Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/30/14
Saint Joseph’s head coach Taylor Wray was named the NEC Coach of the Year and redshirt junior attackman Ryan McGee (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) was selected the NEC Offensive Player of the Year as the top-seeded and Northeast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Tournament host Saint Joseph’s claimed two of the five major awards and placed 11 student-athletes on the NEC All-Conference teams, it was revealed on Wednesday evening at the NEC Men’s Lacrosse pre-tournament banquet in Philadelphia.
McGee is joined on the 2014 NEC All-Conference First Team by junior long stick midfielder Will Farrell (St. Joseph’s Prep) and sophomore defenseman John Winchell (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge). Senior faceoff specialist Will Abbott (Chevy Chase, Md./Bullis School), junior defenseman Kevin Barrow (Avon Grove), junior midfielder Mike Dougherty (Malvern Prep), freshman goalkeeper T.J. Jones (Glen Ridge, N.J./Ridge), and senior midfielder Johnny Simanski (Reisterstown, Md./Loyola Blakefield) have been selected to the All-Conference Second Team while the freshman group of Jones, midfielder Anthony Joaquim (Guelph, Ontario/The Hill Academy), and attackmen Michael Rastivo (South Setauket, N.Y./Choate Rosemary Hall) and Ray Vandegrift (/William Penn Charter) have earned All-Rookie Team honors.
NEC Player of the Year
Kevin Massa Bryant FOS 5-10 200 Jr Huntington, NY/Elwood John Glenn
NEC Offensive Player of the Year
Ryan McGee Saint Joseph’s A 6-0 193 Jr White Plains, NY/White Plains
NEC Defensive Player of the Year
Gunnar Waldt Bryant GK 5-10 235 So Freeland, MD/Saint Paul’s School
NEC Rookie of the Year
Tucker James Bryant A 6-0 180 Fr Essex Falls, NJ/Bergen Catholic
NEC Coach of the Year
Taylor Wray Saint Joseph’s
2014 Northeast Conference Men’s Lacrosse First Team All-Conference
Name School Pos Ht Wt Yr Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Cody Marquis Sacred Heart A 5-6 145 Sr Londonderry, NH/Londonderry
Ryan McGee Saint Joseph’s A 6-0 193 Jr White Plains, NY/White Plains
Shane Morrell Bryant A 6-2 180 So Glen Mills, PA/Episcopal Academy
Colin Dunster Bryant MF 6-1 185 Sr Cos Cob, CT/Greenwich
Alex Miller Sacred Heart MF 5-11 170 Sr Ridgewood, NJ/Bergen Catholic/Avon Old Farms
Eric Rankel Robert Morris MF 5-10 181 So Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West
Alex Zomerfeld Bryant MF 5-9 180 Sr Port Jefferson, NY/Comsewogue
Matt MacGrotty Bryant D 6-4 210 Sr New Westminster, British Columbia/Taft School
Andrew Newbold Sacred Heart D 6-3 210 Sr Loveland, OH/Loveland
John Winchell Saint Joseph’s D 6-0 183 So Glen Ridge, NJ/Glen Ridge
Will Farrell Saint Joseph’s LSM 6-3 202 Jr Jamison, PA/St. Joseph’s Prep
Kevin Massa Bryant FOS 5-10 200 Jr Huntington, NY/Elwood John Glenn
Gunnar Waldt Bryant GK 5-10 235 So Freeland, MD/Saint Paul’s School
2014 Northeast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Second Team All-Conference
Name School Pos Ht Wt Yr Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Tucker James Bryant A 6-0 180 Fr Essex Falls, NJ/Bergen Catholic
James Rahe Robert Morris A 6-4 225 So Aldergrove, British Columbia/W.J. Mouat
Cam Stone Hobart A 5-8 160 Sr Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt
Alex Dodge Sacred Heart MF 5-9 165 So Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West
Mike Dougherty Saint Joseph’s MF 6-6 193 Jr Malvern, PA/Malvern Prep
Taylor Graves Robert Morris MF 5-10 165 Sr Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad
Johnny Simanski Saint Joseph’s MF 6-2 190 Sr Reisterstown, MD/Loyola Blakefield
Kevin Barrow Saint Joseph’s D 6-0 192 Jr Avon Grove, PA/Avon Grove
Conor Eustace Hobart D 5-10 185 Sr Newmarket, Ontario/Culver Military Academy
Tyler Rankel Robert Morris D 5-9 175 Sr Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West
Sean Meagher Robert Morris LSM 6-4 195 Sr Chesterfield, MO/St. Louis University
Will Abbott Saint Joseph’s FOS 6-1 190 Sr Chevy Chase, MD/Bullis School
T.J. Jones Saint Joseph’s GK 6-0 175 Fr Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge
2014 Northeast Conference Men’s Lacrosse All-Rookie Team
Name School Pos Ht Wt Yr Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Cody O’Donnell Bryant LSM 6-0 180 Fr Smithfield, RI/LaSalle Academy/Brewster
Tucker James Bryant A 6-0 180 Fr Essex Falls, NJ/Bergen Catholic
