FIVE ORANGE MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYERS EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. – Five Syracuse University men’s lacrosse players received all-league honors Wednesday, May 2 when the BIG EAST Conference announced its award winners and all-conference teams at the pre-championship banquet in the Philadelphia Marriott West hotel.

Junior defenseman Brian Megill (Arthur, N.J.) and senior midfielder Kevin Drew (Katonah, N.Y.) were selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team, while senior attackman Tommy Palasek (Rocky Point, N.Y.), senior midfielder Bobby Eilers (Simsbury, Conn.) and junior midfielder JoJo Marasco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) were named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

Voting for the all-conference teams and individual awards was conducted by the league’s seven head coaches following the conclusion of the regular season. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

One of the 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player, Megill was a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team after receiving second-team recognition in 2011. He leads the Orange in ground balls (50) this season and has caused a single-season school record 32 turnovers. His average of 2.29 caused turnovers per game ranks eighth nationally. In addition, Megill has one goal, two assists and a 54.1 faceoff winning percentage (20-37).

Like Megill, Drew was also voted to the first team after earning All-BIG EAST Second Team honors a year ago. As the Orange’s top short-stick defensive midfielder, Drew has 27 ground balls and has contributed eight points (5g, 3a) this season. He has a pair of two-goal games on the year, scoring twice against St. John’s and Villanova.

Palasek leads Syracuse in points (41), assists (22), and ranks second on the club in goals (19). He finished the regular season second in the BIG EAST in assists per game (1.57) and tied for second in points per game (2.93). Against Rutgers on April 14, Palasek had one of the best games of his career, recording three goals and three assists to lead the Orange to a 19-6 victory against the Scarlet Knights.

Eilers leads all Orange midfielders with 15 goals this season. He also has six assists for a total of 21 points. Eilers recorded four consecutive two-goal games from April 10 to April 21.

For Marasco, it was his second straight All-BIG EAST Second Team nod. The team’s third leading scorer with 29 points (12g, 17a), Marasco is eighth in the conference in assists per game (1.21). He has at least one point in 22 straight games, and 30 of SU’s last 31 outings, since the start of the 2011 season.

League regular-season champion Notre Dame took home three of the conference’s five major awards. Kevin Randall was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. John Kemp was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, and Kevin Corrigan was voted BIG EAST Coach of the Year.

The other two major awards went to Villanova’s Kevin Cunningham (BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year) and Rutgers’ Will Mangan (BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year).

Syracuse is the No. 3 seed in this week’s BIG EAST Championship, which gets underway tomorrow at Villanova Stadium. The Orange will face second-seeded Villanova at 7 p.m. in the second semifinal. The first semifinal features top-seeded Notre Dame against No. 4 seed St. John’s at 4:30 p.m. The semifinal winners square off at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 5 to decide the conference championship.

2012 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Awards

BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year

Kevin Cunningham, Villanova

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year

Kevin Randall, Notre Dame

BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year

Will Mangan, Rutgers

BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year

John Kemp, Notre Dame

BIG EAST Coach of the Year

Kevin Corrigan, Notre Dame

All-BIG EAST First Team

John Kemp, Notre Dame, Jr., G
Jim Marlatt, Notre Dame, So., M
*Kevin Randall, Notre Dame, Sr., D
*Sean Rogers, Notre Dame, Sr., A
Will Mangan, Rutgers, Sr., M
Dillon Ayers, St. John’s, Jr., LSM
Kieran McArdle, St. John’s, So., A
Kevin Drew, Syracuse, Sr., SSDM
*Brian Megill, Syracuse, Jr., D
Matt Bell, Villanova, Sr., M
*Chris Creighton, Villanova, Sr., D
*Kevin Cunningham, Villanova, Sr., A
Jack Rice, Villanova, Jr., A

* - unanimous selection

All-BIG EAST Second Team

Zack Angel, Georgetown, Sr., M
Brian Casey, Georgetown, Jr., A
Gerry Reilly, Georgetown, Sr., SSDM
Matt Miller, Notre Dame, Jr., D
Max Pfeifer, Notre Dame, Sr., M
Terence Leach, St. John’s, Sr. M
Jeff Lowman, St. John’s, Jr., G
Bobby Eilers, Syracuse, Sr., M
JoJo Marasco, Syracuse, Jr., M
Tommy Palasek, Syracuse, Sr., A
Thomas Croonquist, Villanova, So., F/O
John LoCascio, Villanova, So., LSM
Michael Vigilante, Villanova, Sr., M

Press release provided by SU Athletics