Berkman Repeats as CAC Player of Year
from press releases
YORK, Pa. - Salisbury University senior midfielder
Kylor Berkman became the fourth player in Capital Athletic
Conference men's lacrosse history to win back-to-back Player of the
Year awards on Thursday.
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| Kylor Berkman |
SU freshman attackman Matt Cannone is the fourth Sea Gull to win
the CAC Rookie of the Year honor as the conference office released
the 2009 All-CAC teams. The No. 5 Sea Gulls (14-3), the two-time
defending NCAA Division III national champions, placed five on the
all-conference teams with two players on the first team and three
players on the second team.
Berkman, the reigning Division III National Player of the Year and
two-time National Midfielder of the Year, joins an elite company of
former Sea Gulls to win the award in consecutive years joining
Jason Coffman (1995,'96), Chris Turner ('99, 2000) and Chase Caruso
('06,'07). A SU lacrosse player has been named the CAC Player of
the Year every year since the Gulls joined the CAC in 1995, a
streak of 15 years.
Berkman leads the team in several offensive categories with 74
points and 39 assists. The Salisbury, Md., native has scored 35
goals, scooped up 43 ground balls and caused 12 turnovers.
Berkman ranks 12th in the country for assists per game (2.29) and
is 20th in points per game (4.35).
Cannone leads the team with 49 goals and nine man-up goals. The
Bayport, N.Y., native has dished out 13 assists, scooped up 26
ground balls, scored two game-winning goals and has a shot
percentage of .485. He ranks 29th in the nation in goals per game
(2.88) on the second ranked scoring offense (16.29 goals per game)
team in the country. Cannone joins Jarod Leiberman ('98), Andy
Arnold ('01) and Jeff Bigas ('02) as the only Sea Gulls to win
conference rookie of the year honors.
Berkman and Cannone were the only Sea Gulls to be named first team
All-Conference. This is the third All-CAC first team selection for
Berkman.
Senior defenseman Kevin Maynard and junior midfielders Ryan Finch
and Will Poletis were all named to the second team.
This is the second straight year Maynard has been selected to the
all-conference second team. The senior co-captain has started in
all 17 games and is the anchor on the Sea Gull defense that ranks
sixth in the nation in scoring defense (6.47 goals allowed per
game). The Salisbury, Md., native is third on the team with 21
caused turnovers and fifth with 38 ground balls.
Finch receives his first CAC honor as a short-stick specialist. The
Finksburg, Md., native has played and started in all 17 games.
Finch has won 226-of-337 face-offs (67 percent) which ranks 11th in
Division III. Finch has scooped up a team-high 149 ground balls and
ranks sixth in the nation for ground balls per game (8.76). He has
scored one goal and dished out five assists. Finch began his career
at Messiah College where he was named the 2007 Middle Atlantic
Conference Rookie of the Year and selected to the All-MAC first
team.
Poletis makes his first selection as an All-CAC honoree as the
defensive midfielder has played in all 17 games for the Sea Gulls.
The Baltimore, Md., native has scooped up 35 ground balls, caused
12 turnovers, scored five goals and dished out three assists.
The five All-CAC selections is the lowest mark for the Sea Gulls,
the 15-time defending CAC champions, since they joined the
conference in 1995. SU has 130 All-CAC honorees to its credit in 15
seasons.
St. Mary's (Md.) College coach Chris Hasbrouck, an SU assistant for
11 seasons, was named CAC Coach of the Year in his first season as
the Seahawks went 7-7, 5-2 in the CAC and the second-seed in the
conference tournament. Stevenson University placed eight players on
the All-CAC teams (four on the first team, four on the second
team), which includes former Sea Gull All-American Brett Yoder who
was named to the second team at midfield.
The Sea Gulls will next face Eastern Shore rival Washington (Md.)
College on Saturday, April 25, on the road in Chestertown, Md., at
1 p.m. At stake is the Charles B. Clark Cup, given to the winner of
the regular-season matchup between the two Division III schools. SU
has won every Clark Cup since its inception in 2004.
