Sam Llinares is the 2015 CAA Men's Lacrosse Player of the Year
Hofstra's Llinares Headlines All-CAA Men's Lacrosse Team
Kelly McCarthy
RICHMOND, Va. (April 29, 2015) – Hofstra University junior
Sam Llinares was named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s six head coaches to highlight the 2015 postseason awards. Towson University goalkeeper
Tyler White was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year. Fairfield University’s
Will Fox was the unanimous CAA Rookie of the Year while the Stags’ head coach
Andy Copelan was named the CAA Coach of the Year.
Llinares earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team after registering a league-best 33 goals and 24 assists this season. Llinares, who was also the CAA Preseason Player of the Year, finished the regular season ranked 20th in the country in points per game (4.07). The attackman ended the 2015 campaign with 57 points, becoming just the second Pride player to record consecutive 50-point seasons.
White, also an All-CAA First Team selection, had an outstanding season in between the pipes, helping the Tigers to a 9-5 record and national rankings throughout the season. The redshirt junior enters the CAA Championship ranked second nationally in goals against average (7.12) and sixth nationally in save percentage (.587). He’s made 138 saves this season for an average of 9.86 a contest. He was also named the USILA Defensive Player of the Week on March 31 after holding UMass to three goals and tying a career-best with 14 saves.
Fox, Fairfield’s faceoff specialist, had an impressive collegiate debut. The five-time CAA Rookie of the Week went 106-for-183 (.576) at the ‘X’ which ranked him second in the CAA and earned him All-CAA Second Team and All-Rookie honors. Fox, who appeared in all 14 games for the Stags, also tallied 48 ground balls (3.43/g).
Copelan guided Fairfield to the 4-1 league record and the 2015 CAA Regular Season Championship in its inaugural lacrosse season in the conference. Fairfield, which will host the 2015 CAA Championship, enters the tournament ranked 19th in the country. Eight Stags earned All-CAA First and Second Team honors in addition to three All-Rookie Team selections under Copelan’s direction this season.
Llinares headlined an impressive group of All-CAA First Team selections on attack which included Towson sophomore
Joe Seider (27g), and Fairfield senior
Tristan Sperry (20g, 23a). In the midfield, Drexel senior
Ryan Belka (31g, 18a), Fairfield junior
TJ Neubauer (29g), and Delaware senior
Brian Kormondy (22g, 14a) were recognized. Hofstra’s had two specialists earn First Team honors in longstick middie
Ryan Rielly (27gb, 18ct), a senior, and sophomore
Kris Clarke, who was CAA’s top faceoff man (60.9%). On the defensive end, Fairfield senior
Max Buchanan (27gb, 8ct), Towson senior
JoJo Ostrander (29gb, 9ct) and UMass junior
Kyle Karaska (23gb, 15ct) earned the league’s top honors.
The
2015 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship gets underway on Thursday, April 30 at Rafferty Stadium in Fairfield, Conn. Second-seeded Drexel takes on third-seeded Towson at 4:00 p.m. followed by top-seeded Fairfield against fourth-seeded UMass at 7:00 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on
CAA.tv.
2015 All-CAA Men’s Lacrosse Teams
|
First Team |
|
Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
|
Sam Llinares |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
A |
Hauppauge, N.Y. |
|
Joe Seider |
Towson |
So. |
A |
Sparks, Md. |
|
Tristan Sperry |
Fairfield |
Sr. |
A |
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. |
|
Ryan Belka |
Drexel |
Sr. |
M |
Crofton, Md. |
|
Brian Kormondy |
Delaware |
Sr. |
M |
Highland Ranch, Colo. |
|
TJ Neubauer |
Fairfield |
Jr. |
M |
Glen Arm, Md. |
|
Max Buchanan |
Fairfield |
Sr. |
D |
Wyckoff, N.J. |
|
Kyle Karaska |
UMass |
Jr. |
D |
Groton, Mass. |
|
JoJo Ostrander |
Towson |
Sr. |
D |
Massapequa, N.Y. |
|
Ryan Rielly |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
LSM |
East Northport, N.Y. |
|
Kris Clarke |
Hofstra |
So. |
FO |
Bellmore, N.Y. |
|
Tyler White |
Towson |
R-Jr. |
GK |
Elmira Heights, N.Y. |
|
Second Team |
|
Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
|
Nick Mariano |
UMass |
So. |
A |
Yorktown, N.Y. |
|
Colin McLinden |
Fairfield |
Sr. |
A |
Madison, N.J. |
|
Cole Shafer |
Drexel |
So. |
A |
Coquitlam, British Columbia |
|
Ryan Izzo |
UMass |
R-Sr. |
M |
Walpole, Mass. |
|
Mike Malave |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
M |
Wading River, N.Y. |
|
Charlie Schnider |
Fairfield |
Jr. |
M |
Bethesda, Md. |
|
Brandon Worrall |
Delaware |
Sr. |
D |
Plainsboro, N.J. |
|
Finn Sullivan |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
D |
West Roxbury, Mass. |
|
Miles Thomas |
Drexel |
Jr. |
D |
Devon, Pa. |
|
Conor Barr |
Fairfield |
Jr. |
LSM |
Wilton, Conn. |
|
Tyler Mayes |
Towson |
So. |
LSM |
Bel Air, Md. |
|
Will Fox |
Fairfield |
Fr. |
FO |
Mullica Hill, N.J. |
|
Tyler Behring |
Fairfield |
So. |
GK |
Little Silver, N.J. |
|
All-Rookie Team |
|
Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
|
Dylan Alderman |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
M |
Downington, Pa. |
|
Will Fox |
Fairfield |
Fr. |
FO |
Mullica Hill, N.J. |
|
Tanner Griffin |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
D |
Loveland, Ohio |
|
Jesse Gwozdz |
Fairfield |
Fr. |
M |
Taunton, Mass. |
|
Michael Kay |
Drexel |
Fr. |
M |
San Diego, Calif. |
|
Connor Lalley |
Delaware |
Fr. |
D |
Basking Ridge, N.J. |
|
Peter Lindley |
UMass |
Fr. |
A |
Darien, Conn. |
|
Michael Meurer |
Drexel |
Fr. |
D |
Towson, Md. |
|
Joe Rodrigues |
Fairfield |
Fr. |
A |
Saratoga, Calif. |
|
Kyle Strang |
Drexel |
Fr. |
M |
Olney, Md. |
2015 CAA Player of the Year: Sam Llinares, Hofstra
2015 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler White, Towson
2015 CAA Rookie of the Year: Will Fox, Fairfield
2015 CAA Coach of the Year: Andy Copelan, Fairfield
|
All-Academic Team |
|
Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
|
Drew Federico |
Fairfield |
Sr. |
A/M |
West Islip, N.Y. |
|
Mitch de Snoo |
Drexel |
Sr. |
M |
Oshawa, Ontario |
|
Tyler Konen |
Towson |
So. |
A |
Bridgewater, N.J. |
|
Mike Malave |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
M |
Wading River, N.Y. |
|
Andrew Sokol |
UMass |
Sr. |
M |
Newburyport, Mass. |
|
Brandon Worrall |
Delaware |
Sr. |
D |
Plainsboro, N.J. |