BALTIMORE - Seven
of the top men's lacrosse athletes in America East have been recognized
among the best players in the country heading into the 2009 season, as they were
named to the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America
Team on Monday, Dec. 15. Four standouts from the league's defending
champion UMBC were selected, along with a pair from Stony Brook and one
from Albany.
The
Retrievers' Bobby Atwell and Peet Poillon earned second team honors.
Atwell, a defenseman, was a first-team all-conference selection in
2008 and helped lead UMBC to the America East title and a No. 6 ranking
in the final USILA national poll. Poillon, a game controlling
midfielder, will be entering his first season at UMBC after
transferring from Ohio State, where he was an honorable mention
All-American in his only year in Columbus after coming from Howard
Community College. Attack Ryan Smith and midfielder Kyle Wimer were
honorable mention selections.
A
duo of Stony Brook sophomores, Jordan McBride and Kevin Crowley, were
honored. McBride, the 2008 America East Rookie of the Year and an
All-America selection, was named to the third team. Kevin Crowley, a
first-team all-league choice in his freshman season, was named an
honorable mention choice.
Albany's
Mike Banks, who was featured on the cover of Inside Lacrosse in its October
issue (read article), was an honorable mention selection on defense.
The
America East preseason poll will be announced on February 9, while the
season gets underway on February 14 when UMBC faces Delaware.