HobbsDailyReport.com
Hanlon
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The best men’s lacrosse player in the South Atlantic Conference plays for Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Attacker Mike Hanlon, a senior from Haymarket, Va., was named the league’s Player of the Year on Monday when conference officials released postseason honors.
Additionally, attacker Eric Dickinson of Charlotte won Freshman of the Year, and Bears head coach Greg Paradine picked up Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
Hanlon, LRU’s all-time leading scorer (189 points), has 31 goals, 31 assists and 62 total points this season. Meanwhile, Dickinson has already set the school single-season record for goals (47) and total points (64). Both statistics currently lead the conference.
Paradine
Other Bears joining Hanlon and on first-team All-SAC are: junior midfielder Ben Corrigan (Alpharetta, Ga.), junior defender Jacob O’Connor (Penfield, N.Y.), junior specialist Shane Gottberg (Mooresville) and junior long stick middle Collin Lett (Greensboro).
Corrigan has 22 goals, 16 assists and 38 points while O’Connor anchors a defense that allows just fewer than 10 goals per game (9.91).
Gottberg leads LRU in ground balls (109) and has won 201 of 287 faceoffs this year while Lett has three goals, three assists, six points and 48 ground balls.
Junior goalkeeper Ryan Crompton (Frederick, Md.) earned honorable mention all-league accolades.
The Bears (12-1) are ranked No. 5 in the latest NCAA Division II poll after winning 22 of their last 23 matches.
LRU won its consecutive league regular season championship outright last Saturday and they are the top seed for the conference tournament.
The Bears face the winner of a fourth-seeded Queens (8-6) versus fifth-seeded Catawba (8-7) quarterfinal match in the semifinals on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Queens.
ALL-SAC
FIRST TEAM
A – Mike Hanlon, Lenoir-Rhyne
A – Austin Murphy, Wingate
A – Eric Dickinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Ben Corrigan, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Nate Wade, Tusculum
MF – Daniel Godwin, Wingate
D – Drew Thompson, Wingate
D – Jacob O’Connor, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Anthony Crisera, Wingate
LP – Collin Lett, Lenoir-Rhyne
Spec. – Shane Gottberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Will Sheridan, Wingate
SECOND TEAM
A – Ben Boyd, Tusculum
A – Kyle Arcuri, Lincoln Memorial
A – Justin Swick, Queens
MF – Alex Llerandi, Wingate
MF – Adam Golia, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Billy Kopsky, Lincoln Memorial
D – Ross Parsons, Tusculum
D – Chris Gazzio, Wingate
D – Ryan Benck, Lincoln Memorial
LP – Griffin Stechmiller, Queens
Spec. – Jonathan Paige, Queens
GK – Kevin Haggerty, Tusculum
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Hanlon, Lenoir-Rhyne
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Eric Dickinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
COACH OF THE YEAR
Greg Paradine, Lenoir-Rhyne
- Reported by LRU Sports Information