University of Massachusets Athletics
Cannella, Connolly, Schneider Take Home Top ECAC Lacrosse Honors
May 05, 2009 | Men's Lacrosse
May 5, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - ECAC Lacrosse Champion UMass collected three of the top honors in the conference on Tuesday as Greg Cannella was named the Coach of the Year, senior attacker Jim Connolly was named the Offensive Player of the Year and senior Doc Schneider was named the Goalie of the Year. Connolly and Schneider were joined on the ECAC First-Team by senior attacker Tim Balise and junior defenseman Diogo Godoi. Junior midfielder Bobby Hayes was named to the second team.
Now in his 15th season as head coach of his alma mater, Cannella guided UMass to its fourth ECAC Lacrosse League title and its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance. He was also named ECAC Coach of the Year in 2004, 2002, and 2001, and he has captured the award more times than any coach in league history. He was named the USILA National Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading UMass to the NCAA Championship game.
Connolly is the third UMass player to earn ECAC Offensive Player of the Year joining Chris Fiore in 2003 and Sean Morris in 2005 and 2006. Connolly led UMass and the ECAC in goals with 35 (2.5 per game). Connolly was also named to the ECAC First-Team in 2007. He ranks third in the ECAC in points (40) and points per game (2.9) and has three game-winning goals including the winners against Hobart (in overtime) and Penn State (in the final minute). He has scored goals in all 14 games this season and has a 23-game point-scoring streak dating to 2007. Connolly registered multiple points in 13 of 14 games this season with five hat tricks in 2009.
Schneider earns UMass' first Goalie of the Year honor in history. Schneider is one of 21 final nominees for the Tewaaraton Award as the sport's top college player. The senior captain leads the ECAC in goals against average (7.30) and save percentage (65.8), those marks rank fifth and second, respectively in the NCAA. Schneider was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week six times in 2009. Heading into the NCAA postseason, he was named Inside Lacrosse' No. 1 Clutch Goalie. He has allowed six or fewer goals in six games and made 15 or more saves in six games with a career-high 21 at Hobart on April 11. In each of the last two years, he was named the ECAC Second-Team backstop.
Balise earns an honor from the ECAC for the second year in a row, as he was a second-team selection in 2008. Balise is second to teammate Connolly in the ECAC and UMass in goals per game with 2.14 (30 goals). Balise, who was a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, was a 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. He has been an ECAC Offensive Player of the Week twice including the final week of the regular-season after he scored five goals, capped by the game-winning overtime goal to win the ECAC Championship for UMass. Balise is seventh in the ECAC in points per game with 2.5. He has points in 20 of his last 21 points including 13 of 14 games this season. He has multiple points and goals in nine games this season with five hat tricks.
Godoi earns a first-team selection after being a second-team honoree as a sophomore in 2007. He has been a key to UMass' defense which has allowed the ninth-fewest goals in the nation (7.77). Godoi was consistently guarded the opponents' top attacker and has had great success in holding the likes of fellow ECAC firs-team pick Shane Koppens of Loyola pointless on March 21. Godoi leads UMass in caused turnovers with 20 to go along with 27 groundballs. Godoi was named to Inside Lacrosse's Team of the Week twice this season. He posted a career-best five groundballs on two occasions this season.
Hayes has been UMass' top midfielder this season. He is the team's third-leading scorer (25 points) and top assistman (14 assists). Hayes ranks seventh in the ECAC in assists per game (1.0). Hayes has nine multi-point games in 2009. He tied his career-high with two goals and two assists for four points in a big late-season win at Fairfield on April 21. This is Hayes' first All-ECAC honor.
