Analysis: Tewaaraton Trophy Finalists
by Matt DaSilva | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
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Converted midfielder Ned Crotty has blossomed in his debut as an attackman. The Tewaaraton Trophy finalist leads the nation with 45 assists and commanded Duke to its third straight ACC title. © Joe Rogate |
Versatility connects the 10 college lacrosse players named
finalists Tuesday for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded annually to
the top male and female player in the nation.
On the men's side, Syracuse's Matt Abbott and Cornell's Max
Seibald fit the classic, "two-way middie" mold applied to athletic
midfielders who excel on both offense and defense, as well as on
man-up and faceoff units. Duke's Ned Crotty, the ACC Player of the
Year, made the seamless transition from midfield to attack.
Bryant's Zack Greer and Virginia's Danny Glading added new
dimensions to their games.
On the women's side, reigning Tewaaraton Trophy winner Hannah
Nielsen flip-flopped feeding and finishing, continuing her
dominance even without star teammate Hilary Bowen late in the
season. There's also a defender in the mix, North Carolina's Amber
Falcone, also a member of the 2009 U.S. World Cup team. You'd also
be hard pressed to call Notre Dame's Jillian Byers, Duke's Carolyn
Davis or Maryland's Caitlyn McFadden one-dimensional.
Here's a more in-depth look at the finalists' credentials, as well
as a stab at the winners below.
THE FINALISTS
Matt Abbott
School: Syracuse
Year: Senior
Position: Midfield
Stats: 12g, 6a, 63 GBs
Skinny: There's nothing sexy about ground balls.
Matt Abbott is everywhere. When he's not swarming in on faceoffs
off the wing, he's chasing down a GB in the corner and legging it
up the field. When opponents wither in the fourth quarter, Abbott's
motor endures. ‘Cuse can go rec-ball style and plant the ball
in his stick even on settled clears, following him like a freight
train as he carries the ball end-to-end for possession. He's
invaluable. That's why he's on this list.
Ned Crotty
School: Duke
Year: Senior
Position: Attack
Stats: 20g, 45a
Skinny: Ned Crotty moved to attack from midfield,
where he played his first three seasons, in part to help compensate
for the loss of superstars Matt Danowski and Zack Greer. He leads
Division I in assists. He saved his best for the biggest with 16
points in Duke's two big wins over Virginia. His shiftiness was
always evident when he dodged from the midfield, and give Blue
Devils head coach John Danowski a nod for recognizing the value
Crotty could bring to the depleted attack.
Danny Glading
School: Virginia
Year: Senior
Position: Attack
Stats: 24g, 27a
Skinny: Talk about balance. Danny Glading
recently became just the sixth player in ACC history with at least
100 career goals and 100 career assists. He poses tremendous
matchup problems for opponents - do you play him to feed, dodge or
finish? He can do all three. Glading, LM's Division I Preseason
Player of the Year, also helped take heat off of freshman Steele
Stanwick, allowing the lefty space for those lethal time-and-room
shots. The attention Glading commands also benefits midfielders
dodging, when defensemen are slow to slide away from him.
Zack Greer
School: Bryant
Year: Grad Student
Position: Attack
Stats: 42g, 26a
Skinny: Zack Greer silenced many critics this
year, especially those who doubted his ability to produce great
numbers without former Duke sidekick Matt Danowski. He also shed
that "Canadian finisher" label by developing stronger dodging and
feeding skills, which kept opponents honest. His standing as a
fifth-year grad student on a team transitioning from Division II to
Division I -- and inability to play in the NCAA tournament -- could
hinder his standing among the five men's finalists. Then again,
does Zack Greer need a trophy to justify that he's a great player?
Doubt it.
Max Seibald
School: Cornell
Year: Senior
Position: Midfield
Stats: 23g, 9a, 39 GBs, 19-of-38 faceoffs
Skinny: This is Max Seibald's second stint on the
finalists' podium, having gotten this far as a sophomore in 2007.
Remarkably consistent, he has registered at least one point in 47
straight games. He's also one of the most clutch players in the
country, consistently delivering in waning minutes or overtime.
Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni tried to dial Seibald down a notch
in the fall to keep him fresh for his final campaign, and Seibald
has delivered - spearheading the Red's top midfield unit even when
cohort John Glynn was hampered by injuries.
Jillian Byers
School: Notre Dame
Year: Senior
Position: Attack
Stats: 74g, 26a, 50 DCs
Skinny: Jillian Byers broke Notre Dame records
for career goals, points and draw controls this year and was named
the Big East Attack Player of the Year. She led the Irish to their
first-ever Big East championship, avenging regular season losses to
Syracuse and Georgetown along the way. Her 31 goals in Big East
regular season play set a conference record. But Byers also makes a
huge impact on draws - reeling in a team-leading 50 draw controls
this season. Pretty strong formula: get possessions; finish them.
Carolyn Davis
School: Duke
Year: Senior
Position: Attack
Stats: 59g, 15a, 31 DCs
Skinny: Carolyn Davis made a big splash in 2008
as the focal point of Duke's offense in the absence of then-injured
Caroline Cryer. With Cryer, a U.S. World Cup team member, healthy,
Davis could have stepped back as a role player. Instead, she
continued to surge. Her 193 career goals rank second all-time at
Duke.
Amber Falcone
School: North Carolina
Year: Senior
Position: Defense
Stats: 47 GBs, 31 DCs, 29 CTs
Skinny: Amber Falcone, also a U.S. World Cup team
member, is the nation's top defender. She can make some things
happen on offense in transition every now and again, but her bread
and butter is the lockdown. Falcone has a strong base for someone
who's just 5-foot-4. Remarkably, she committed just 24 fouls in 17
games, showing discipline to go with aggressive footwork and timely
checks.
Caitlyn McFadden
School: Maryland
Year: Junior
Position: Midfield
Stats: 48g, 29a, 36 DCs
Skinny: Caitlyn McFadden, yet another U.S. World
Cup team member, strutted her stuff when it mattered most -
rallying Maryland from an 8-4 deficit to a 12-11 win over Duke in
the ACC championship game with four second-half goals. She creates
timely opportunities on both ends of the field and has worked
extremely well with freshman wunderkind Karri Ellen Johnson.
Hannah Nielsen
School: Northwestern
Year: Senior
Position: Attack
Stats: 55g, 67a, 54 DCs
Skinny: Northwestern has been without star
attacker Hilary Bowen (torn ACL) since early April, and the
Wildcats have not missed a beat, thanks to defending Tewaaraton
Trophy winner Hannah Nielsen. The numbers are staggering. The
Australian set the NCAA career assists record and piled on top of
it. She now has 208 for her career. Nielsen is the odds-on favorite
to keep the Tewaaraton in Evanston, where it has resided since 2006
thanks to Kristen Kjellman (2006, 2007) and Nielsen.
AND THE WINNER IS?
The Tewaaraton Trophy committee has shown a propensity for
rewarding postseason play, like Syracuse's Mike Leveille for his
NCAA tournament heroics in 2008. So this race is still running.
Ned Crotty and Hannah Nielsen
have to be considered the frontrunners, however. Awards committees
love a good field general -- he or she whose commanding presence
and poise stands out above the fray. Crotty gets an extra nod for
adapting to a new position. Nielsen needs no extra nod.
