CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- University at Vermont's Andrew Kelleher and University at Albany's Nikki Branchini have been chosen the inaugural America East Men's and Women's Lacrosse Fans' Choice Players of the Year, respectively. The winners, which were selected by roughly 3,000 voters, were announced Friday morning.
Kelleher, a senior attack for Vermont, leads America East with 34 goals and is second with 43 points through 13 games. He earned Player of the Week honors on March 2 after scoring four goals in an 8-7 win over Marist, including the game winner with one second remaining. Kelleher's Catamounts will face No. 10 UMBC on Saturday in front of a national television audience on ESPNU. UVM can earn the final spot in the America East Championship field with a win over the Retrievers and a Hartford victory at Binghamton.
Kelleher, who was one of 12 finalists for the award, received nearly 24 percent of the vote, garnering 216 of 881 tallies. He was followed by Albany's Brian Caufield (114) and University of Hartford's Scott Bement (113).
Branchini, a sophomore defender, ranks fifth among the NCAA Division I leaders and third in America East in draw controls at 4.0 per game. A
first-team all-conference standout as a freshman, she has three goals
and is first on the team in ground balls (35) and caused turnovers (15) this season. Branchini's Great Danes have already clinched a berth into next week's America East Women's Lacrosse Championship, and will play their final regular-season game Saturday at Le Moyne beginning at 1 p.m.
The women's lacrosse ballot generated nearly 2,300 fan votes, and Branchini collected over 19 percent of them (444 votes). New Hampshire's Sarah Von Bargen earned 416 votes (18 percent) and teammate Shauna Kaplan captured 273 tallies (12 percent) as the runners-up for the Fan's Choice Player of the Year.
The America East Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships both take place next week with the men's semifinals set for Wednesday, April 29 and the finals set for Saturday, May 2. The entire women's tournament will be played at Boston University's Nickerson Field with the semis taking place Thursday, April 30 and the title game set for Saturday, May 2 at 1 p.m.
Stay tuned to AmericaEast.com throughout the weekend for championship coverage, including seedings, pairings and game times.