Coyne’s All-Americans: MCLA Division II
by Jac Coyne |
Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive
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| It's a pretty good bet that St. Thomas' Joe Costello made my All-America team. But who were the other 11 players from the MCLA's Division II to get the nod? |
Coyne's MD3 All-Americans
The MCLA Division II expanded its national tournament field to 16
this year after toiling with just 12 participants for the last four
years, and the junior circuit knocked it out of the park with a
bracket just as exciting as the “big boys” in MCLA
D-I.
More was definitely better.
When it comes to naming All-Americans, this was definitely not the
case. The MCLA Division II All-America selection committee tabbed
79 different players from a division consisting of 103 teams.
It’s way too much.
The MCLA Division II, like all divisions, needs to be handing out
the All-American label to the small group of players who are truly
at the top of the list at their positions. Otherwise, the award is
devalued.
I’ve decided to do that.
Here’s my MCLA D-II All-America team, consisting of just 12
players – I’ve included a FOGO and LSM in a nod to the
specialized nature of the positions.
It’s not easy making the tough decisions, but I was willing
to trim away the fat, even though it left out a lot of really good
players.
Coyne’s MCLA Division II All-America Team
Attack
Joe Costello,
Jr., St.
Thomas
The move to attack didn’t bother Costello, who was a
middie in 2009 and Lacrosse Magazine’s Preseason
Player of the Year heading into '10. He still led the Tommies in
points (58) while maintaining an ability to make his teammates
better (26 assists). Costello still wasn’t afraid to get his
hands dirty, chipping in at the face-off X and even riding on
occasion. He was the best attackman in MCLA D-II a year after
owning the same label as a middie. Pretty impressive stuff. Maybe
Joey will be moonlighting as an LSM next year, just for the added
degree of difficulty.
Shawn Beer, Jr.,
Davenport
No matter the opponent, no matter the defender guarding him,
Beer always delivers. Whether it’s regular season games
against conference rival Dayton, when he scored seven goals, or in
the national semifinals against St. Thomas, when he netted four
more, Beer consistently gave the Panthers a massive scoring threat.
He ended the season with 62 goals and 20 assists.
Chad Frost, Soph., Utah Valley
During the MCLA championships, Utah Valley coach Kevin
Perkins said that if he needed a goal at the end of the game, the
ball would be in Chad Frost’s stick. That’s impressive
stuff, especially for a sophomore. Ironically, Frost creates most
of his damage when he puts the ball in a
teammate's pocket. Frost had 49 assists, which led Division
II, to go along with his 44 markers. Frost also represents the
youthful power of the Wolverines, who will be returning a big chunk
of talent in ’11.
Midfield
Ian Bohince,
Jr., Western
Oregon
Bohince may have been banged up this year, but he was still
the most dangerous – and versatile – players in the
country. He scored a team-leading 39 goals out of the midfield
along with 23 dimes. There are undoubtedly middies with better
numbers, but when you add in Bohince’s acumen at the face-off
X, he moves away from the pack. Throw in the fact that he’s
been playing at a very high level, and guiding his team to the
tournament, for the past three seasons, and Bohince is a
no-brainer.
Andrew Larson,
Sr., St.
Thomas
Multi-functional middies score big points in my rating
system and Larson, like Bohince, is both a skilled scorer as well
as a solid face-off man. Larson scored 30 goals and dished out 18
assists during the season, and was, as we saw in the national
championship game against Utah Valley, dominant at times at the
face-off X. The Tommies two other outstanding middies –
Cooper Mazon and Tony Sadder – could legitimately be in this
place, but Larson’s combo skills lifts him over the
field.
Max Bielby, Jr.,
Grand Valley State
The GVSU attack is the unit that grabs most of the attention
for the Lakers, but it’s Bielby who provides the Lakers with
an added gun out of the midfield. He finished with 20 goals and 13
assists this season, although one could argue that it was
Bielby’s leadership that was most beneficial to Grand Valley
State’s run to the national quarterfinals.
Face-off Specialist
Anthony Hunt,
Jr., Tennessee Wesleyan
Whether it was against Division II or Division I
competition, Hunt controlled the face-off X all season for
Tennessee Wesleyan, running at nearly a 75 percent clip for much of
the season.
Long Stick Midfielder
Tadas Anuzis,
Fr., Davenport
Just a rookie, Anuzis signed on with the Panthers and was
instantly handed the responsibility of locking down the
opposition’s fastest player, whether they were
midfielders or attackmen. Blessed with serious wheels, Anuzis gives
Davenport a rock at pole for a long time.
Defense
Derek Michalski,
Sr., St.
Thomas
He gooned it up in his final collegiate game –
“I think I just doubled my penalty for the entire
season,” laughed Michalski after the championship game in
which he was saddled with a pair of personals – but he has
been sublime for the Tommies the last two years. While the St.
Thomas offense and midfield gets a lot of the pub, and rightfully
so, Michalski’s lockdown efforts on the backline have been
one of the many quiet reasons why UST has been so successful.
Brian Kubovec,
Sr., St.
John’s
In most divisions it’s the take-away guy or speedy
pole that can spark transition who is given all the pub, but
sometimes solid is more than enough. That’s the case with
Kubovec. He’s not running all over the field spiking
attackmen; you just have to look at the box score at the end to see
what he’s accomplished. There are plenty of players in the
MCLA with Kubovec’s skill, but very few with his
discipline.
Adam Extine, Sr.,
Western Washington
Even though he has the frame of an offensive middie, Extine
has the brains and occasional mean streak that are hallmarks of the
top-drawer close defenders. The Vikings have squared off against
the best teams in Division II – Westminster, Utah Valley,
Western Oregon (2), Davenport, St. Thomas, St. John’s –
and Extine has proven up to the task in each outing.
Goalie
Dallas
McLellan, Jr.,
Westminster
We found out how good McLellan was in 2008 when he
backstopped Westminster to the national title and, even though the
Griffins didn’t make it make to the pinnacle this spring,
McLellan again showed why he’s the best in the division. With
the junior as the anchor, the Griffins converted a No. 10 seed into
an appearance in the semifinals. Westminster is instantly a
contender in 2011 with McLellan in between the pipes.
Player of the Year – Derek Michalski, Sr.,
St. Thomas
As I was speaking to a Division I coach during the early
part of the D-II championship game between St. Thomas and Utah
Valley, Michalski made a subtle defensive play that resulted in a
turnover and a transition opportunity for his team. The coach said,
almost offhandedly, “St. Thomas wouldn’t have won
either one with Michalski,” referring to both the 2009
championship and the one that appeared imminent. He was correct,
and that’s pretty much all you need to lock up player of the
year honors.
Rookie of the Year – Chris Cole,
Cal State Fullerton
Fullerton is still trying to break into the top level of
Division II, but with young players like Cole things are looking
good for the Titans. The frosh finished with 54 goals and 40
assists out of the midfield, leading CSF to a 12-5 record and a
berth in the national tournament. Were the numbers inflated? Cole
recorded six goals and three assists in the two SLC tourney games
to lift the Titans to the title. He also had a pair of goals
against both Utah Valley and D-I Southern Cal during the regular
season. That’s performing at crunch-time.
Coach of the Year – Mark Sandvig,
Grove City
Raise your hand if you had Grove City in the quarterfinals
of the tourney in your preseason predictions. Didn’t think
so. I had an inkling the Wolverines would be decent, but earning a
bid out of the stacked CCLA? No, I don’t think many people
did. But Sandvig did, and he guided his team through an early
season gauntlet, which included wins over SCAD and Elon, which GCC
managed to parlay into a trip to Denver – an excellent
performance for a coach in his second year.
