Boston, Mass. — Junior attacker Brendan Mundorf, who led UMBC to a 5-1 conference record, was selected America East Player of the Year, as voting from the conference men’s lacrosse head coaches was recently announced. Stony Brook University’s attackman Bo Tripodi was chosen the conference’s Rookie of the Year while SB’s head coach Lars Tiffany took home Coach of the Year honors.Awards
Mundorf ranks second in America East with 29 goals in 14 games (2.07 per game). He added 26 assists and ranks third in the conference with 55 points (3.93 per game). Mundorf and his Retriever teammates earned a share of the America East regular-season title and enter the conference championship as the No. 1 seed with a 7-7 overall mark.
Tripodi led the Seawolves and all rookies in goals scored with 25, and he ranks first among rookies in points (35) and second in points per game (2.50). His five game-winning goals is also first in the conference.
Tiffany, who led Stony Brook to a 9-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in conference play, picks up the top coaching award in his first season at the helm. SB has now made the postseason all four years since joining the conference, and will be the No. 4 seed in the upcoming tournament. The Seawolves are ranked third in the country with 158 goals scored, and ninth overall in goals per game (11.29).
Mundorf, who earned first-team all-conference honors in 2004, is joined on the first-team at attack by senior Luke Daquino and sophomore Merrick Thomson of Albany. Daquino, a first-team selection in 2004 and ‘03, leads the conference in assists (31) and is tied for third in the nation in helpers per game (2.38). Thomson, the 2004 America East Rookie of the year, has had a very solid sophomore campaign. He ranks first in the America East in goals (47) and points (66) in 13 games (5.08 per game), and his points-per-game average is tied for the best in the country.
Albany sophomore Frank Resetarits, a second-team selection at midfield a season ago, is joined on the midfield first team by UMBC junior Andy Gallagher and senior teammate Joe Cahill. Resetarits has scored 25 goals and added 14 assists. Gallagher has scored 21 goals and handed out 11 assists for 32 points. He ranks third in America East in shots with 81 (5.79 per game). Cahill has converted 12 goals for 22 points.
Albany senior Patrick McSweeney joins repeat first team defensive selections Kyle Pearl, a senior from Stony Brook, and junior Michael Baudouin of Binghamton.
Senior Kevin Rae of Albany is the first-team choice at goalkeeper. He leads America East in saves (174, 13.38 per game) and is second in save percentage (.580), which also ranks 16th nationally.
The second team includes junior Jason Cappadoro, who ranks second in the conference in assists (27) and fourth in points (47). He is joined at attack by sophomore Drew Westervelt of UMBC and sophomore Matt McNamara of Binghamton.
Junior Josh Murray of Quinnipiac, senior Brendan Russell of Albany, and sophomore Sean Layton of Vermont were named second-team midfielders. Murray led the Bobcats in points and ranks 10th in the conference in goals (20, 1.54 per game) and first in shot per game (7.00).
Rounding out the second team are junior defenders Justin Berdeguez of UMBC and John Donnellan of Quinnipiac, and senior David Weiss of Stony Brook.
Binghamton junior Kevin McKeown, whose 7.88 goals against average leads the America East and is 15th in the nation, was named the second-team goalkeeper.
The all-rookie team consists of midfielders Jordan Levine and Steve Ammann of Albany, Stephen Smith of Binghamton, Rhys Duch of Stony Brook and Ryan Curran of Hartford. Joining Tripodi at attack are Jamie Kirk of Vermont, Brian Tilley of UMBC and Nick Fatseas of Stony Brook. Goalie Matt Ural of Stony Brook and defender Aaron Shore of Vermont rounds out the all-rookie squad.
25 of the 31 all-conference and all-rookie selections will be in action this week at the 2005 America East Men’s Lacrosse Championship.