University at Albany sophomore attackman Luke Daquino was named America East Men's Lacrosse Player of the Year it was announced today. University of Hartford midfielder Garett Kikot was chosen the conference's Rookie of the Year. Hartford's Jack McGetrick was selected Coach of the Year. All voting was conducted by the conference's head coaches.
All-Conference Teams
Daquino is second in America East in scoring with 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points in 13 games (3.54 points per game). His 29 assists lead the conference and rank seventh nationally. Daquino and his Great Dane teammates earned a share of the America East regular-season title and enter the conference championship as the No. 2 seed with an 8-5 mark overall.
Kikot is second on the Hawks in scoring with 23 goals and 10 assists for 33 points in 15 games (2.20 points per game).
McGetrick was chosen Coach of the Year for the third time since 1997. He has guided the Hawks to a share of the America East regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference championship. The Hawks are 8-7 overall this season and are 77-66 in his 10-year tenure.
Daquino is joined on the all-conference first team at attack by senior Travis Eckler of Hartford and rookie Jason Cappadoro of Stony Brook University. Eckler, a second-team choice last season, leads America East in both goals (38) and points (58) this year. Cappadoro is third in the conference in scoring with 24 goals and 15 assists for 39 points in 14 games (2.79 points per game).
The first-team midfielders are sophomore Brendan Russell of Albany, senior Tom Fallica of Hartford and junior George LaFlare of Stony Brook. Russell has 20 goals and two assists with 24 ground balls, third on the Great Danes. Fallica has 13 goals and nine assists and 90 ground balls, second on the team. LaFlare has scored 16 goals and added 17 assists.
Senior Luke Smith of Albany, senior Eugene Fusco of Hartford and sophomore Kyle Pearl of Stony Brook are the first-team defenders. Pearl leads America East and ranks third nationally with 6.93 ground balls per game (97 in 14 games).
Sophomore Mike Gabel of University of Vermont is the first-team goalkeeper. Gabel has a 5-7 record and leads America East with a 6.14 goals against average and a .667 save percentage.
The second team consists of junior Michael Solazzo of Albany, rookie Phil Cavallo of Binghamton University and rookie Mike Maher of Vermont at attack. Solazzo is fourth in America East in scoring with 28 goals and five assists for 33 points. Cavallo leads the Bearcats and is third in the conference in goals (27) and sixth in points (30). Maher leads the Catamounts and is eighth in scoring in the conference with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.
Kikot is joined on the second-team by rookie Josh Murray of Quinnipiac University and senior Dennis Nafte of Stony Brook at midfield. Murray leads the Bobcats and is fifth in the conference in scoring with 20 goals and 13 assists for 33 points. Nafte leads America East and is fourth in the nation in faceoff percentage at .648.
The second-team defenders are rookie Michael Baudouin of Binghamton, junior Erik Hatkewitz of Stony Brook and junior Garnet Smith of Vermont.
Senior Rorke Greene of Hartford, a first-team selection last season, is the second-team goalkeeper after posting an 8-7 mark with an 8.65 goals against average and a .590 save percentage.
Baudouin, Cavallo, Kikot, Murray, Cappadoro and Maher are joined on the all-rookie team by Matthew Green and Chris Martocchia of Albany, Kevin McKeown of Binghamton, John Donnellan of Quinnipiac and Adam Marksberry of Stony Brook.
Each of the 10 first-team selections and seven of the 10 second-team choices are in action this week at the America East Men's Lacrosse Championship. No. 2 seed Albany hosts No. 3 Stony Brook in one semifinal at 3 p.m. Wednesday. No. 1 Hartford hosts No. 4 Vermont in the other semifinal that day at 7 p.m. The championship game will be played at the higher remaining seed on Saturday, May 3.