Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/24/08
Philadelphia athletes and teams are up for many top awards in the first annual Laxies by Inside Lacrosse. Voting is taking place online and will continue until the end of September.
The results of the Laxies will be announced in the December issue of Inside Lacrosse.
Philly hopefuls include (with Inside Lacrosse comments in quotations):
Inside Lacrosse Player of the Year (regardless of division) – Athan Iannucci, Philadelphia Wings. “Scored 71 goals in 16 games and finished the National Lacrosse League (NLL) season with 100 points, breaking Gary Gait’s single-season NLL goal-scoring record.”
Division III Men’s Player of the Year – Ryan Cranston (Henderson), Lynchburg. “A second-team All-American who further proved his worth by being drafted in the fourth round of the Major League Lacrosse Draft by San Francisco.
Division I Women’s Player of the Year – Sarah Waxman, Penn. “Anchored the country’s best defense (6.27 goals per game) and led upset over Northwestern in regular season.”
MLL Player of the Year – Matt Striebel, Barrage. “A stalwart in Philadelphia’s scoring machine, Streibel was the Barrage’s midfield leader and the team’s only offensive player on the All-MLL team.”
NLL Player of the Year – Athan Iannucci, Philadelphia. “Former Hofstra standout scored 71 goals, next-highest player had 48. Finished with 100 points in 16 games.”
Lacrosse Personality of the Year – Brian “Doc” Dougherty (Episcopal Academy), Barrage. “The big dog of the bait and switch. Now you see a sweet spot on the cage, now you don’t. And when you miss, expect to hear about it from the Doctor.”
Individual Game Performance of the Year – Greg Gurenlian (Springfield-Delco), San Francisco (MLL). “Absurd statistical line vs. Long Island in the regular season: Won 31 of 41 faceoffs and added 1 goal, 3 assists and 22 groundballs.”
Upset of the Year – Penn vs. Northwestern, NCAA women’s regular season. “The Quakers disrupted Northwestern’s undefeated season and put an end to their 36-game win streak.”
Best High School Team of the Year – La Salle, 31-2. “IL ranked No. 5, EPSLA championship, Keystone Cup championship.”
Record-Breaking Performance of the Year – Athan Iannucci breaks the NLL single-season goal-scoring record. “He scored 71 goals in 16 games; his goals were 23 more than any other player.”
