Congrats Merrick Thomson!

[Dane Pound]

All-Conference teams and awards were announced today. Thomson was Rookie of the year and Daquino was 1st team.

 

McKeown, Thomson, Stephenson Earn Top Men's Lacrosse Awards

Sophomore goalkeeper Kevin McKeown and head coach Ed Stephenson, who helped lead Binghamton University to a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play, were selected America East Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. Attackman Merrick Thomson of University at Albany was named Rookie of the Year. All voting was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Awards

 

McKeown ranks second in America East in both goals against average (6.83 ) and save percentage (.598). He has been a major component in the Bearcat defense, which leads the nation in scoring defense with 6.74 goals allowed per game.

 

Stephenson's team was chosen sixth in the preseason poll, yet will host the America East Championship Saturday as the No. 1 seed. The Bearcats are playing just their third season as a varsity program. Stephenson's win total has improved from one in the program's first season, to four last season, to a current mark of 10-5.

 

Thomson leads America East and ranks fourth in the nation with 38 goals in 14 games (2.71 per game). He also leads the conference and ranks ninth nationally in scoring (49 points, 3.50 per game).

 

Junior Luke Daquino, the 2003 America East Player of the Year, was the only unanimous selection to the all-conference first team. Daquino leads America East and ranks seventh nationally with 30 assists (2.14 per game). He ranks second in America East to Thomson in scoring with 47 points. He is joined at attack by sophomore Brendan Mundorf of UMBC and sophomore Jason Cappadoro of Stony Brook University. Mundorf is second in America East in both goals (33) and points (48). Cappadoro is third in America East with 26 goals and fourth in the conference in scoring with 46 points.

 

Seniors Pat Muston and Franklin Berry of UMBC are joined at the first-team midfield by senior George LaFlare of Stony Brook. Muston leads America East in ground balls (77, 5.50 per game). Berry has scored 12 goals and added eight assists. LaFlare, a repeat selection to the first team, has 16 goals and 10 assists.

 

The first-team defenders are sophomore Michael Baudouin of Binghamton and junior Kyle Pearl and senior Eric Hatkewitz of Stony Brook. It marks the third time in as many years that Pearl, who has totalled 77 ground balls, and Hatkewitz have been named to an all-conference team.

 

McKeown is the first-team goalkeeper.

 

The second team consists of Thomson, rookie Matt McNamara and sophomore Phil Cavallo of Binghamton at attack. Rookie Frank Resetarits and senior Michael Solazzo of Albany and rookie Sean Layton of University of Vermont comprise the midfield. Juniors Patrick McSweeney and Ryan Olmstead of Albany and senior Brad Preisinger of UMBC are the defenders. Junior Kevin Rae of Albany, who leads America East with 13.43 saves per game, is the second-team goalkeeper.

 

The all-rookie team includes Resetarits, Thomson, McNamara and Layton, who earned all-conference honors, as well as defender Tom Trapani of Albany, attackman Nate Kerstein and midfielder Jeff Santucci of Binghamton, attackman Drew Westervelt of UMBC, attackman Larry Cerasi and goalkeeper Brendan Callahan of Stony Brook and attackman Dan Zwirko of Vermont. Callahan leads the nation in goals against average at 5.96.

 

A total of 11 all-conference choices and six all rookie selections will be in action Saturday when Binghamton plays host to third-seeded Albany in the America East Championship game at East Gym Complex at 1 p.m.