New for the 2011-2012 seasons, the America East Daily Word, a collaboration between AmericaEast.com and AExtra, will recap the previous day's games and on goings on our nine campuses and provide links to previews, recaps, features and exclusive coverage.
Vermont
women’s lacrosse player Sydney Mas took the America East by storm last year.
The Hartford men’s lacrosse team did the same thing thanks to Carter Bender.
Mas
set conference and school rookie records by scoring 55 goals and tallying 63
points overall and she finished 12th in the nation in scoring. A
freshman.
Bender
led the Hawks in points last year and he led them to the America East title
upsetting Stony Brook in the final on Long Island. The attackman was also
recently drafted by the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Why
are we talking about them? Because the New England Lacrosse Journal singled out
Mas and Bender as 20 players who will make lacrosse news across the region this
spring.
According
to the journal, Bender played with the 2011 National Senior A box lacrosse
champion Brampton Excelsiors this summer and developed into a leader the Hawks
will need if they hope to repeat as conference champs in 2012. The top seven
scorers from last season’s Hartford team are back this year and with Bender’s
leadership ability, New England should expect big things.
As
for Mas, what could she have saved up for a sophomore encore? At least
according to her coach, a whole lot more of the same. Mas is quick to credit
her teammates when she scores in bunches, her coach told the journal, which
makes her supremely effective on the offensive end. Can the Catamounts be right
there with the rest of the competitive America East? With Mas, many people
think they can.
You
can read the rest of New England Lacrosse Journal’s breakdown of the two
lacrosse stars, here.
For more of the Daily Word, check out the AExtra blog.