In the final part of my Year In Review series, it’s time to give out awards to honor the best of this college lacrosse season. So let’s get started.
Best Team: Denver Pioneers
Need I explain for the National Champions?
Best Team Besides Denver: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
If it weren’t for a Matt Kavanagh injury that made him probably slow down during the NCAA Tournament, they probably would have won it all.
Most Improved Team: Georgetown Hoyas
From 4-10 in 2014 to 10-6 this year, the Hoyas made huge moves this season, and also put scares on Notre Dame (although that game was indoors), Towson Duke, and Virginia, and also won big games against Loyola, Marquette twice, and Villanova. Honorable mention: Marist Red Foxes.
Player Of The Year: Lyle Thompson (A – Albany)
He had a ton of production this season, and it was without Miles and Ty around him. Hopefully Seth Oakes and Connor Fields can keep the production up next season.
Best Player Returning Next Season: Connor Cannizzaro (A – Denver)
Guys like Myles Jones, Sergio Perkovic, Kavanagh, and Ryan Brown come as other top candidates, but the younger Cannizzaro excelled in his first season at Denver after an impressive freshman campaign in College Park. Many people thought that he deserved to be named a Tewaaraton finalist over teammate Wesley Berg, but he should be one in the next couple of seasons.
Best Breakthrough Player: Kyle Bernlohr (G – Maryland)
Dylan Molloy came onto the scene via Brown’s new up-tempo offense, but when he stopped, the Bears found other ways to score. On the other hand, Bernlohr backstopped the Terrapins to a National Championship appearance and received a spot on the USILA D1 First Team All-American list after replacing a former First Teamer in Niko Amato.
Rookie Of The Year: Connor Fields (A – Albany)
Fields had the best help last season in the form of Lyle Thompson. The freshman recorded a nation leading 66 goals and 22 assists and finished second on the team behind Thompson with 88 points. Many people think that Fields is the real deal, and that statement will be put to the test in 2016.
Best Game – Postseason: Denver vs. Notre Dame (NCAA Semifinal, May 23)
It appeared that Denver was going to go to the National Championship game on Memorial Day until Sergio Perkovic kept the Fighting Irish alive. The Motor City Hitman recorded five goals in the final frame, and Nick Ossello tied the game up at 10 all, until Denver’s Wesley Berg ended the possible comeback. The Irish were down 10-6 with 4:23 left to play in regulation, and Berg scored one of the best goals of the entire season to give Denver all the momentum. Perkovic, having scored two goals already in the quarter, recorded a natural hat-trick in a span of 1:35 to cut the Denver lead to one. Coming off of a timeout, it seemed that Perkovic was going to tie the game, but it was Ossello who tied the game and stunned everyone that thought the Irish were done.
Best Postseason Performance: Sergio Perkovic (M – Notre Dame, NCAA Semifinal vs. Denver)
See above, but it’s still unbelievable that he did that. Plus, he did it all with overhand shots.
Best Game – Regular Season: Syracuse vs. Notre Dame (March 28)
I think this game was better than the Denver-ND game that happened about two months after. Notre Dame was the team in front by a large margin, this time it was 9-3 with 8:31 left in the third. But Syracuse started to slowly claw back to cut the Irish lead to 10-8 entering the fourth. The Orange took the lead for the first time in the game on a man-up goal by Dylan Donahue, which was his seventh goal of the game and second on the man-up, with 1:06 left. The lead was only seven seconds long, as P.J. Finley won the following faceoff from Ben Williams and scored his first career goal on his first career shot to tie the game up at 12. After chances by both teams in the first overtime session, Notre Dame got the ball after Syracuse maintained possession for the majority of the second overtime, when the referee said that Notre Dame was closer to the end line than the Orange, although multiple camera angles looked to have Kevin Rice closer. Either way, Jack Near went coast-to-coast and went around the cage to score the game winner. It was an instant classic of a game, which I was happy to watch. The rematch in the Carrier Dome will be a fun one to watch next season.
Best Regular Season Performance: Ryan Brown (A – Johns Hopkins, vs. Maryland)
Donahue’s effort against Notre Dame was unbelievable, but the Orange could not pull out the comeback victory. Instead, this award goes to Ryan Brown’s career-tying eight goal affair in a road rivalry victory against Maryland, which gave the Blue Jays the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament the following week, and helped Johns Hopkins pick up steam entering the NCAA Tournament. If Brown didn’t explode that night, Championship Weekend would have looked very different.
Coach Of The Year: Bill Tierney (Denver)
The legend finally did it out west and won a National Championship. He helped build a powerhouse program west of the Mississippi River and went to Championship Weekend in four of his six seasons at Denver. Will this team help the sport grow in the Division I ranks?
Most Improved Coaching Staff: Marist (Head Coach: Keegan Wilkinson)
Wilkinson helped Marist achieve their first ever NCAA Tournament victory in the First Four against Bryant 10-6 before losing to Syracuse 20-8 in the First Round. But with a 14-4 record, Wilkinson helped the Red Foxes rebound from a 6-9 record the previous season. With a fine supporting cast around him as well as fine players and an end of season ranking, Marist looks to capitalize on this year’s successes in 2016.
