Poillon, Mule, Turner Earn MLL Accolades
from staff reports
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| After leading the Boston Cannons to an 8-4 record and the top seed in this week's MLL playoffs, Kip Turner was named the MLL Goalkeeper of the Year. |
With the MLL Championship Weekend just days away, individual honors keep rolling in for playoff participants. Last week, Chesapeake Bayhawks gunner Peet Poillon was named the MLL's Most Improved Player, Long Island Lizards skipper Jim Mule was named MLL Coach of the Year and Boston Cannons goalie Kip Turner was named MLL Goalkeeper of the Year.
Those awards were announced on the heels of Ned Crotty's Rookie of the Year nod.
Poillon, who was selected by the Boston Cannons with the 20th
overall pick in the 2009 MLL Collegiate Draft, spent most of his
time on the practice squad. After being picked up by the Bayhawks,
the rookie tallied seven goals in just two games including the
game-winner against his former team, the Cannons, with just 3.5
seconds remaining on the clock.
Poillon picked up right where he left off and recorded five goals
in the 2010 season opener. Poillon earned the nickname Pistol Peet
for his league leading 113 shots and ranks third in points scored
this season with 41.
As the season wore on, opposing defenses recognized Poillon as the
Bayhawks’ biggest scoring threat. Often finding himself
double teamed, Poillon remained pointless on only one occasion. The
shooter was extremely unselfish, leading the Bayhawks and the
midfield position with 15 assists.
While Poillon didn’t receive the most first-place votes, he
placed ahead of Matt Danowski and Matt Poskay with three
first-place and four second-place votes. Danowski received the most
first-place votes, but didn’t have the highest voting
percentage. Poskay finished third with two first-place and one
second-place vote.
*****
Total Votes
Peet Poillon 49%
Matt Danowski 38%
Matt Poskay 24%
All-Time Most Improved Players of the Year
All-Time Most Improved Players of the Year
2005 - Andrew “Buggs” Combs, Rochester
2006 - John Christmas, Boston
2007 - Spencer Ford, Los Angeles
2008 - Merrick Thomson, New Jersey
2009 - Chris Eck, Boston
2010 - Peet Poillon, Chesapeake
*****
Mule’s Lizards finished the 2010 season with a final
record of 7-5, clinching the No. 3 seed for the postseason.
Mule is in his fifth season as head coach of the Lizards and will
be leading the team to Championship Weekend for the third
time. In 2005 the Lizards made it all the way to the MLL
Championship game before falling 15-9 to the Bayhawks.
Last season Long Island lost to eventual MLL Champion Toronto in
the semifinals.
Mule joined the Lizards after a highly successful stint with
Barrage organization, two years as a player and two as an assistant
coach. He helped lead the Barrage to their first Major League
Lacrosse title in 2004.
The Long Island native was a second round draft pick (No. 12
overall) in the MLL Inaugural Draft and was the starting goalie for
the Barrage for much of the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Mule
played 20 games in his career and finished with a 15.63 goals
against average and 289 saves. Following his retirement as a
player in 2002 he joined the Barrage coaching staff and helped turn
the team around from a perennial basement team to MLL champions in
2004.
This season, Mule’s Lizards led the league in groundballs
with 361 as the traditionally stout defensive squad dominated when
the ball was on the ground. Long Island was the home to the
second leading scorer in the league as well this season with
attackman Matt Danowski, who finished with 47 points. The
Lizards also were third in the league in face off percentage at
.514.
Mule was also a member of the U.S. National team that defeated
Canada two games to none in the 1999 World Cup of Lacrosse.
The Lizards coach is a 1990 graduate of St. John’s University
and currently resides close to his team in nearby Dix Hills,
N.Y.
Mule received a total of 43 points and six first-place votes to take home the award. Boston Cannons head coach Bill Daye came in second and Denver Outlaws head coach Brian Reese came in third with 25 and 22 points respectively.
*****
All-Time MLL Coaches of the Year
2001 - John DeTomasso, Long Island Lizards
2002 - Scott Hiller, Boston Cannons
2003 - Ted Georgalas, New Jersey Pride
2004 - Sal LoCascio, Philadelphia Barrage
2005 - Scott Hiller, Boston Cannons
2006 - Tony Resch, Philadelphia Barrage
2007 - John Tucker, Los Angeles Riptide
2008 - Tony Resch, Philadelphia Barrage
2009 - Brian Reese, Denver Outlaws
2010 - Jim Mule, Long Island Lizards
*****
Turner, a 2007 graduate of the University of Virginia, appeared
in all 12 Cannons’ games this season, playing a total of
615:25 minutes. With a 7-2 record, he was a key component in
leading the Cannons to an overall regular season record of 8-4 and
the No. 1 overall seed in the MLL postseason.
Turner was named MLL Defensive Player of the Week three times for
his performances in week 6 against the Chicago Machine when he
recorded 21 saves on 31 shots on goal, week 9 against the
Chesapeake Bayhawks when he recorded 20 saves, and during week 10
against the Toronto Nationals when he recorded 16 saves. He was
also given Bud Light Game MVP honors for his performances against
Chicago in week 6 and against Denver in week 11 when he helped the
Cannons to a 16-5 win, in which they clinched the No. 1 spot at
Championship Weekend presented by Warrior.
Completing his fourth season in Boston, Turner has a career GAA of
12.85 and a .595 save percentage. Turner received a total of 32
points. Jesse Schwartzman of the Denver Outlaws received 25 points
and Drew Adams of the Long Island Lizards received 20 points.
*****
All-Time MLL Goalkeepers of the Year
2001 - Greg Cattrano, Baltimore Bayhawks
2002 - Greg Cattrano, Baltimore Bayhawks
2003 - Brian Dougherty, Long Island Lizards
2004 - Greg Cattrano, Baltimore Bayhawks
2005 - Chris Garrity, Boston Cannons
2006 - Brian Dougherty, Philadelphia Barrage
2007 - Brian Dougherty, Philadelphia Barrage
2008 - Mickey Jarboe, Los Angeles Riptide
2009 - Jesse Schwartzman, Denver Outlaws
2010 - Kip Turner, Boston Cannons
