Crowley tabbed as NEC Offensive POY
Crowley named NEC's Offensive Player of the Year, leads nine all-conference picks in 2011
EMMITSBURG, Md. – Senior Gary Crowley (Scituate, Mass.) became the second men's lacrosse player in as many years to garner a major Northeast Conference accolade Thursday night, named the 2011 NEC Offensive Player of the Year to lead nine Bryant all-conference selections as the Bulldogs head into their first-ever postseason conference tournament.
Crowley, who led the fourth-seeded Bulldogs with 28 goals on the year, is one of four Black and Gold All-NEC First Team selections, and he is joined by linemate Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.), sophomore defenseman Mason Poli (Downingtown, Pa.) and fifth-year senior faceoff specialist Trever Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.).
Weisenberg earns his second-consecutive first team all-conference selection after finishing the season third on the team in points and second in both goals and assists on the season. With one game-winning goal and a team-best six man-up tallies, Weisenberg netted a point in 14 of the team's 16 games with three hat tricks on the year.
A defenseman in the conversation after an All-American type season, Poli leads the team in caused turnovers with 34 and adds 62 ground balls entering the postseason, good for second on the team. With a hard shot that has found its target six times this season, he is also one of the top offensive defensemen in the league and in the nation.
Trever Sipperly is making the most of his only year at Bryant in 2011, finishing second in the NEC and 14th in the nation with a faceoff winning percentage of .594, also leading the team with 78 ground balls on the season. He picked up 19 ground balls against conference co-champ Quinnipiac, the most in a single game of any player in Division I this season, and has won 22 faceoffs on three separate occasions.
Bryant placed two more standouts on the 2011 all-conference second team, as junior goalie Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) headlines the group and is joined by sophomore attacker and Bulldog leading scorer Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.).
Love performed well again in his third season starting between the pipes for the Bulldogs, and the captain has started every game of his collegiate career. Love's .504 save percentage has earned him eight wins this year, and he has been key in Bryant's league-low goals allowed mark, boasting an 8.42 goals against average with 137 total saves.
After earning an all-rookie team selection in 2010, McMahon returns to the all-conference stage as a second-team member after a sophomore campaign that saw him lead the team in both points (46) and assists (28) while chipping in 18 goals and 28 ground balls. McMahon has registered at least one point in every game this season and has done so in all but one contest of his entire collegiate career.
A trio of freshmen in Dan Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.), Kevin Sherrill (Charlotte, N.C.) and Alex Zomerfeld (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) were also honored at Thursday's NEC Tournament banquet, leading the way on the list of all-rookie candidates. The three were each tabbed as 2011 All-Rookie Team selections after stellar seasons that saw them combine for 26 goals and 30 points. Dan Sipperly led all rookie scorers with 18 points (15g, 3a).
Bryant's four first-team picks ties top-seeded Mount St. Mary's for the most this season, and no team touches the Bulldogs' nine total all-league selections.
Robert Morris's Trevor Moore earned NEC Player of the Year honors for the second-consecutive season, while the Mount's T.C. DiBartolo was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. Sacred Heart took home a major award with Rookie of the Year, going to midfielder Tim Caton, while Tom Gravante repeated as NEC Coach of the Year.
The Bulldogs play in the program's first Division I postseason contest Friday night at 7 p.m., when they take on host and regular-season co-champ Mount St. Mary's in the NEC Tournament semifinal.