Six Mariners Earn NECC Men's LAX Honors

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Six members of the Mitchell College men's lacrosse team were honored by the New England Collegiate Conference on Monday morning.

Senior Demetre Lyras and freshman JD LeMay each took home major awards and were two of the five Mariners named to the all-conference first team. Lyras was tabbed NECC Co-Player of the Year while LeMay was named both NECC Co-Rookie of the Year and Goalie of the Year. First-year head coach John Keysor was also selected as NECC Coach of the Year. All awards were determined by a vote of the conference's head coaches.

Joining Lyras and LeMay on the all-conference first team were senior David Klapp, senior Wayne Brookbanks and sophomore Maxx Crowley. Lyras, Klapp and Crowley were all repeat first team selections.

Lyras, who also earned Player of the Year honors a season ago, led Mitchell in scoring and ground balls as the Mariners went unbeaten in league play. The senior midfielder scored six goals with two assists and scooped up 12 ground balls while posting a .627 faceoff percentage in three conference games. He finished the year with a team-high 38 points on 31 goals and seven assists and added 60 ground balls.

LeMay, a five-time NECC Rookie of the Week selection, posted a 3-0 record in league play with a 5.51 goals against average and a .667 save percentage. He started all 15 regular season games for the Mariners and currently ranks 17th in the country in saves per game (13.7) and 23rd in save percentage (.611).

Klapp played in all 15 games and ranks second on the team in scoring with 27 goals and six assists for 33 points. He recorded a goal in all three league games and finished with totals of five goals and three assists for eight points in NECC play.

Crowley and Brookbanks each started all 15 games and were the foundation of the Mitchell defense. Crowley led the Mariners with 27 caused turnovers while Brookbanks ranked second with 16, and the two finished with 57 and 40 ground balls, respectively.

Mitchell (8-7 overall, 3-0 NECC) repeated as NECC champion and has qualified for the ECAC New England Division III Championship for the third time in four seasons. The Mariners will play at Salve Regina University in the semifinals on Wednesday, May 7 at 8 p.m.

2014 NECC Men's Lacrosse All-Conference Awards

Co-Players of the Year
Demetre Lyras, Mitchell (M, Sr. - Rocky Point, N.Y.)
Nicky Rodrigo, Regis (A, So. - Miami, Fla.)

Co-Rookies of the Year
Daniel Johnson, Becker (A, Fr. - Plymouth, Mass.)
J.D. LeMay, Mitchell (GK, Fr. - Lagrangeville, N.Y.)

Goalkeeper of the Year
J.D. LeMay, Mitchell (GK, Fr. - Lagrangeville, N.Y.)

Coach of the Year
John Keysor, Mitchell

Team Sportsmanship Award
Regis College

All-Conference First Team
David Deschenes, Becker (A, Jr. - Gales Ferry, Conn.)
David Klapp, Mitchell (A, Sr. - Greenfield, N.Y.)
Nicky Rodrigo, Regis (A, So. - Miami, Fla.)
John DeAngelis, Becker (M, Sr. - Swampscott, Mass.)
Anthony Cotoni, Daniel Webster (M, Jr. - Groton, Mass.)
Demetre Lyras, Mitchell (M, Sr. - Rocky Point, N.Y.)
Maxx Crowley, Mitchell (LSM, So. - Seal Beach, Calif.)
Jack O'Brien, Regis College (Mass.) (LSM, So. - Milton, Mass.)
Wayne Brookbanks, Mitchell (D, Sr. - West Hartford, Conn., Conn.)
Brian Cidado, Regis (D - Easton, Mass.)
Gerard Wrenn, Becker College (D, Sr. - Cheshire, Conn.)
J.D. LeMay, Mitchell College (GK, Fr. - Lagrangeville, N.Y.)

Honorable Mention
Stephen Choate, Daniel Webster (D, Fr. - Nashua, N.H.)
Breandan Crane, Regis (GK, Sr. - Billerica, Mass.)
Jonathan Ferreira, Becker (D, Jr. - Warwick, R.I.)
Daniel Johnson, Becker (A, Fr. - Plymouth, Mass.)
Peter Leighton, Regis (A, Jr. - Wilmington, Mass.)