in program history with an 11-5 overall record, setting a program record for wins. The team went 4-3 in Liberty League play and advanced to the league tournament for the first time in school history. Vassar also set program records in points per game (17.3), goals per game (10.6) and face-off percentage (.575).
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
A-Conor Healey, Sr., St. Lawrence
A-Ryan Lee, Sr., RIT
A-Chad Levick, Sr., RIT
A-Breanainn McNeally, Sr., RPI
M-Andrew Jarrett, Sr., St. Lawrence
M-Liam Moriarty, Sr., Vassar
M-Ryan St. Croix, Sr., Clarkson
M-Braden Wallace, Sr., RIT
LSM-J.D. Hall, Sr., RIT
SSM-Alec Dietsch, Sr., St. Lawrence
FO-Ryan Brigham, Sr., St. Lawrence
D-Patrick Hannigan, Sr., RIT
D-Justin Gibson, Sr., Clarkson
D-Caleb Kane, Sr., St. Lawrence
D-Lance Lonergan Jr., Sr., Union
G-Nick Nesbitt, Sr., RIT
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
A-Ryan DaRin, Sr., Clarkson
A-Jordan Dow, Jr., St. Lawrence
A-Sam Houston-Read, Sr., Vassar
A-Zach Lukas, Jr., RPI
M-Jon Fairbanks, Sr., St. Lawrence
M-JT Kelly, So., RPI
M-Kyle Killen, Jr., RIT
M-Jack Metzler, Sr., Skidmore
LSM-Tom Feenstra, Jr., RPI
SSM-Ben Tackett, Jr., RIT
FO-Ryan Gabriel, Fr., Clarkson
D-Keaton Ackermann, So., RPI
D-Alex Maruna, Fr., RIT
D-Eric Prezioso, Sr., Vassar
D-Steel White, Sr., St. Lawrence
G-Alex Terry, Fr., St. Lawrence
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
A-Jamie DeNicola, Sr., St. Lawrence
A-Will Lukas, Fr., Skidmore
A-Kerry Lyne, Fr., Union
M-Kyle Brown, Sr., Clarkson
M-Brandon DeStasio, Sr., Vassar
LSM-Marc Simmons, Sr., Clarkson
FO-Matthew Lowery, Fr., Vassar
FO-Jimmy Spillane, Fr., RIT
D-William Baffuto, So., Bard
D-Denning Crenshaw, Sr., RIT
D-Liam St. Croix, Fr., Clarkson
G-David Gibbs, Sr., RPI
G-Nick Strandholm, Sr., Clarkson