by ALBANY, N.Y. – Lyle Thompson (Onondaga Nation) earned America East Player of the Year and Connor Fields was chosen as America East Rookie of the Year as the 2015 conference men’s lacrosse yearly awards were announced on Wednesday.
Thompson earns America East Player of the Year for the third-consecutive season and is the first ever person to achieve that feat. UAlbany has had the America East Player of the Year the last four years, with Joe Resetarits earning the honor in 2012. In program history, UAlbany has had six America East Player of the Year honors.
Fields is UAlbany’s first America East Rookie of the Year since 2011, when Miles Thompson was selected for the honor. Fields is the program’s fifth America East Rookie of the Year recipient.
In total, 10 UAlbany players earned America East all-conference honors, including five, Fields, Thompson,Mike Russell, Eric Cantor and Blaze Riorden on the first team and five, Seth Oakes, Tim Cox, John Maloney, Stone Sims and Matthew Bertrams, on the second team. 10 is the highest amount of all-conference players for an America East team this year.
In addition, three UAlbany players, Fields, Sims and Kyle McClancy were placed on the all-rookie team and two others, Maloney and James Burdette, were selected to the all-academic team.
The honors were announced at the pre-tournament awards reception at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany.
Thompson, the America East Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team member, currently is the Division I leader in points and assists per game, totaling 92 points off 38 goals and 54 assists, adding 37 ground balls. The Inside Lacrosse and Lacrosse Magazine Midseason All-America is a two-time America East Player of the Week and has scored multiple points in every game this season.
“I want to thank my team, I wouldn’t have done it without them, and my coaching staff, especially coach [Scott] Marr, he has taught me so much more than lacrosse,” said Thompson at the reception.
Fields earns the league Rookie of the Year, all-conference first team status and all-rookie honors, standing 6thin DI in goals per game and 14th in points per game. As of April 29th, he leads all DI freshmen with 65 points off 49 goals and 16 assists, adding 48 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. The six-time America East Rookie of the Week has scored goals and multiple points in all 15 UAlbany games this year.
“I want to thank my teammates, it is really a family here in Albany, and without them, this award wouldn’t be happening,” said Fields at the awards ceremony.
Riorden has earned America East all-conference honors all three years with UAlbany, including a first team placement the past two seasons. The three-time league player of the week has a 13-2 record in 15 starts and leads the America East in goals against average at 9.92, saves per game at 10.80 and save percentage at 55.7%.
Russell earned his first-ever all-conference selection as part of the close defense. Routinely tasked with taking on the opponent’s top offensive threat, the redshirt senior has 14 ground balls and nine caused turnovers on the season. His top statistical game came against Binghamton with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Cantor also earns his first-ever all-conference award as the top LSM in the league. The senior leads the team in caused turnovers with 13, adding 32 ground balls as part of the defense and the faceoff unit. He has had a couple of games with three caused turnovers, including against Syracuse.
Oakes earned all-conference honors in his first year with UAlbany. The redshirt sophomore is fourth in DI in goals per game, totaling 46 on the year, adding seven assists for 53 points. He has scored in all 13 games that he has played including 12 multi-goal contests, highlighted by a six-goal night against Binghamton.
Cox is an all-conference player for the first time in his career. The senior team captain, who serves on offense and defense, stands with 13 goals, six assists, 14 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. He has played in all 15 games, scoring in 12 of them, including a four-point performance against UMBC.
Maloney is also on an all-conference team for the first time in his UAlbany career. As a midfielder and member of the faceoff unit, the junior has tallied 13 goals, 17 assists, 53 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. He has scored in 13 of 15 games this year, including four-point performances against Drexel, UMass Lowell and Siena. Maloney stands as a member of the All-Academic Team for the second-straight year, majoring in human biology and earning a 3.42 cumulative GPA.
Sims is one of only two freshmen, the other being Fields, to be named to an all-conference team, also getting all-rookie status. Sims has served UAlbany as a close defense player and faceoff specialist, finishing the regular season with 23 ground balls, nine caused turnovers and a 37% faceoff win rate. He won seven faceoffs and scooped five ground balls in the win at Bryant.
Bertrams becomes an all-conference player for the first time in his career as an SSDM. The senior team captain has 10 goals, three assists and 26 ground balls on the season. He earned a two-goal, one-assist performance for three points in the win at Vermont.
McClancy was placed on the all-rookie team as part of UAlbany’s midfield lines. Playing in 12 games, the freshman has 12 goals, five assists and 15 ground balls on the year. He has scored in each of last 10 games played, including two goals each against UMBC and Siena.
Burdette earns a place on the All-Academic Team holding a 3.83 cumulative GPA in business administration. He holds the highest GPA of all members of the 2015 America East All-Academic Team. On the field, the sophomore has started at 15 games at close defense, standing with 13 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
In addition, Ryan Curtis of Vermont was named the 2015 America East Coach of the Year.
UAlbany will take the field on Thursday at Bob Ford Field, taking on Hartford for the America East Tournament semifinals at 7 p.m.
