Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/30/10

Bryant freshman defenseman Mason Poli (Downingtown East) has been named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week.

Poli has been a rising star for the Bulldogs not just among freshmen, but among all poles as well. He scored a goal in each of the last two games for the Bulldogs, and recorded the first goal of his career Tuesday night against Holy Cross.

He also scored an unassisted goal with 6:49 to go in the second as part of a four-goal streak for Bryant. The freshman scored another tally in BU’s 9-7 win over No. 11 nationally ranked Yale Saturday night, also chipping in an assist in the contest. The defenseman then scored to open third-period play to put the Bulldogs up, 7-3, after forcing a big Yale turnover in BU’s defensive end.

Poli’s helper came with 13:33 to play in the second after he fought to win a key ground ball off the faceoff to give BU a 5-2 lead. He picked up four ground balls on the week, two in each outing. The Pennsylvanian was part of a man-down defense that allowed just a single goal in seven EMO attempts between the two contests, and he had two shots, both going on target and finding net for a 1.000 shot percentage on the week.

More men’s award-winners:
Big East Offensive Player of the Week – Paul Webber, Villanova
Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week – Curtis Dickson, Delaware
ECAC Offensive Player of the Week – Jack Oppenheimer (Germantown Academy), Quinnipiac
Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week- Dante Fantoni, Lehigh