Morrisville's Longo Named NEAC Top Coach
from press release
MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic
Conference (NEAC) has named Morrisville State College men's
lacrosse coach, Jason Longo (LeMoyne 2008 graduate), the 2010 Coach
of the Year.
Longo, in his first season as head coach of the program, along with
assistant coach Blake Gale (Lafayette resident, LeMoyne 2009
graduate), led the Mustangs to an 11-3 overall record this season,
a program best, went undefeated in conference play at 6-0, and were
awarded the regular season conference championship trophy.
A year ago, the Mustangs finished the season with a 4-12 overall
record, and with a few fundamental changes, they have turned the
program into one that has put up a fight and posted seven upset
victories this season over teams that have dominated Morrisville
State in the past, including an 8-7 double overtime victory over
SUNY Brockport in early April.
Not only is Morrisville State College serving as the host for the
2010 NEAC Men's Lacrosse Championships this weekend, they are
entering the tournament as the top seed, playing fourth seed SUNY
Cobleskill in the second semi-final Friday night at 7 p.m. on Drake
Field on the Morrisville State campus.
Both Longo and Gale are utilizing their post-season playing
experience with the Dolphins heading into the weekend's action,
focusing the Mustangs on remaining poised and adjusting game
strategy to force opponents to "step up" if they want to knock
Morrisville State out of the tournament.
"We are very grateful and proud of our guys for all of the hard
work they have put forth throughout the season. At the beginning of
the year, we didn't expect to have immediate success, but because
of their work ethic and dedication, they very much deserve to be
where they are today," said Longo of the team.
A native of Cazenovia, Longo played two years of lacrosse for
Onondaga Community College at attack earning NJCAA All-American
honors in each season of play, while earning Player of the Year
honors as a sophomore. Completing his career at LeMoyne, he
garnered all-conference honors, was instrumental to the Dolphins
claiming the Northeast-10 Conference Championship and NCAA Division
II Championship titles, earning NE-10 Championship Tournament most
valuable player honors.
Second seed Medaille College faces off against third seed Keuka
College in the first semi-final, scheduled at 4 p.m. The winners
advance to the championship game scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday in
Morrisville.
