ECAC Announces 2009 Preseason All-ECAC Team
CAPE COD, Mass. - In a vote by the league coaches, Penn State players won two of the three major preseason awards, and Georgetown and Rutgers each had three players named to the team. Penn State goalkeeper Drew Adams was named the preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman attack/midfielder Matthew Mackrides was tabbed as the preseason Rookie of the Year. Rutgers will be led by midfielder Justin Pennington, who was named the preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Defending ECAC Lacrosse League champion Loyola had two players named to the preseason team. Hobart, Massachusetts, and Penn State each added one student-athlete to the team.
Pennington, a first team All-ECAC player in 2008, led the Scarlet Knights with 32 points on 22 goals and 10 assists. Additionally, he ranked 11th in the country, averaging 5.15 groundballs per game. While handling a majority of RU's face-off duties, Pennington won 53.8 percent of his attempts, ranking him 24th in the nation. An honorable mention All-American in 2008, Pennington was recently ranked No. 7 on the InsideLacrosse.com 2009 list of the Top 10 midfielders.
Adams has earned ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors for each of his three seasons. The senior backstopped the Nittany Lions to key wins over No. 9 Bucknell and No. 4 Georgetown last season. He ranked first overall in the league in all games with a 7.67 goals against average and a .611 save percentage in 14 games.
Mackrides, younger brother of former Nittany Lion standout Andrew Mackrides, comes to Penn State as one of the nation's top recruits. Mackrides was a two-time high school All-American at Malvern Prep, a three-time All-State selection and the EPSLA Player of the Year in 2008. He was a member of the USA Under-19 World Championship team that claimed the world title this past summer. At 5-10, 180-pounds, Mackrides will look to be a factor on attack for Penn State.
2009 Preseason All-ECAC Team
A Craig Dowd, Georgetown Jr.
A Shane Koppens, Loyola #^ Sr.
A Kory Kelly, Rutgers So.
M Justin Pennington, Rutgers ^ Jr.
M Matt Smalley, Hobart ^ Sr.
M Andrew Brancaccio, Georgetown ^ Jr.
D Barney Ehrmann, Georgetown #^ Jr.
D Chris O'Dougherty, Rutgers #^ Sr.
D Diogo Godoi, Massachusetts ^ Jr.
Sp. P.T. Ricci, Loyola (LSM) ^ Sr.
G Drew Adams, Penn State *#^ Sr.
^ 2008 All-ECAC
# 2007 All-ECAC
* 2006 All-ECAC
Offensive Player of the Year
Justin Pennington, Rutgers Jr.
Defensive Player of the Year
Drew Adams, Penn State Sr.
Rookie of the Year
Matthew Mackrides, Penn State Fr.
ABOUT THE ECAC
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic conference with
321 Divisions I, II, and III colleges and universities from Maine
to North Carolina. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit
service organization, sponsors more than 100 championships in 37
men's and women's sports. The ECAC assigns more than 4,400
officials in 12 sports. The conference, located on Cape Cod,
administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing
leagues, including the ECAC Lacrosse League. Established in
1999, the ECAC Lacrosse League is a Division I men's lacrosse
league. Charter members Georgetown, Massachusetts, Penn State, and
Rutgers added Hobart College, Loyola College (Md.) and St. John's
University in 2005. Fairfield University joined the league in 2006.
In 2010, the league will add Ohio State, Denver, Air Force,
Quinnipiac and Bellarmine.
For the latest news, information, and statistics about the ECAC Lacrosse League, go to the league's website: www.ecaclacrosse.com.
