Kehoe Leads MD3 Award Winners
from press releases
GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Headlined by senior long-stick midfielder Tommy
Kehoe's (Coraopolis, Pa./Sewickley Academy) selection as the
Iroquois National award as the Division III Player of the Year, the
fifth-ranked Gettysburg College men's lacrosse team had six players
earn all-America honors as named by the United States
Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), it was announced
Wednesday.
Kehoe becomes the first Bullet to be named Division III Player of
the Year in Gettysburg's storied men's lacrosse history. He was
also named the Long-Pole Midfielder of the Year and landed a spot
on the all-America first team.
Named to the all-America second team were senior midfielder Tom
O'Donnell (Montgomeryville, Pa./La Salle College) and senior
defenseman Yanni Peary (South Portland, Maine/Cape Elizabeth).
Earning third-team recognition were senior attackman Zach Pucci
(Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) and senior goalie Zach Furshman (Miami,
Fla./Kent School [Conn.]) while junior defenseman Tim Kurpis
(Yorktown, N.Y./Yorktown) garnered honorable mention status.
Kehoe earned his second straight all-America award after copping
second-team recognition last year. He is the second Bullet in as
many years and the fifth overall to earn a national player of the
year citation, joining Andrew McGann '08 (Defenseman, 2008), Pat
Vaughan '07 (Goalie, 2006, 2007), Mike Plantolt '01 (Defenseman,
2001), Tim McGinnis '02 (Goalie, 2002), and Andrew Barter '99
(Goalie, 1999).
A dynamic athlete and shut-down midfielder, Kehoe has helped lead
the Bullets to the NCAA Division III championship game by
spearheading a Gettysburg defense that has limited its opponents to
7.37 goals per game. Regularly charged with covering the opponent's
top midfielder, Kehoe has racked up 59 ground balls - second among
the Bullets - and is third on the team with 20 caused turnovers.
Also a spark to Gettysburg's transition game, he has contributed
three goals for the season. He was also an All-Centennial
Conference First Team selection.
O'Donnell and Peary are also repeat all-America picks after
appearing on the honorable mention squad in 2008. O'Donnell, the
Centennial Conference Player of the Year, has notched 18 goals and
16 assists this season and has scored a point in all but two games.
An outstanding two-way midfielder, he has scored a goal in four of
the team's five playoff games this year. A First Team
All-Centennial Conference selection, Peary has helped anchor the
Bullets defense while accumulating 35 ground balls and leading the
team with 29 caused turnovers. In one of his top performances of
the season, he held Stevenson's leading scorer to zero points in
Gettysburg's 12-7 victory over the top-ranked Mustangs in the NCAA
semifinals.
Pucci, a first-time all-American, has enjoyed a fine season as the
team's leading goal scorer. Named to the All-Centennial Conference
First Team, he has nearly doubled his previous career high for
goals scored, racking up 34 tallies this season. He has also dished
out 16 assists for a team-leading 50 points. In one of his top
performances of the year, he posted two goals and three assists in
Gettysburg's 12-5 win at No. 8 Haverford in the Centennial
Conference championship game. Pucci also reached the 100-point
plateau early in the season and currently has 133 points on 69
goals and 64 assists.
Furshman became an all-American for the second year in a row
following his honorable-mention selection last year. The goalie of
record in every game this season, he is coming off one of the top
performances in his career after making a season-high 15 saves -
one shy of his career-high - in the Bullets NCAA semifinal win over
Stevenson. Also a Second Team All-Centennial Conference recipient,
he has posted a 7.05 goals-against average and .554 save percentage
for the season but has been even better during the team's current
14-game winning streak, when he has held down a 5.98 GAA and a .598
save percentage.
Another integral part of the Bullets defense, Kurpis captured his
first all-America award. A First Team All-Centennial Conference
member, he has accumulated 23 caused turnovers - second among the
Bullets - and 43 ground balls.
Gettysburg (16-3) takes on No. 4 SUNY Cortland on Sunday in the
NCAA Division III Championship game, slated for noon at Gillette
Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The game will be televised on CBS
College Sports Network.
2009 Division
III Award Winners
Iroquois National Award - Outstanding Player
Tom Kehoe (Gettysburg)
Lt. Col. J.I. Turnball Award - Outstanding Attackman
Steve Kazmier (Stevenson)
Fran McCall Award - Outstanding Midfielder
Kylor Berkman (Salisbury)
William C. Stiles Memorial Award - Outstanding Defensive
Player
Terrence Malangone (Wesleyan)
Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award - Outstanding
Goalie
Gordon Cohen (Washington College)
Long Pole Midfielder of the Year Award
Tom Kehoe (Gettysburg)
Speciality Player Award
P.J. Santora (St. Lawrence)
