LAX Lands Five Players on All-Conference Team
Lyras, Crowley and Eshenfelder earn top honors
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team took home three major awards and had five players named to the NECC All-Conference First Team, as announced by the New England Collegiate Conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Junior midfielder Demetre Lyras was named NECC Player of the Year, freshman defender Maxx Crowley was tabbed NECC Rookie of the Year and junior Peter Eshenfelder was selected NECC Goalkeeper of the Year. The trio was joined on the all-conference first team by juniors David Klapp and Chris Joy.
NECC all-conference selections are determined by a vote of the conference coaches. Additional players honored are due to ties in the voting process.
Lyras scored 11 goals in three conference games and leads the Mariners with 23 goals on the season. He ranks second on the team in scoring with 27 points and has been a dominant force at the face-off spot all season. He currently leads all of NCAA Division III in face-off win percentage (.750) and has corralled 47 ground balls.
Crowley has been the Mariners top defenseman this season, marking opposing teams' top scorers and anchoring the man-down unit. Conference opponents averaged only 6.0 goals per game against the Mariners and went just 3-for-18 (.167) on man-up opportunities. Crowley is tied for the team lead in caused turnovers (19) and has also scooped up 33 ground balls.
Eshenfelder posted the best goals-against average (5.74) and save percentage (.667) in conference play this season, allowing only 17 goals in nearly 178 minutes of play. He has made 115 saves thus far and currently ranks 12th in the country in save percentage (.637) and 17th in goals-against average (6.57). He has also been the backbone for a defensive unit that ranks 16th in the nation in scoring defense.
Klapp, an attackman, recorded multi-goal games against all three conference opponents and finished with nine goals and five assists in league play. He has found the back of the net in nine of 10 games thus far and leads the Mariners in scoring with 22 goals and 11 assists.
Joy rounded out the Mitchell selections as one of two specialty players on the all-conference squad. The long-stick midfielder had two goals and an assist in conference play and added a team-high 23 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. His 81 ground balls on the season lead the team and currently rank him 22nd in the country in ground balls per game (8.1).
The five players helped Mitchell (8-2 overall) to its first-ever NECC championship. The NECC added men's lacrosse as a varsity conference sport for the 2013 season, with a champion to be determined by regular season results. Mitchell finished 3-0 against conference opponents, followed by Becker College (2-1), Regis College (1-2) and Daniel Webster College (0-3).
Player of the Year
Demetre Lyras, Mitchell (M, Jr. - Rocky Point, N.Y.)
Rookie of the Year
Maxx Crowley, Mitchell (D, Fr. - Seal Beach, Calif.)
Goalkeeper of the Year
Peter Eshenfelder, Mitchell (G, Jr. - Quaker Hill, Conn.)
Coach of the Year
Josh Blumenthal, Regis
Team Sportsmanship Award
Daniel Webster College
All-Conference First Team
A David Deschenes, Becker (A, So. - Gales Ferry, Conn.)
A David Klapp, Mitchell (A, Jr. - Greenfield, N.Y.)
A Nicky Rodrigo, Regis (A, Fr. - Miami, Fla.)
M Demetre Lyras, Mitchell (M, Jr. - Rocky Point, N.Y.)
M Jeff Petersen, Becker (M, Sr. - Syracuse, N.Y.)
M Chris Campbell, Regis (M, Jr. - South Hadley, Mass.)
D Maxx Crowley, Mitchell (D, Fr. - Seal Beach, Calif.)
D Ryan Kearney, Becker (D, Fr. - Katonah, N.Y.)
D Stephan Bottex, Regis College (D, Sr. - Norwood, Mass.)
S Chris Joy, Mitchell (LSM, Jr. - East Lyme, Conn.)
S Jack O'Brien, Regis (FO, Fr. - Milton, Mass.)
G Peter Eshenfelder, Mitchell (G, Jr. - Quaker Hill, Conn.)
Honorable Mention
Anthony Cotoni, Daniel Webster (A, Fr. - Groton, Mass.)
Michael Munoz, Becker (G, Sr. - Avon, Conn.)
Kyle Russell, Daniel Webster (D - Tyngsboro, Mass.)
Billy Stewart, Regis (M, Jr. - West Roxbury, Mass.)