ROCHESTER, NY – The Empire 8 announced its Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference team with junior David Gal of Ithaca College being named Goalkeeper of the Year, and senior attack Marc DeCirce of Nazareth College and junior midfielder Jordan MacIntosh sharing Player of the Year honors.
Gal led the conference with a .599 save percentage and ranked third in saves per game with 12.12. He posted a 9.10 goals against average and recoded double-digit save totals in eight of his last nine games, including both games in the conference tournament. Gal led all goalies with a .628 save percentage in conference regular season play and ranked second with 108 saves.
DeCirce, a repeat first-team all-conference selection, ranked second in regular season conference play with 32 points on 18 goals and 14 assists. Overall, he totaled 63 points with 38 goals and 25 assists.
MacIntosh, who helped lead RIT to the Empire 8 title, enters NCAA play with 33 goals and 16 assists for 49 points. He has scored two game-winning goals and picked up 36 ground balls. He scored 11 goals in regular season conference play in just four games, and added five goals and three assists in the conference tournament.
Four other players from RIT were named to the all-conference first team. Junior long-stick midfielder MJ Kiekebelt and senior defenseman Dan MacRae were repeat selections. Kiekebelt recorded 34 ground balls in eight regular season conference games, while MacRae anchored the Tigers’ defense and was named Most Valuable Player of the Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship with five caused turnovers and five ground balls in the title game.
Senior attack Sean Gillies of the Tigers received first-team honors after scoring a conference-high 24 goals in regular season Empire 8 play and enters the NCAA tournament with 46 goals. Senior short-stick specialist Jerry Ragonese was named to the first team after recording 70 ground balls and a .641 face-off percentage (116-for-181) in conference play.
First-year RIT Head Coach Jake Coon was chosen as Coach of the Year for leading the second-seeded Tigers to the Empire 8 title and a trip to the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
Junior midfielder Scott Castle of Nazareth was named to the all-conference first team for the second consecutive year after recording 16 points and 12 ground balls in eight conference games. Junior attack Joe Jacobs-Ferderbar garnered first-team recognition after tallying 16 points and 13 assists in regular season conference play.
Senior defenseman Kevin Miller of Hartwick College, a second-team honoree last year, earned first-team status this season. He picked up a conference-best 34 ground balls in Empire 8 play. Junior Dave Aitchison of the Hawks earned first-team honors, finishing the season with 63 points with 29 goals and 34 assists. He led all players with 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists), averaging 5.12 points per game in conference play.
Sophomore midfielder Kyle Denhoff of St. John Fisher College, the top seed in the Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Championship, was named to the all-conference first team. He totaled 19 goals in regular season conference play.
Sophomore defenseman Mike Krajacic of Utica College received first-team recognition. He finished with 28 ground balls in eight conference games.
Harry Hughes of Hartwick was named Rookie of the Year after netting 13 goals in eight conference games.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2010 Men’s Lacrosse Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2010 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse Awards
Co-Player of the Year: Mark DeCirce, Nazareth College
Co-Player of the Year: Jordan MacIntosh, Rochester Institute of Technology
Goalkeeper of the Year: David Gal, Ithaca College
Rookie of the Year: Harry Hughes, Hartwick College
Coach of the Year: Jake Coon, Rochester Institute of Technology
2010 Empire 8 Men's Lacrose All-Conference Release