MAAC Announces 2011 Men's Lacrosse Awards
MAAC Sports
Buffalo, NY - Siena's Bryan Neufeld has been selected as the MAAC Men's Lacrosse League Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Duncan Seale earned Defensive Player of the Year honors to headline the 2011 All-MAAC Teams, as voted by the league's head coaches.
Additionally, VMI's Stephen Robarge was voted Face-Off Specialist of the Year, Detroit's Jordan Houtby earned Long Stick Midfielder of the Year, and fellow Titan Shayne Adams was named Rookie of the Year. Marist's Scott Nelson was chosen as the Anaconda Sports Coach of the Year.
Neufeld, a junior from Virgil, Ontario, led the conference with 3.67 points per game. He was even more prolific in league games with 4.17 per contest. Neufeld led the MAAC in goals scored with 36 and his 2.40 per game rate was second best. He also led the league with five game-winning goals. Neufeld was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week three times this season.
Seale, a senior defender from Commack, N.Y., was the backbone of Siena's defense which had a goals against average of 9.60, caused 7.80 turnovers per game, and led the league with an .800 penalty-killing percentage. Seale was named the Defensive Player of the Week on March 14.
Robarge, a junior from Lorton, Va., was named the inaugural Face-Off Specialist of the Year after winning 67% (205-306) of his face-offs. He also led the league with 12.50 ground balls per game, more than twice as many as the next closest player.
Houtby, a sophomore from St. Catharines, Ontario, earned the league's first Long Stick Midfielder of the Year award. He finished second in ground balls per game (6.07) and was part of a Detroit unit that led the league in caused turnovers and was third in goals against average. Houtby was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week on March 1.
Adams, a freshman from St. Catharines, Ontario, led the league in goals per game with 2.43. He also led the league with nine man-up goals and his 2.71 points per contest was ninth best in the MAAC. Adams was named Offensive Player of the Week once and Rookie of the Week four times in 2011.
Nelson, currently in his third season at Marist, led the Red Foxes to a 4-2 conference record (8-6 overall) and the #2 seed in the MAAC Championship. Marist is currently riding a seven-game winning streak, the longest in team history. The Red Foxes victory over then-#16 Albany on March 22 was the program's first win over a top-20 team.
First Team All-MAAC selections include Neufeld, Adams, Canisius' Simon Giourmetakis, and Marist's Connor Rice and Corey Zindel at attack. Jacksonville's Cameron Mann, Marist's Jim Marks, and Siena's Chris Roth are the midfielders. The defense features Seale, Canisius' Dan Coates, and Jacksonville's Jake Ziegler. Siena's Tom Morr is the goalkeeper.
2011 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Awards
All-MAAC First Team
Attack
Simon Giourmetakis, Canisius
Shayne Adams, Detroit
Connor Rice, Marist
Corey Zindel, Marist
Bryan Neufeld, Siena
Midfield
Cameron Mann, Jacksonville
Jim Marks, Marist
Chris Roth, Siena
Defense
Dan Coates, Canisius
Jake Ziegler, Jacksonville
Duncan Seale, Siena
Goalkeeper
Tom Morr, Siena
All-MAAC Second Team
Attack
Jack Doherty, Marist
Danny Martinsen, Siena
Keith Long, VMI
Midfield
Jordan Houtby, Detroit
Bobby Stockton, Jacksonville
John Rogener, Siena
Stephen Robarge, VMI
Defense
Jamie Hebden, Detroit
Nick Armstrong, Marist
Kevin Cotter, Siena
Goalkeeper
A.J. Levell, Detroit
Major Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year
Bryan Neufeld, Siena
Defensive Player of the Year
Duncan Seale, Siena
Face-Off Specialist of the Year
Stephen Robarge, VMI
Long Stick Midfielder of the Year
Jordan Houtby, Detroit
Rookie of the Year
Shayne Adams, Detroit
Anaconda Sports Coach of the Year
Scott Nelson, Marist