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MCLA The Lax Mag Announces Nominations for 2009 Player and Coach of the Year

Just in time for the MCLA National Tournament in Denver, Colorado, LacrosseAllStars has the privilege of providing you an early peek at who’s up for ‘MCLA The Lax Mag Player of the Year’ and ‘MCLA The Lax Mag Coach of the Year’. So, better put your thinking bucket on and help us predict the winner.

This year, along with getting the PotT or CotY hardware, The Lax Mag will also be awarding the player and coach with funds for their teams’ general operating fund ($1000 for PotY, $500 for CotY). An award of this caliber is a big thing to take home for any player or coach. In fact, technically this is the one time when an MCLA player’s on field talents will single-handedly aid to a fundraising goal.

Point: this is cool stuff that it will most likely lead to over half the league getting posterized when the winning player’s photos hit the press. No, seriously, being Player of the Year and Coach of the Year are the best honors you can possibly get (at least in the MCLA…. because there is no Hall of Fame, yet).

This is a big deal.

From MCLA The Lax Mag:

San Francisco, CA – May 8, 2009

Today MCLA The Lax Mag, LLC announces nominees for the first “MCLA The Lax Mag Player of the Year” and “MCLA The Lax Mag Coach of the Year Award”. Nine players and seven coaches in each division have exhibited extraordinary sportsmanship during the 2009 season and are now under consideration for one of four awards. In addition to featuring the winners in a future issue, The Lax Mag will award $1,000 to the general operating fund of the Player of the Year’s team and $500 to Coach of the Year’s team in each division.

“Each nominee for this award has made a tremendous contribution to his team this season. We wanted to recognize these individual efforts that have led to team success. All the nominees should be proud of their efforts,” said Karl F. Lynch, MCLA The Lax Mag’s King of Content.

Agent Ogden, MCLA The Lax Mag’s King of Design remarks, “We put together a list of players and coaches that represent the talent in the MCLA and deserve recognition beyond the MCLA community. The Lax Mag decided to support the team with a financial contribution over a stick or simple bragging rights because we want the recipient’s efforts during games to directly impact his team off the field.”

The 2009 Player of the Year Nominations are:

Division 1

#13 Rob Ventura – Goalie – Boston College – (PCLL Champs, 11-2, 171 saves, .679 save %) The backbone of one of the stingiest defenses in the MCLA, Rob has the combination of leadership and catlike reflexes that make him one of the best goaltenders in the nation

#16 Trevor Yearly – Attack – Michigan – (CCLA Champs, 16-0, 72g, 2a) Just a sophomore, Trevor’s filthy handles on the crease are just part of his game. He rides and moves off both in ways that frustrate even the most alert defensemen.

#7 Ben Towner – Attack – Simon Fraser – (PNCLL Champs, 13-1, 55g, 15a) Proof that you don’t need a huge shot to score, Ben is clever and crafty just before he buries the rock.

#9 David Parker – Attack – California – (Semifinalist WCLL, 13-3, 47g, 18a) The senior attackman was a pivotal part of Cal’s resurgence in the always tough WCLL.

#10 Britton Cone – Long Stick Midfielder – Brigham Young – (RMLC Champs, 16-2, 131 GBs, 3g, 7a) If you appreciate hustle and hard work, you will love watching Britton cruise all over the field picking up loose GBs.

#4 Casey Mithun – Attack – Minnesota-Duluth – (UMLL Champs, 12-3, 35g, 50a) Adept equally at the dish or the finish, Casey continues to rack up points despite drawing the teams best defenseman.

#16 Curtis Manning – Long Stick Midfielder – Simon Fraser – (2009 PNCLL Champs, 13-1, 50 GBs, 5g, 2a) A truly versatile player with either a short or long pole, Curtis was recently selected in the National Lacrosse League draft.

#3 Cory Noonan – Attack – Florida State – (SELC Champs, 16-2, 36g, 25a) A prolific scorer, Corey completed his college career as the only four time SELC MVP.

#99 Connor Martin – Attack – Chapman – (2009 SLC Champs, 13-2, 42g, 27a) Let the shots rain. On a high powered offensive team, Connor still manages to put up numbers that impress.

LACROSSEALLSTARS PREDICTION: CASEY MITHUN FOR D1 POTY

Extra needless info that may only amuse us: Now you can friend Casey on Facebook… Mr. BS likes blondes too BTW.

Division 2

#18 Joe Costello – Midfielder – St. Thomas – (2009 UMLL Champs, 13-1, 23g, 23a) Throwback player. Joe faces off, plays tough defense and at times is unguardable on offense

#27 Mike Ansel – Attack – Cal State Fullerton – (2009 SLC Champs, 13-3, 63g, 40a) One of only a few to ever reach the 100 points mark in a season, Mike has taken a relatively unknown team to the MCLA National Championships.

#10 Calvin Davis – Attack – Western Oregon – (2009 PNCLL Champs, 12-3, 34g 36a) It’s always nice when you have a top flight attack man finishing off your transition plays as Calvin does for the fast break happy Wolves.

#16 Shawn Beer – Attack – Davenport – (Finalist 2009 CCLA, 13-3, 63g, 29a) With over 90 points, the stats leader on this potent offensive team is only a sophomore.

#3 Chris Perkins – Attack – Northern Colorado – (2009 RMLC Champs, 13-0, 25g, 49a) If you’re standing around on the crease, chances are that Chris will hit you with passes. His assists are as valuable to his team as his goals.

