Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/10/12
From Press Release
The results of the 2012 East Coast Conference (ECC) Preseason Poll placed defending National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Champion, Mercyhurst College atop the league’s predicted standings.
The Lakers received eight first-place votes from the conference’s 11 head coaches to total 118 points. The ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year award was given to C.W. Post University’s senior attack, Eddie Plompen (West Islip, NY), while Mercy College’s junior goalkeeper, T.J. DiCarlo (Farmingdale, NY) garnered the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year award. Chestnut Hill College placed seventh with 48 points.
Mercyhurst College conquered Adelphi University by a 9-8 final to win last season’s national championship. They finished the regular season second in the ECC with an 8-2 league standing and a 16-2 overall mark. The Lakers return four All-ECC performers for 2012, including senior attack Kyle Kallay (Orangeville, Ontario), who finished tenth in the league for scoring (2.19 goals/game) and junior attack Brian Scheetz (Canandaigua, NY), who was the conference leader in assists (2.0 assists/game).
Chestnut Hill College (7-7, 3-7) began earning respect in 2011, winning three ECC contests and dominating their non-conference schedule for a 7-7 overall finish. The offense’s production carried the Griffins, led by Melnychenko and fellow All-East Coast Conference (ECC) Honorable Mention, junior midfielder Mark Winkelspecht (Parkland), they outscored their opponents 156-142 and did so with a superior efficiency, posting a .355 shooting percentage against their foes’ .262 scoring rate.
Melnychenko totaled 50 goals in his freshman season, leading the team, conference, and nation in goal-per-game (3.57). He also ranked fifth nationally in points-per-game (4.07) and was named the league’s top rookie after stacking up three ECC Rookie of the Week (2/28, 4/4, & 4/25) awards. Additionally, Melnychenko recovered 37 ground balls and caused four turnovers. Winkelspecht was equally important to the Griffins success, totaling 26 goals and 18 assists for 44 points, while also contributing 35 ground balls and six caused turnovers.
The complete results of the 2012 ECC Preseason Poll are provided below:
2012 East Coast Conference Preseason Poll
School 2011 Record/ECC Points
1. Mercyhurst (8) 16-2/8-2 118
2. C.W. Post (2) 16-2/9-1 110
3. Dowling (1) 11-3/7-3 97
4. NYIT 10-3/7-3 90
5. Mercy 11-3/7-3 77
6. Seton Hill 7-7/5-5 56
7. Chestnut Hill College 7-7/3-7 48
8. Lake Erie 7-7/4-6 47
9. Molloy 5-10/3-7 45
10. Wheeling Jesuit 5-10/1-9 22
11. Dominican 2-13/1-9 16
() – First-Place Votes
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Eddie Plompen, Sr., ATT., C.W. Post
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: T.J. DiCarlo, Jr., GK, Mercy
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