TOWSON, Md. - The Landmark Conference men's lacrosse coaches have voted and selected Susquehanna senior Austen Lein as the 2014 Player of the Year. Drew's Mike Lloyd was voted the conference's Rookie of the Year.
Lein has helped Susquehanna to earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Landmark tournament as the Crusaders look to defend their 2013 title. Lein ranks second in the conference in scoring with 55 points on 23 goals and 32 assists. He leads the league in assists and has dished out 12 more than the second ranked player. He scored at least two points in every conference game and finished with 23 for the season in the six conference games. A Second Team All-Landmark selection a year ago, Lein has earned First Team honors this season.
Attackmen Mike Marone and Sam Morgan are also First Team honorees. Marone led Drew this season with 20 goals and 19 assists through the regular season. Morgan tallied 23 goals and 13 assists for Goucher. He rattled off a career-high four goals in the Gophers' Landmark-win over Catholic earlier this season.
Four midfielders were named First Team including Scranton teammates John Gregitis and Alec Mikrut. The pair has combined to notch 79 points and rank fourth and sixth in the conference for scoring. Gregitis has scored 22 goals with 19 assists while Mikrut is the team's leading goal scorer with 28. Goucher's Pierce Ingram is a two-time First Team honoree. The senior midfielder tallied has scored 24 points for the Gophers thus far. Walter Hickey was dominant for Catholic this season. He scored a team-high 23 goals and added 10 assists for 33 points to be voted to the First Team.
A long stick midfielder, Scranton's Ryan Millard also earned First Team recognition. He finished the regular season with 55 ground balls. Scranton's Mike Deliberti was named the Landmark's top short stick defensive midfielder after earning Second Team honors last season. He picked up 57 ground balls to rank seventh in the conference.
USMMA's Chris Whitenack earned First Team honors as the face-off specialist. The sophomore ranks first in the nation in face-off winning percentage. Whitenack has won 76.3 percent of the draws he has taken this season, going 161-of-211 at the face-off "X". He is even better in conference play, with an 80.7 efficiency rate winning 88-of-109 attempts.
Top defensive honors go to Goucher's Andrew Foster and Susquehanna's Corrie Van Haasteren. Van Haasteren is tied for the conference lead in caused turnovers with 29. All three players have 25 ground balls or more.
Scranton sophomore Nicholas McKaba was award top goalie honors. He boasts a league-low 6.61 goals against average with a 57.3 save percentage.
Drew head coach Tom Leanos and his staff were voted the Coaching Staff of the Year. This is Leanos' third honor in the seven years of Landmark competition. Drew's all-time leader in wins, Leanos led the Rangers back to the Landmark playoffs this season after missing out in 2013. Drew enters Wednesday's semifinal as the No. 4 seed after winning the last two conference games to clinch a playoff spot.
The 2014 Landmark Men's Lacrosse All-Conference Teams:
| First Team |
|
Second Team |
| Attack |
|
|
|
|
Attack |
|
|
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| Austen Lein |
Susquehanna |
Sr. |
New Vernon, N.J. |
|
Geoff Harty* |
USMMA |
Jr. |
Chicago, Ill. |
| Mike Marone |
Drew |
Sr. |
Morristown, N.J. |
|
Gus Sturm |
Scranton |
Sr. |
Devon, Pa. |
| Sam Morgan |
Goucher |
Jr. |
Wilmot, N.H. |
|
Phil Walker |
USMMA |
Sr. |
Falmouth, Mass. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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| Midfield |
|
|
|
|
Midfield |
|
|
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| John Gregitis |
Scranton |
Sr. |
Wayne, Pa. |
|
Owen Demmerly |
Goucher |
So. |
Medford, N.J. |
| Walter Hickey |
Catholic |
Sr. |
Thornwood, N.Y. |
|
Troy Smith |
USMMA |
Jr. |
Deer Park, Texas |
| Pierce Ingram* |
Goucher |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas |
|
Ray Waters |
USMMA |
Jr. |
Sayville, N.Y. |
| Alec Mikrut |
Scranton |
So. |
Belle Mead, N.J. |
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| Long Stick Midfield |
|
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Long Stick Midfield |
|
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| Ryan Millard |
Scranton |
Jr. |
Long Valley, N.J. |
|
Kyle Sammis |
USMMA |
Jr. |
Dix Hills, N.Y. |
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| Short-Stick Defensive Midfield |
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Short-Stick Defensive Midfield |
|
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| Mike Deliberti |
Scranton |
Sr. |
Fairfield, Conn. |
|
Steve Patterson |
Goucher |
Sr. |
Minneapolis, Minn. |
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| Face-Off Specialist |
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Face-Off Specialist |
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| Chris Whitenack |
USMMA |
So. |
East Meadow, N.Y. |
|
Matt Finor |
Scranton |
Jr. |
Churchville, Pa. |
|
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| Defense |
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Defense |
|
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| Andrew Foster |
Goucher |
So. |
Ashland, Ohio |
|
Jack Drexel |
Catholic |
Sr. |
Ellicott City, Md. |
| John Doe |
|
|
|
|
Mike Lloyd |
Drew |
Fr. |
Glen Ridge, N.J. |
| Corrie Van Haasteren |
Susquehanna |
So. |
Raymone, Maine |
|
Gus Sawicki |
USMMA |
So. |
Louisville, Colo. |
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| Goalie |
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Goalie |
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| Nicholas McKaba |
Scranton |
So. |
Long Valley, N.J. |
|
Karl Wiszumerski |
Goucher |
Jr. |
Pottstown, Pa. |
* 2013 First Team All-Landmark