Here is the official release from the ECAC
UMASS TAKES THREE OF FIVE MAJOR ECAC LACROSSE LEAGUE AWARDS
CAPE COD, Mass. -- In a vote by the league coaches, three UMass Minutemen were honored with postseason ECAC awards. Senior Jim Connolly has been named the 2009 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, while classmate Doc Schneider has been tabbed the ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year. The performance of those two student-athletes throughout the season helped lead UMass to the ECAC Lacrosse League title and helped Coach Greg Cannella earn ECAC Coach of the Year honors. In addition to the UMass' honorees, co-champion Loyola took home the other two major awards.
Senior P.T. Ricci was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman Mike Sawyer was picked as the Rookie of the Year.
Connolly led the ECAC in goals per game at 2.50. Entering the NCAA Tournament against Princeton, Connolly currently has tallied 35 goals in 14 games. Connolly also leads the Minutemen with three game-winning goals, including the deciding goal in overtime against Hobart, and the gamewinner with 55.2 seconds left in regulation against Penn State. Against Yale in February, he netted a career-high seven goals.
Ricci, the 2009 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, earned first team All-ECAC accolades in 2008. He finished second in the conference with an average of 6.36 groundballs per game. Ricci scooped up 89 groundballs in 14 games.
Schneider earned ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors. The senior backstopped the Minutemen to key wins over Loyola and Penn State and the ECAC title. He ranked first overall in the league in all games with a 7.31 goals against average in 14 games and a .658 save percentage.
Sawyer ranked fourth on the Greyhounds in scoring with nine goals and four assists in 12 games. He was named the ECAC Rookie of the Week on March 16 and April 6.
Cannella guided UMass to its fourth ECAC Lacrosse League title and its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance. He was also named ECAC Coach of the Year in 2004, 2002, and 2001, and he has captured the award more times than any coach in league history. Loyola's Charley Toomey (2006 and 2008) and Georgetown's Dave Urick (2000 and 2007) are the only other league coaches to have won the award more than one time. The Minutemen led the league in scoring defense, allowing just 7.77 goals per game. In seven ECAC games, the Minutemen surrendered a league-best 7.39 goals per game.
In addition to winning three of the major awards, UMass had a total of five All-ECAC players and placed four players on the All-ECAC first team to lead all league schools. Loyola led the ECAC with a total of six selections, two first team players and four second team selections. Georgetown had three selections, followed by Hobart, Penn State and Rutgers with two selections apiece. Fairfield and St. John's each had one player earn All-ECAC recognition.
Offensive Player of the Year
Jim Connolly, Massachusetts Sr.
Defensive Player of the Year
P.T. Ricci, Loyola Sr.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Doc Schneider, Massachusetts Sr.
Rookie of the Year
Mike Sawyer, Loyola Fr.
Coach of the Year
Greg Cannella, Massachusetts
2009 All-ECAC First Team
A Tim Balise, Massachusetts * Sr.
A Jim Connolly, Massachusetts # Sr.
A Shane Koppens, Loyola *# Sr.
M Chris Hogan, Penn State So.
M Scott Kocis, Georgetown Jr.
M Justin Pennington, Rutgers * Jr.
D Diogo Godoi, Massachusetts * Jr.
D Chris O'Dougherty, Rutgers *# Sr.
D P.T. Ricci, Loyola * Sr.
Sp. Dom DeNapoli, St. John's (LSM/F/O) Sr.
G Doc Schneider, Massachusetts # Sr.
2009 All-ECAC Second Team
A Jeff Colburn, Hobart Sr.
A Craig Dowd, Georgetown Jr.
A Cooper MacDonnell, Loyola * Jr.
M Brent Adams, Fairfield Fr.
M Tyler Cassell, Hobart Jr.
M Bobby Hayes, Massachusetts Jr.
M Mike Sawyer, Loyola Fr.
D Steve Bauer, Georgetown Sr.
D Barney Ehrmann, Georgetown *# Jr.
D Steve Layne, Loyola Jr.
Sp. John Schiavone, Loyola (F/O) So.
G Drew Adams, Penn State *#^ Sr.
* 2008 All-ECAC, # 2007 All-ECAC, ^ 2006 All-ECAC
