Schwarz Named GNAC Lacrosse Rookie of the Year
WINTHROP, Mass.—Freshman goaltender Paul Schwarz (Staten Island, N.Y.) of the Anna Maria College men's lacrosse team has been named the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.
It marks the first time in history that an Anna Maria men's lacrosse player has earned a GNAC major award.
Schwarz was voted the Rookie of the Year by the league's nine head coaches after leading the GNAC in saves (297) and ranking second in save percentage (.582). His 297 saves were 76 more than the next highest total across the conference, as he maintained his stellar save rate all season despite seeing a bevy of shots from opponents, leading the nation in saves per game (19.80) for the entire season.
The league's top rookie made an immediate impact to the Anna Maria lineup in 2016 as he set an Anna Maria record for saves in a game in his collegiate debut, tallying 34 saves against Curry. He had five other games where he recorded 20 or more saves, including a 27-save performance in conference play against Lasell.
Joining Schwarz as major award winners in 2016 is a Chris Curtis and Pat Heffernan from Emmanuel, who were tabbed as the league's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, and JC Guido of Johnson & Wales, who was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Norwich's head coach Neal Anderson was named Coach of the Year.
The AMCAT squad was also honored with the GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award, while sophomore Timothy Austin (Babylon, N.Y.) was named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
2016 GNAC All-Conference
First Team
A – Tony Cibelli, Emmanuel (Mass.)
A – Max Stone, Johnson & Wales (RI)
A – Ryan McCarthy, Norwich
M – Chris Curtis, Emmanuel (Mass.)
M – Chad Coehlo, Mount Ida
M – Kyle Graham, Rivier
LSM – Nick Delmonaco, Emmanuel (Mass.)
SSM – Jack Dwyer, Norwich
D – Chris Baglivi, Emmanuel (Mass.)
D – Pat Heffernan, Emmanuel (Mass.)
D – Zach Adler, Norwich
GK – JC Guido, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Second Team
A – Lucas Stralka, Mount Ida
A – Colby Larsen, Rivier
A – Liam Ryan, Rivier
M – Ryan Madden, Lasell
M – Matt Flaherty, Norwich
M – Jake O'Brien, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
LSM – Pete Soonthornprapuet, Norwich
SSM – Sean Reilly, Emmanuel (Mass.)
D – Julian Bandereck, Johnson & Wales (RI)
D – Mike Pino, Lasell
D – Ken Whittier, Rivier
GK – Austin Rosenberg, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Third Team
A – Greg Buck, Albertus Magnus
A – Pat Egan, Lasell
A – Casey Sullivan, Lasell
M – Ben Farrell, Johnson & Wales (RI)
M – Austin Tomasetti, Lasell
M – Jon Berry, Mount Ida
LSM – Jake Guerin, Johnson & Wales (RI)
SSM – Connor Johnson, Lasell
D – Brendan Gallagher, Emmanuel (Mass.)
D – Steve Koziski, Mount Ida
D – James Connors, Norwich
GK – Ian Kriger, Norwich
Offensive Player of the Year– Chris Curtis, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Defensive Player of the Year – Pat Heffernan, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Goalkeeper of the Year – JC Guido, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Rookie of the Year – Paul Schwarz, Anna Maria
Coach of the Year – Neal Anderson, Norwich
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Anna Maria College
All-Sportsmanship Team
Justin Bennet, Albertus Magnus
Tim Austin, Anna Maria
Tony Marcella, Emmanuel
Ryan Fabiano, Johnson & Wales
Chris Thomas-Ikier, Lasell
Aaron Schuck, Mount Ida
Ryan Dart, Norwich
Joe Kelland, Rivier
Eddie Donnell Jr., Saint Joseph's Maine