T.J. Jones Saint Joseph’s GK 6-0 175 Fr Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge
JonPatrik Kealey Robert Morris A 6-0 188 Fr Ottawa, Ontario/South Carleton
Brian Masi Sacred Heart MF 6-3 200 Fr Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West
Kyle Mummau Bryant D 6-0 170 Fr Carlsbad, CA/La Costa Canyon
Michael Rastivo Saint Joseph’s A 6-1 170 Fr South Setauket, NY/Choate Rosemary Hall/Ward Melville
Anthony Joaquim Saint Joseph’s MF 6-2 205 Fr Guelph, Ontario/The Hill Academy/Our Lady of Lourdes
Ray Vandegrift Saint Joseph’s A 5-9 185 Fr Jenkintown, PA/William Penn Charter
McGee boasted 3.79 points per game and 2.83 goals per game to lead the Northeast Conference in both scoring categories at the conclusion of the regular season. The attackman out of White Plains, N.Y. led the Hawks with 53 points on 33 goals and 20 assists this year and earned NEC Player of the Week honors four times throughout the 2014 season.
Wray was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to a 6-0 conference record en route to the NEC regular-season title in Saint Joseph’s inaugural season in the Northeast Conference. Under Wray’s direction, the Hawks soared to an 11-3 overall record to boast the program’s most successful regular-season record in program history.
Farrell was voted as the top long stick midfielder in the league after putting together a phenomenal defensive season with 39 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers in 14 appearances. The junior also added a goal and assist for two points on the year. Farrell averaged 4.0 ground balls per game and 2.0 caused turnovers per game in NEC action.
In a standout sophomore season in which he recorded 33 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers as a starter on the Hawks’ defensive unit, Winchell joins Farrell and McGee on the All-Conference First Team. Winchell averaged 2.5 ground balls per game in NEC play and was a staple on SJU’s back line this season as the sophomore was SJU’s only defensive player to start every game in 2014.
Anchoring the face-off X for the Crimson and Gray, Abbott earned the second-team face-off specialist spot after winning 65 face-offs and finishing his senior season with a 50% face-off percentage. Abbott scooped up 31 ground balls and tallied one goal and two assists in Saint Joseph’s regular-season home finale victory over Sacred Heart.
Barrow was a steadfast factor on the Hawks’ defensive unit this season and recorded single-season career bests with 28 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers in 14 appearances with 13 starts. Barrow averaged 2.0 ground balls per game and 1.2 caused turnovers per game in NEC action.
The midfield duo of Simanski and Dougherty finished their 20-plus point seasons with 17 goals each. Simanski reached season highs with 21 points and 17 goals this year, while Dougherty enjoyed his most productive offensive season thus far with 29 points on 17 goals and 12 assists.
Jones earned the second-team goalkeeper spot and a slot on the All-Rookie team after winning five overall and three NEC contests in 2014. The freshman averaged 11.33 saves per game in his three conference appearances and held those opponents to just 6.7 goals per game. Jones is a three-time NEC Defender of the Week and also earned Rookie of the Week accolades at the start of April.
In the midfield, Joaquim proved to be a threat on the offensive and defensive ends of the field in his first collegiate season. The freshman scored eight goals and added an assist for nine points and totaled 35 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers in 14 appearances.
Rastivo led all SJU freshmen in scoring with 29 points on 22 goals and seven assists in 10 appearances and averaged 1.7 goals per game in NEC action. The rookie sensation notched seven multi-goal games in the regular season, including a season-best seven point effort on season-bests four goals and three assists against Sacred Heart.
The only freshman to start every game for the Hawks in 2014, Vandegrift finished his rookie season with 15 points on nine goals and six assists en route to receiving NEC All-Rookie honors. Vandegrift averaged 1.0 points per game in NEC action and tucked away a team-leading four game-winning goals on the year.
Saint Joseph’s (11-3, 6-0 NEC) will face Hobart in Game One of the NEC semi-finals this Thursday, May 1. Opening face-off at Sweeney Field in scheduled for 4:00 pm.
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