Walker named TCCC Offensive Player of the Year; four more garner TCCC All-Conference Honors
NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University men's lacrosse sophomore and 2010 The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Offensive Player of the Year Chris Walker (Marshfield, Mass.) headlines a list of five Seahawks who garnered all-conference honors.
Walker (right) was also named to the All-TCCC First Team (attack), where he was joined by graduate student Nick Clark (Rye, N.H.) and senior Nate Burns (Sandwich, Mass.), both of whom were selected on defense. Graduate student Cody LaFerriere (Brookside, N.J.) was named to the second team as a specialist while junior Brendan Rooney (West Newton, Mass.) received Honorable Mention accolades.
Walker potted 34 of his 46 goals in 2010 against TCCC foes, which tied him for first in that category, and finished second in points with 47. His 99 shots led the league, and he placed in a tie for second with two game-winning goals. Walker's season-high of nine points (6-3-9) against Wentworth on March 20 tied for the highest TCCC single-game point total this season. Walker also collected 22 of his 45 ground balls in conference games. Overall, he finished with 69 points (46-23-69), five man-up goals, three game-winning goals, and one man-down goal.
Burns led the Seahawks with 55 ground balls in conference play and proved to be as solid a presence on defense for head coach Patrick Cooney as he was as a member of the men's ice hockey team this past winter. He collected a season-high 10 ground balls at Roger Williams on April 7, and picked up his only point of the season - an assist - in a win over Anna Maria on April 10.
After missing all but one game in 2009 due to injury, Clark returned to his pre-injury form in 2010 and teamed up with Burns to provide one of the steadiest defense crops in the conference. Clark finished second to Burns with 47 ground balls in league play but led the Seahawks with 72 on the season. Offensively, he chipped in with five points (3-2-5) and notched a goal and an assist against both the Leopards and Curry on April 16. He gathered a season-high nine ground balls against the Hawks.
LaFerriere won 51.1 percent (45 of 88) of face-offs against TCCC foes this season and also chipped in with five points (2-3-5). He won a season-high 13 face-offs at Endicott on April 22 and also registered 25 ground balls. Overall, LaFerriere recorded 10 points (5-5-10), including a season-high four (3-1-4) in the season-opener against UMass Dartmouth.
Rooney placed second in the conference with 18 assists, and his 33 points (15-18-33) placed him eighth. He racked up a season-high six points (3-3-6) in a win over WIT, and finished the regular season with 50 points (27-23-50).
Eric Hagerty of Endicott received Defensive Player of the Year honors, Tyler Thomas of the University of New England grabbed the Rookie of the Year award, Matt Vozzolo of New England College is the conference's Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, Warren Shumate of Gordon was tabbed Coach of the Year, and Anna Maria received the Team Sportsmanship Award.
The No. 5 seed Seahawks (9-7) travel to Bristol on Saturday for a TCCC Quarterfinal contest with No. 4 seed Roger Williams (9-6) at noon.