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Wednesday, June 28, 2006
IN LACROSSE, FIVE HONORED AS ECAC ALL-NEW ENGLAND
Calkins tabbed as women’s Division III New England Goalie-of-the-Year
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Erin Calkins (Jr./Stony Brook, NY) has been honored as the ECAC Division III New England women’s lacrosse Goalie-of-the-Year as one of five Eastern athletes named to the regional all-star team.
A two-time all-Little East Conference first-team selection in goal, Calkins was named to the All-ECAC first team and was joined by two teammates: second-team selections Kara Mastroianni (Sr./Newington) and Kara Bradley (Jr./North Haven). Mastroianni is a midfielder, Bradley a defender.
Dave Carpenter (Jr./Redding) and Jon Snedeker (So./Southington) – key players when the Eastern men’s team qualified for its fifth NCAA tournament in six years – were recognized as first-team picks to the ECAC men’s all-star team. Carpenter was one of four attacks and Snedeker one of three defensemen on the first team.
A total of 24 players were named in both the men’s and women’s balloting – four attacks and midfielders, three defenders and a goalie on each of the first and second teams. For the women, senior midfielder Elizabeth Renehan of Middlebury was named Player-of-the-Year; for the men, Bowdoin College senior attack Conor Fitzgerald was named Player-of-the-Year and Keene State College sophomore Matt Johnson was named Goalie-of-the-Year.
Representatives from all ECAC institutions located in New England were eligible to be involved in the balloting process.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Eastern’s three female recipients join five previous All-ECAC selections from Eastern, with Calkins the first first-team honoree. Among goalies chosen from Eastern, Calkins joins Erika Blozie, who was a second-team pick as a sophomore in 2002 and as a senior in 2004.
Under interim head coach Lauren Davern, the women’s lacrosse team finished 9-8 and was second in the final regular-season conference standings (5-1). As the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, the Warriors earned a first-round bye and defeated Keene State College in the semifinals by a score of 11-4 before losing to No. 1 seed Plymouth in the final by a score of 9-5.
Heading into the conference championship match, Eastern had won six straight and nine of 11 after losing its first five matches – four of them to nationally-ranked teams and the first two by one goal each.
Erin Calkins
Calkins played every minute of every match for the second time in her two-year career. She led every Little East Conference goalie in goals-against average (7.72) and save percentage (.581), her GAA more than two goals lower than her nearest competitor en route to repeating first-team all-conference honors. Season-high save totals included 19 against Keene State April 22 which clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, and 18 against nationally-ranked Wesleyan University March 14. She allowed only five goals in each of the those matches.
This year, Calkins lowered her GAA by nearly two goals over her first season. She was named conference Defensive Player-of-the-Week April 4 after allowing only five goals in two wins that week. Her season GAA and save percentage are the second-best marks in a season in program history and her GAA mark was just five hundredths of a percentage point behind Erika Blozie’s season mark of 7.67, set in 2002. In two years, has amassed a program-best .564 save percentage.
In five years of conference women’s lacrosse play, Calkins became Eastern’s first goalie to be named FIRST TEAM all-conference more than once. In 2005, she was also conference’s Rookie-of-the-Year.
Kara Bradley
Earlier this year, Bradley repeated as a second-team choice to the 2006 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association (IWLCA) Division III all-region team, earning a spot this year on the Berkshire Region team, which was comprised of 31 players from Connecticut, western Massachusetts and eastern New York.
In addition to earning All-ECAC honors and repeating all-region honors this year, Bradley was a first-team all-Little East Conference repeater on defense who was also a pre-season Inside Lacrosse first-team All-America pick. She started every match for the third straight year, leading all players in ground balls (69), draw controls (40) and caused turnovers (37) for the second straight year. She exceeded her two-year career total this year with 34 goals, 13 assists and 47 points, leading the team in assists and finishing second in goals and points.
