The Eastern College Athletic Conference has had at least two teams in the NCAA Tournament since 2001, thanks in part to schedules that feature in-conference matchups later on in the season.
Seven players from the ECAC were named to the 51-player Tewaarton Trophy watch list; the award is given to the top collegiate lacrosse player in the nation. Each player was nominated by coaches from Divisions I, II and III.
Attack Brendan Cannon and defenseman Jerry Lambe are included on the list for a No. 9 Georgetown team that has only improved from their 2007 ECAC Championship campaign.
Cannon was the 2007 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and led the Hoyas in scoring with 21 goals and 23 assists, while Lambe was the 2007 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and was a semifinalist for the Tewaarton Trophy last year.
Having the best offensive player and defensive player on the same team has worked in favor for the Hoyas, who rebounded from a tough loss to No. 6 Maryland in their season-opener to beat ECAC opponent Saint John’s, 13-7, last Saturday.
Cannon had five points (four goals, one assist) against the Red Storm, who have yet to win a game this season.
Penn State goalkeeper Drew Adams was the only ECAC goalkeeper included on the list, and has been an All-ECAC selection as well as Goaltender of the Year in both of his first two seasons. The junior posted a 7.78 goals-against average in 13 collegiate starts for the Nittany Lions.
PSU is coming off back-to-back losses against No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 13 Loyola, and will face Ohio State on March 8.
The Greyhounds have two experienced offensive weapons on a young team, as midfielder Paul Richards and attackman Shane Koppens are also included on the list. Richards registered two goals in an NCAA Tournament game against Albany last year, while Koppens is a senior captain and Loyola’s leading scorer.
Two teams in Top 20
Loyola and Rutgers are two teams included in the ECAC Nike/Inside Lacrosse Men’s Division I Poll this week. The No. 13 Greyhounds, (2-1, 0-0 ECAC) suffered a hard-fought loss in their season opener Notre Dame on Feb. 26.
Freshman goalie Jake Hagelin made 11 saves for the Greyhounds, who trailed by three at the half and tallied to tie the game in the third quarter. But Alex Wharton had the game-winner for ND with 3:33 left to play.
Loyola will open its ECAC schedule on March 15 at St. Johns, and will face Massachusetts a week later.
No. 19 Rutgers suffered a tough loss to No. 10 Delaware last Saturday, 10-8. Midfielder Justin Pennington notched a career-high five goals for the Scarlet Knights, who had their six-game home winning streak snapped by the Blue Hens. Rutgers will open its ECAC schedule against Fairfield on March 8.
The Stags, who were selected sixth in the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches Preseason Poll, captured an overtime win against Providence on Feb. 23 and Dartmouth on March 1 to start the season at 2-0. Fairfield also had four players named to the preseason All-NEILA team, and received 12 votes for the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Men’s DI Media Poll this week.
Loyola’s Toomey gets multi-year deal
No. 13 Loyola head coach Charley Toomey received a multi-year contract extension effective immediately. The second-year coach has taken the Greyhounds to two ECAC second-place finishes and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007. The Loyola and former Greyhound assistant was also named 2006 ECAC Coach of the Year. Toomey also was a two-time All-American goalkeeper for the Greyhounds, and started the 1990 NCAA Championship Game. He was a part of seven NCAA tournament teams as a student athlete and coach.
David Brinch can be reached at [email protected].
