Men's Lacrosse to host 2012 ECAC DIII New England Tournament as top seed
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CENTERVILLE, Mass. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Men's Lacrosse Tournament will be held at Endicott Stadium this weekend as the Gulls will play host to the semifinal and championship games as the \#1 seed in the bracket.
Also earning bids into the ECAC Tournament were \#2 Castleton State, \#3 University of New England, \#4 Curry, and \#5 Husson.
Endicott will be making their sixth appearance in the ECAC Tournament in program history. The Gulls have made three ECAC Championship Games with two victories coming in back-to-back years (2008, 2009). In 2012, the Blue and Green went 8-8 in the regular season and entered the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) as the \#3 seed with a 5-2 league record. The Gulls cruised to a 16-4 over Nichols in the quarterfinals before falling to Roger Williams 12-6 in the semifinals. The loss marked the first time since the 2003 season that Endicott had not made it to the CCC title game. Endicott had nine players placed onto the All-CCC Team including First Team midfielders Jon Thanas and Brendan Eppley as well as First Team defender Breck Merritt.
After winning the 2010 and 2011 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championships, Castleton State fell just short of hoisting their third straight NAC trophy after an 18-7 loss to New England College. The Spartans have competed in nine straight NAC Championship games dating back to the 2004 season with two wins. Castleton State is 11-8 overall including a 7-1 record in league opponents. Their lineup boasts the NAC Defensive Player of the Year (Adam Farmer), the NAC Rookie of the Year (Zach Davidson) as well as the league's Coach of the Year (Bo McDougall).
The University of New England was ousted in the first round of the CCC Tournament after a 9-8 overtime loss to Gordon at home. UNE's nine wins in 2012 thus far is the most in program history and for the fourth year in-a-row, the Nor'easters qualified for the postseason. Six UNE players landed on the All-CCC Team including Second Team sophomore midfielder Dan O'Gorman who has 16 goals and 15 assists.
Curry's 2-5 league record kept them from qualifying for the CCC Tournament but the Colonels own a 9-7 overall record including wins over Husson and UNE. Both of those victories were decided by one goal. Curry attackman Joseph Natale landed on the All-CCC First Team after posting 49 points on 37 goals and 12 assists.
Husson is 11-8 overall and after going 6-2 in NAC contests, the Eagles marched into the conference playoffs and won their first round game 14-1 over Lyndon State. Their season ended, however, with a 14-3 loss to Castleton State in the NAC Semifinals. Midfielder Nick Brown, defender Mark Nardelli and faceoff man Dillon Shaw represented the Eagles on the All-Conference First Team and will lead Husson into the ECAC Tournament.
2012 ECAC DIII New England Men's Lacrosse Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, May 9 – Play-in game
\#5 Husson (11-8) at \#4 Curry (9-7), 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 12 – Semifinals
Winner of \#5 Husson/\#4 Curry at \#1 Endicott (9-9), 11:00 a.m.
\#2 Castleton (11-8) vs. \#3 University of New England (9-9), 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 13 - Championship
Semifinal Winners, 12:00 p.m.