FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Emmanuel’s Heffernan named Defensive Player of Year;
JWU’s Guido collects Goalkeeper, Rookie of Year honors
WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College junior midfielder Chris Curtis has been named the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league’s head coaches.
Curtis helped lead the Saints to their second straight GNAC Championship, as he ranks second among league leaders in goals (40) and fifth in points (52). He also led the conference with 169 shots and 94 shots on goal, and has contributed 22 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
Fellow Emmanuel junior Pat Heffernan was selected as the 2015 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, as he helped the Saints post an average of just 8.00 goals against in 17 contests. He has 29 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers on the year as the Saints gear up for their NCAA Tournament appearance following its second straight GNAC title last weekend.
Johnson & Wales University freshman JC Guido was voted both the GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year and Rookie of the Year, as the Miller Place, N.Y. native finished the regular season first among GNAC goalkeepers with a 64.6 save percentage and second with a 7.15 goals-against average in 14 starts. His 181 saves were good for third in the conference and he was also third in minutes played (830:59).
Curtis, Heffernan and Guido were all named to the 2015 All-GNAC First Team.
Guido’s head coach Nick Coppola was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches. The Wildcats finished third in the GNAC standings after being selected seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll.
For the complete list of All-Conference honorees and All-Sportsmanship selections, please see below.
Along with Curtis and Heffernan, Emmanuel sophomore attacker Tony Cibelli also earned First Team honors as he ranks third in the GNAC with 38 goals and second with 133 shots.
Lasell College had three First Team honorees in junior attacker Andrew Suh, senior midfielder Aaron Laporte and junior defender Mike Pino. Suh totaled 19 goals and 11 assists, Laporte had 20 goals and 13 helpers, and Pino registered 32 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers in 13 games to anchor the Lasers defense.
Also receiving First Team recognition was Albertus Magnus College junior attacker Mike Choiniere, Rivier University junior midfielder Cody Lynch, Norwich University shortstick specialist Andrew Bracy, and Johnson & Wales University juniors Brett Leighton and Julian Bandereck.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
First Team
A – Mike Choiniere, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Bethany, Conn.)
A – Tony Cibelli, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Westboro, Mass.)
A – Andrew Suh, Lasell (Jr., Colchester, Conn.)
M – Chris Curtis, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., Ashland, Mass.)
M – Aaron Laporte, Lasell (Sr., Gorham, Maine)
M – Cody Lynch, Rivier (Jr., Salem, N.H.)
SS – Andrew Bracy, Norwich (Sr., Carthage, N.Y.)
LS – Brett Leighton, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Scarborough, Maine)
D – Pat Heffernan, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., Pembroke, Mass.)
D – Julian Bandereck, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Topsfield, Mass.)
D – Mike Pino, Lasell (Jr., Tewksbury, Mass.)
GK – JC Guido, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Miller Place, N.Y.)
Second Team
A – Max Stone, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Burlington, Conn.)
A – Casey Sullivan, Lasell (Jr., Quaker Hill, Conn.)
A – Kyle Graham, Rivier (Jr., Londonderry, N.H.)
M – Michael Rogers, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., New Haven, Conn.)
M – Brian Hillenbrand, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Portsmouth, R.I.)
M – Chad Coehlo, Mount Ida (So., Salem, Mass.)
SS – Jake Pickett, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., Stratham, N.H.)
LS – Nick DelMonaco, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., Billerica, Mass.)
D – Brendan Gallagher, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Solon, Ohio)
D – Kyle Fernitz, Mount Ida (Sr., Northbrook, Ill.)
D – Peter Troiano, Norwich (Sr., Winchester, Mass.)
GK – Austin Lauzier, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., Bedford, N.H.)
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 – JC Guido, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Coach of the Year – Nick Coppola, Johnson & Wales
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Albertus Magnus College
All-Sportsmanship Team
Jon Gravius, Albertus Magnus (So., Howell, N.J.)
Dennis Tran, Anna Maria (Sr., Worcester, Mass.)
Max Mercier, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., Lincolnville, Maine)
Jason Seraphin, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Yonkers, N.Y.)
Chase Swift, Lasell (So., Branford, Conn.)
Trevor Hendrix, Mount Ida (Jr., Grafton, Mass.)
Fred Knapp, Norwich (Sr., Stratford, Conn.)
Andy Wells, Rivier (Sr., Wilmington, Mass.)
Brad Loomis, Saint Joseph’s (Me.) (Sr., Saunderstown, R.I.)
– #theGNAC –