Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/8/18
From Press Release
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) will unveil its annual award winners for outstanding individual regular-season performances at its red carpet-style award show, the second annual MLL Honors award ceremony. The event will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17 at the historic American Theater in Charleston, S.C. and will be aired on Lax Sports Network (LSN).
Ohio Machine goaltender, Scotty Rodgers, and ESPN and Inside Lacrosse analyst, Quint Kessenich, will co-host the proceedings. The event precedes the 18th MLL Championship Game, which will be held Saturday, Aug. 18 at Charleston’s MUSC Health Stadium at 7 p.m. For more information about the game and to purchase tickets visit majorleaguelacrosse.com.
“This year was unbelievable. We had one of the strongest rookie classes in MLL history join the league. We watched Rob Pannell break his own single-season points record, and we witnessed the clash of titans when the MLL All-Stars faced off against Team USA. All of the nominees on this list have played with heart and grit this year and we look forward to honoring them at MLL Honors next week,” said MLL Commissioner Alexander (Sandy) Brown.
MLL will present these individual awards during the ceremony in the following categories: the Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player, Warrior Offensive Player of the Year, Warrior Defensive Player of the Year, Brine Goalie of the Year, Cascade Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year awards. The three finalists for each of the awards follow by category:
Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player: Presented to the athlete whose overall performance and impact were proven to be the most valuable to his team’s success during the regular season. Jordan Wolf (Lower Merion, Duke’s LC)- Dallas Rattlers; Rob Pannell – New York Lizards; Kevin Rice – Atlanta Blaze.
Warrior Offensive Player of the Year: Presented to the athlete whose offensive performance was outstanding throughout the regular season. Rob Pannell – New York Lizards; Kevin Rice – Atlanta Blaze; Jordan Wolf – Dallas Rattlers.
Warrior Defensive Player of the Year: Presented to the athlete whose defensive contributions to his team were exceptional during the regular season. Tucker Durkin (La Salle, Duke’s LC, Bryn Athyn head coach)- Florida Launch; Matt Dunn – Dallas Rattlers; Michael Ehrhardt – Charlotte Hounds.
Brine Goalie of the Year: Presented to the goalie whose performance was deemed to be best among his peers in the regular season. Niko Amato (La Salle, Duke’s LC, Immaculata head coach, NetNation)- Chesapeake Bayhawks; Austin Kaut (Springfield-Delco, Duke’s LC, Penn State, NetNation, Blue Ox) – Florida Launch; John Galloway – Dallas Rattlers.
Coach of the Year: Presented to the coach who provided outstanding leadership for his team during the regular season. Dave Cottle – Chesapeake Bayhawks; BJ O’Hara – Denver Outlaws; Bill Warder – Dallas Rattlers.
Cascade Rookie of the Year: Presented to the rookie whose performance was outstanding during his first regular season in the league, which also was the year he completed his NCAA career. Christian Cuccinello (Villanova) – Atlanta Blaze; Chris Cloutier – Denver Outlaws; Trevor Baptiste – Boston Cannons.
In addition, a new award, the David Huntley Man of the Year Award, also will be presented during the ceremony in memory of the former MLL head coach who passed away in December 2017. The award will be presented to the lacrosse athlete who has demonstrated, “Sportsmanship and professionalism that are beyond reproach” and who “Makes selfless, meaningful contributions to Major League Lacrosse, the game of lacrosse and to his community.” The nine nominees for the award will be released Wednesday, Aug. 8.