#7 Dennis Moore – Goalie – Elon – (Finalist 2009 SELC, 11-1, 110 saves, 76.9 save %) On a one loss team, he was the backstopper who shut teams down.

#4 Alex Urban – Midfielder – Dayton – (2009 CCLA Champs, 9-0, 57 GBs, 9g 2a) Undefeated teams are loaded with talent, Alex is Dayton’s leader and tenacious loose ball middie.

#8 David Laub – Goalie – Emory – (2009 SELC Champs, 9-1, 89 saves, .669 save %) If you are going to shoot on this netminder, you better find a good spot for it because over two thirds of the time it’s not going in.

#2 Sunn Kim – Attack – Whitman – (Finalist 2009 PNCLL, 8-3, 35g, 27a) He led his team to overtime in the PNCLL tournament with a separate shoulder and still put up numbers.

LACROSSEALLSTARS PREDICTION: SHAWN BEER FOR D2 POTY

Extra needless info that may only amuse us: If Shawn was a pro wrestler this would be his intro music for sure.

The 2009 Coach of the Year Nominations are:

Division 1

Dan Nourse – California – (Semifinalist WCLL, 13-3) Dan returned his team to the national spotlight with wins over tournament bound Sonoma State and Cal Poly.

Matt Holman – San Diego State – (Finalist SLC, 9-5) Matt raised the level of the entire program in a short time and produced quality wins over Sonoma State and Claremont.

Mark Pano – Boston College – (PCLL Champs, 11-2) Mark led the Eagles to a third PCLL championship with wins over Georgia, Florida, Illinois and Northeastern.

John Paul – Michigan – (CCLA Champs, 16-0) Unnerved by last year’s success, JP continued to schedule and beat the best in ’09. His Wolverines repeated their championship success against Chapman while also beatingColorado, BYU, Minn-Duluth, Colorado State, Illinois and Michigan State.

Marc Lea – Cal Poly – (WCLL Champs, 12-3) Mark returned to the sidelines of the Mustangs in 2009. His team beat Colorado State, Loyola Marymount, Sonoma State and Minn-Duluth.

Noah Fink – Texas – (LSA Champs, 16-3) After a two year hiatus, Noah has his Longhorns back in the National Tournament. This year his ‘Horns knocked off Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Boston University, San Diego State, Illinois and Santa Clara.

Bill Harkins – Florida State – (SELC Champs, 16-2) Coaching through injuries was no problem for Bill. His team racked up victories over Georgia, Colorado, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

LACROSSEALLSTARS PREDICTION: MARC LEA FOR D1 COTY

Extra needless info that may only amuse us: Nothin’ beats life in the S.L.O. lane… seriously, that place is heaven.

Division 2

Ryland Huyghue – Cal State Fullerton – (SLC Champs, 13-3) Ryland brought his high scoring team straight to the top of the SLC. His team posted victories over Southern Oregon and Western Washington.

Bob Clarkson – Davenport – (CCLA Finalist, 13-3) In his first and the team’s first season in the MCLA, Bob made it to the conference finals. During the year, his team recorded wins over SCAD, Westminster, Grand Valley State and St. John’s

Charlie Mark – Dayton – (CCLA Champs, 9-0) Looking to get back to the National Championship and finish the job, Charlie’s team went undefeated this season. The Flyers turned away Emory, Davenport and Grove City.

David Wakefield – Northern Colorado – (RMLC Champs, 13-0) A rookie coach took his team through the season without a loss. The Bears ripped through Utah Valley, Fort Lewis, Metro State and Westminster.

Peter Moosbrugger – St. Thomas – (UMLL Champs, 13-1) Peter’s tough team controlled the likes of Westminster, SCAD, Grand Valley State and St. John’s to make it back to the National Tournament.

Mark Sandvig – Grove City – (CCLA Quarterfinalist, 6-3) From obscurity to a National ranking, Mark put together a program on the rise. With wins over Wheaton and Pittsburgh, it is easy to see why Grove City made such a big splash in ’09.

Dave Reed – Emory – (SELC Champs, 9-1) Dave took a talented team and brought them to the National Tournament. Along the way, his team beat Elon, Charlotte, Westminster and Tennessee Wesleyan.

LACROSSEALLSTARS PREDICTION: DAVID WAKEFIELD FOR D2 COTY

Extra needless info that may only amuse us: Any relation to Tim Wakefield of the Red Sox? A lacrosse knuckleball shot would be a sight to see…

The MCLA The Lax Mag Player of the Year (Division I and II) and Coach of the Year (Division I and II) will be announced during the final day of the 2009 National Championship in Denver, Colorado on May 16th and online.

LacrosseAllStars sends out mad props to all the 2009 CotY and PotY award nominees. You guys make stud-finders go off. This is going to be a fun tournament – the best yet – and LAS can’t wait to have some good coverage coming your way. Stay tuned!

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About the MCLA: The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) is a national organization of non-varsity, college lacrosse programs. The MCLA currently operates with 200+ teams in two divisions, across ten conferences. https://mcla.us

About MCLA The Lax Mag, LLC: MCLA The Lax Mag, LLC is an independent company publishing MCLA The Lax Mag seven times a year. The magazine exclusively covers the schools, players and coaches of the MCLA and is available for purchase online at https://mclamag.com and at select lacrosse retailers.