Bradley ranked in the conference Top Ten in goals, assists and points per game. During the year, she was named the conference weekly Defensive Player-of-the-Week April 10 after collecting 14 ground balls with seven draws and five caused turnovers in three matches. Her total of caused turnovers is second in a season in program history to her record-setting mark of 43 as a sophomore.
This year, Bradley led the Warriors to a 9-8 record, a second-place finish in the final conference standings (5-1) and a berth in the conference playoff championship game. The team won nine of 11 after losing its first five (four to nationally-ranked opponents) before dropping a 9-5 decision to top seed Plymouth State in the conference title match.
In three years, Bradley’s career total of 178 ground balls ranks fifth all-time and her career total of 86 draw controls is seventh.
As a sophomore in 2005, Bradley was named the conference’s Defensive Player-of-the-Year and a second-team Inside Lacrosse All-America.
Kara Mastroianni
Earlier this year, Mastroianni was named to the all-conference team for the third time, repeating first-team honors from a year ago after gaining second-team accolades as a freshman in 2003. This season, she served as team captain and started every match in which she appeared for the fourth straight year. She finished second on the team in draw controls (career-high 28), third in goals (32), caused turnovers (21) and ground balls (44), tied for third in points (43) and assists (11) and fourth in draw controls (21). The team’s only senior, Mastroianni finished her career ranked sixth all-time in games (67), starts (67) and assists (27), seventh in ground balls (161) and draw controls (85), tied for seventh in goals (105) and ninth in points (132).
MEN’S LACROSSE
Since 2001, the Eastern men’s program now has 18 All-ECAC selections. Carpenter and Snedeker become the seventh and eighth first-teamers. In 2002, a record five Warriors were tabbed to the all-star squad -- four as first-teamers.
Under second-year head coach Nicholas Smith, the Warriors (12-5 overall/6-0 little east conference) were unbeaten this year in conference regular-season and playoff competition, winning their fifth conference regular season and playoff titles in six years. The final win total was their highest since 2002.
They qualified for post-season play for the eighth straight year – fifth in the NCAA. Against No. 13 nationally-ranked Stevens Tech, held the Ducks to their lowest goal total (tie) of the season in a 7-4 first-round loss. After a 1-3 start, the Eastern won eight straight and 11 of 12 prior to NCAA play.
Carpenter and Snedeker were the only first-team selections from a public institution.
Dave Carpenter
At 5-foot-9 and 175 points, Carpenter was the offensive catalyst throughout the season,
becoming the program’s sixth Player-of-the-Year selection in the six-year history of conference men’s lacrosse and earning all-conference recognition for the first time. His offensive accomplishment netted him Most Outstanding Player of the conference playoffs.
During the season, Carpenter set conference and program season records for assists (52) and points (84) and also recorded a personal season-best of 32 goals. In two conference playoff games, Carpenter contributed to 18 of the team’s 28 goals by scoring nine and assisting on nine others. He scored his tournament goals on only 14 shots. In the 14-12 championship win over 2005 champion Keene State, Carpenter tied his own Eastern record for the second time this year by registering 11 points on five goals and six assists.
Early in the year, Carpenter became the 13th player in program history to reach the 100-career point plateau, and in the conference tournament, he became the third player in program history to reach 100 career assists. He is currently ranked second-all-time with 105 assists – 21 behind the leader – seventh in total points (171) and 11th in goals (66).
Jon Snedeker
The 6-foot-6 inch, 225 pounder started every match in which he appeared for the second straight year, starting all 17 this season. This year, he was second on the team (by one) with 69 ground balls after finishing second on the team to the team’s faceoff man in that category as a freshman. He had seven ground balls to help the team to its first win March 19 against Oneonta, 5-4, and collected a career-high eight in a 16-6 victory March 19
against Montclair State. Snedeker helped Eastern limit opponents to a
.634 clearing percentage (as compared to Eastern’s percentage of (.735). This year, he also repeated all-conference honors, earning second-team accolades as a freshman in 2005.
