Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/7/19
From Press Release
The Cabrini men’s lacrosse team collected three of the top four awards, as the Atlantic East Conference announced its first-ever list of Men’s Lacrosse All-Atlantic East Conference awards.
Head coach Steve Colfer was named Coach of the Year, while senior Jordan Krug and junior Tommy DeLuca were named Player and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.
In total, 12 Cavaliers were included in the list of accolades. Seniors Bill Morgan (Marple Newtown), Nick Vass and Riley White (Plymouth Whitemarsh), juniors Robert Cressman (Berks Catholic), Jakob Klein (Wilson), Tyler Kostack (Marple Newtown) and Kyle Myers joined Krug and DeLuca on the First Team, while senior Nicholas Waligurski (Berks Catholic) and junior Mike Gerzabek (Springfield-Delco) were named to the Second Team.
Colfer earned his 13th conference Coach of the Year honor, and his first in the Atlantic East, after leading the Cavaliers to a 17-2 record and a No. 6 ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches Poll. In addition to tying the program record for wins (17), the 2019 club leads the nation in scoring margin and ranks in the top 15 in 13 NCAA statistical categories.
Despite changing conferences, the Cavaliers’ dominance over league competition continued, as they cruised to a 6-0 conference mark, extending its NCAA-record conference win streak to 121 and a 19th consecutive conference title.
Krug, who was also named CSAC Player of the Year in 2018, was a consistent scoring threat every time he touched the field. The senior led the Atlantic East with 84 points and 54 goals, while his 30 assists were tied for second.
The senior attackman, who was also named MVP of the 2019 Atlantic East championship game, scored multiple goals in 13 games and recorded at least five points on 10 occasions. Krug was at his best against the nation’s top teams, pairing 26 goals and nine assists in the Cavaliers’ eight games against regionally ranked teams.
DeLuca was just as dominant on the defensive end of the pitch, as the junior led the league with 51 caused turnovers, while his 66 ground balls were good for seventh. In eight games against regionally ranked opposition, the junior paired 33 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers.
The junior defenseman forced at least three miscues 10 times this season, including a career-best seven against then No. 6 York. DeLuca also secured nine ground balls in that game, one of 11 games in which he secured at least four loose balls.
Morgan made the most of his senior campaign, as his 39 goals rank second on the team, while his 49 points are good for third. The senior midfielder recorded at least one goal in 17 of his 19 games this season and ranks eighth in the country with 12 man-up goals.
Vass returns to the all-conference team as a defenseman, after pairing 20 caused turnovers, second on the team, with 27 ground balls. The senior tallied five games with multiple caused turnovers, including four in a victory over Stevenson, and 13 games with at least one ground ball.
White established himself as one of the nation’s top netminders this season, ranking third in Division III with a 6.08 goals-against average. The senior posted a .575 save percentage with 126 saves and anchored the nation’s third-ranked scoring defense.
Cressman, a short stick midfielder, collected 24 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers to go with two goals and an assist. While the numbers don’t pop off the page, Cressman’s impact is felt in the clearing game, where the Blue and White boast the nation’s eighth-ranked clearing percentage of .873.
Klein collected his third First Team all-conference honor in as many seasons after handing out a league-best 39 assists to go with 31 goals for 70 points, second on the team. The junior recorded multiple assists in 11 games and posted at least three points 14 times.
Kostack earned First Team honors despite missing eight games due to injury. The junior midfielder scored 33 of his 36 points in nine games prior to the injury, including scoring at least three points in eight games, including four against nationally ranked opponents.
Myers collected his second First Team honor after a season that saw him record career highs with 38 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers to go with four points on the offensive side of the pitch. The junior longstick midfielder caused at least one turnover in 13 games and caused multiple miscues five times.
This is the first all-conference award for Waligurski, who owns 30 points on 18 goals and 12 assists during his senior campaign. The senior marked the scoring column in 11 games and was named Atlantic East Offensive Player of the Week after tallying a season-high five points in a win over then No. 13 Ithaca.
Gerzabek returned to the all-conference team with a season that includes career highs of 39 points and 27 goals. Seventeen of the junior’s points came in eight games against regionally ranked teams, including a three-goal outing against then No. 9 Dickinson and then No. 6 York.
Colfer and the No. 6 Cavaliers (17-2) will open NCAA Tournament play on Wednesday, as they host DeSales (17-1) in a second round match-up. The opening faceoff is slated for 4pm at Edith Robb Dixon Field.
