Three Greyhounds Named Preseason All-Americans By Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook

courtesy of Loyola Athletics

BALTIMORE - Inside Lacrosse named three Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse players to its Preseason All-America teams in the 2010 edition of the Face-Off Yearbook.
 
Junior faceoff specialist John Schiavone (Silver Spring, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) was named to the All-America Third Team, while senior defender Steve Layne (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Prep) and senior attacker Cooper MacDonnell (Darien, Conn./Darien) earned All-America Honorable Mention.
 
In his first year as a starting faceoff specialist, Schiavone became one of the nation's premier players at the ‘X' in 2009. He won 58.9-percent of his faceoffs (149-of-253), garnering All-ECAC Second Team laurels in the process.
 
Schiavone's faceoff percentage was fourth in NCAA Division I and topped the league in the category. He was also second on the Greyhounds, and 19th in the NCAA, with 5.5 ground balls per game, 76 total for the season. His stats, as well as those of Layne and MacDonnell, came against the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation.
 
Layne continued his strong play on close defense as one of the best lock-down defenders in the country. As a junior in 2009, he earned All-ECAC Second Team honors after helping lead the Greyhounds' defense to an 8.67 goals against average. Layne caused 24 turnovers and picked up 48 groundballs last year.
 
MacDonnell received All-ECAC Second Team mention in 2009 after leading the Greyhounds in goals for the second consecutive season. The attacker scored 30 goals and had eight assists for 38 points. MacDonnell scored at least one point in all 14 of Loyola's games, tallying one or more goals in 13 contests. He had nine multi-goal outings and scored five twice, both against ranked teams (No. 2 Syracuse and No. 18 Georgetown).
 
Loyola, which was ranked 15th nationally in the Face-Off Yearbook Coaches' Poll and 16th in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media Poll, opens its 2010 schedule on Saturday, February 20, when it travels to Annapolis, Md., to face the U.S. Naval Academy.