MURNANE NAMED NEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, LEADS NINE ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS FOR BULLDOGS
May 20, 2010
SENIOR DEFENSEMAN MATT MURNANE NAMED NORTHEAST CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nine Bulldogs earn
all-conference honors in league's inaugural men's lacrosse
postseason awards presentation
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Highlighted by 2010 Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year award winner Matt Murnane (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), the Bryant University men’s lacrosse team took home nine all-conference selections, including a trio of first team nods, as the league announced its inaugural men’s lacrosse all-conference class Thursday afternoon.
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Senior defenseman Matt
Murnane earned NEC Defensive |
Murnane, a senior defenseman and four-year standout, headlines Bryant’s nine selections and is joined on the all-conference first team by sophomore leading scorer Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.) and junior longstick middie Anthony Iannello (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.). Senior faceoff specialist Andrew Hennessey (Wading River, N.Y.) and junior midfielders Matt Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) and Gary Crowley (Scituate, Mass.) were tabbed as All-NEC Second Team selections, sweeping three of the four midfield spots, while sophomore goalie Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) also earned a place on the second team. Rookies Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) and JK Poirier (Coatesville, Pa.) earn their first-career postseason honors as well, named NEC All-Rookie Team picks to round out the Bulldogs’ impressive all-league selections.
After completing a remarkable career with arguably his most impressive season yet, Murnane led the Bulldog defense to a top national ranking in 2010, limiting opponents to just 112 goals in 17 games. His senior season marked some of his best career numbers, as Murnane led the team with a career-high 70 ground balls as well as a team-best 42 caused turnovers, a number that finished atop the NEC rankings in overwhelming fashion and was good for fourth in the nation.
Murnane graduates from Bryant as the all-time leader in caused turnovers both in a single season (43) and in a career (110). He is third all-time in career ground balls with 253, but his skill transcends the numbers. Often referred to by head coach Mike Pressler as “the most complete defenseman I’ve seen in 28 years of coaching,” Murnane is a 2010 All-New England selection and has become one of the nation’s most dominant players at his position, playing every minute of every game over his four-year career.
Weisenberg earns a first team nod after a stellar offensive year of his own out of the first midfield, leading the Bulldogs with 29 goals and 12 assists for a team-best 41 points in his sophomore campaign. The New York native recorded six hat tricks on the year while scoring in 15-of-16 contests, a product of his nationally-ranked .453 shot percentage. Weisenberg’s 1.81 goals per game, 2.56 points per outing and six man-up goals were all ranked in the top-10 in the NEC standings, while he scored three game winners and collected 33 ground balls with nine caused turnovers in 2010. Weisenberg is a two-time NEC Player of the Week and also earned All-New England First Team honors.
A junior captain and the Bulldogs’ top longstick midfielder, Iannello rounds out Bryant’s first team selections after a strong season that saw him earn All-New England honors and come away with 46 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers on the year. He appeared in all 17 games for the Black and Gold and recorded a pair of points, scoring a goal at Brown on April 6 and dishing out a helper against Wagner on March 20 at home.
Hennessey caps off an extraordinary career of his own with an All-NEC Second Team honor after dominating the faceoff X for the last four seasons, including the last two at the Division I level. A fifth-year senior captain, Hennessey has led the Division I ranks in faceoff winning percentage each of the last two years, posting a nation’s-best .711 winning percentage in 2009 and again leading the country with a .643 winning percentage (101-of-157) in 2010. Graduating with the program’s top career faceoff winning percentage, Hennessey adds to a long list of postseason honors, including a First Team All-New England nod and Bryant’s Male Athlete of the Year award.
Larson finished the 2010 season fourth on the team in points (26) and second in goals (24) as part of the first midfield line. His 5.53 shots per game were sixth in the NEC, and he picked up 16 ground balls with two caused turnovers and six man-up goals on the year.
The third first-line midfielder to earn all-conference honors, Crowley ripped a league-leading 118 shots on opposing goalies, connecting for 17 goals and four assists on the season. Crowley registered a team-best seven man-up tallies, good for third in the league, while collecting 14 ground balls and forcing a pair of turnovers in 17 starts.
One of the most impressive goalies in the country in 2010, Love proved to be a defensive stalwart in his second season between the pipes, leading the nation with a 6.50 goals against average at the conclusion of the regular season. He posted a .587 save percentage that was good for second in the NEC and fourth among all DI goalies and played all but two minutes between the pipes for the Bulldogs. Another 2010 All-New England choice, Love made 158 saves in 2010 – third most in the conference – while boasting a 12-5 record. He added 48 ground balls and seven caused turnovers on the year and was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions and Defensive Player of Month once.
A pair of first-line attackmen, McMahon and Poirier earned places on the all-rookie team after standout performances in their first collegiate campaign. McMahon led all Bryant freshmen and was tied for second on the team in scoring with 32 points off 18 goals, while Poirier led the Bulldog ranks with 17 helpers on the year, chipping in seven scores as well to finish fifth on the team in scoring (24 points). McMahon posted 29 ground balls with five caused turnovers in 15 appearances (15 starts) while Poirier picked up 26 ground balls with six forced miscues, appearing in all 17 games while starting in 10. McMahon also posted a pair of game winners with four man-up tallies and was a two-time NEC Rookie of the Week selection while his classmate scored one game winner and picked up a conference Rookie of the Month nod in March.
The Bulldogs completed their second Division I season with a 4-0 mark against Northeast Conference opponents and a 12-5 overall record, marking the program’s second double-digit win season in as many tries at the DI level. Bryant men’s lacrosse becomes eligible for an NCAA tournament bid in 2011.
