CAPE COD, Mass. — In a vote by the league coaches, three UMass Minutemen were honored with postseason ECAC awards. Senior Jim Connolly has been named the 2009 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, while classmate Doc Schneider has been tabbed the ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year. The performance of those two student-athletes throughout the season helped lead UMass to the ECAC Lacrosse League title and helped Coach Greg Cannella earn ECAC Coach of the Year honors.

In addition to the UMass' honorees, co-champion Loyola took home the other two major awards.Senior P.T. Ricci was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman Mike Sawyer was picked as the Rookie of the Year.

Connolly led the ECAC in goals per game at 2.50. Entering the NCAA Tournament against Princeton, Connolly currently has tallied 35 goals in 14 games. Connolly also leads the Minutemen with three game-winning goals, including the deciding goal in overtime against Hobart, and the gamewinner with 55.2 seconds left in regulation against Penn State. Against Yale in February, he netted a career-high seven goals.

Ricci, the 2009 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, earned first team All-ECAC accolades in 2008. He finished second in the conference with an average of 6.36 groundballs per game. Ricci scooped up 89 groundballs in 14 games.

Schneider earned ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors. The senior backstopped the Minutemen to key wins over Loyola and Penn State and the ECAC title. He ranked first overall in the league in all games with a 7.31 goals against average in 14 games and a .658 save percentage.

Sawyer ranked fourth on the Greyhounds in scoring with nine goals and four assists in 12 games. He was named the ECAC Rookie of the Week on March 16 and April 6.
Cannella guided UMass to its fourth ECAC Lacrosse League title and its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance. He was also named ECAC Coach of the Year in 2004, 2002, and 2001, and he has captured the award more times than any coach in league history. Loyola's Charley Toomey (2006 and 2008) and Georgetown's Dave Urick (2000 and 2007) are the only other league coaches to have won the award more than one time. The Minutemen led the league in scoring defense, allowing just 7.77 goals per game. In seven ECAC games, the Minutemen surrendered a league-best 7.39 goals per game.

In addition to winning three of the major awards, UMass had a total of five All-ECAC players and placed four players on the All-ECAC first team to lead all league schools. Loyola led the ECAC with a total of six selections, two first team players and four second team selections. Georgetown had three selections, followed by Hobart, Penn State and Rutgers with two selections apiece. Fairfield and St. John's each had one player earn All-ECAC recognition.

Offensive Player of the Year
Jim Connolly, Massachusetts

Defensive Player of the Year
P.T. Ricci, Loyola

Goalkeeper of the Year
Doc Schneider, Massachusetts

Rookie of the Year
Mike Sawyer, Loyola

Coach of the Year
Greg Cannella, Massachusetts

2009 All-ECAC First Team
A Tim Balise, Massachusetts *
A Jim Connolly, Massachusetts #
A Shane Koppens, Loyola *#
M Chris Hogan, Penn State
M Scott Kocis, Georgetown
M Justin Pennington, Rutgers *
D Diogo Godoi, Massachusetts *
D Chris O'Dougherty, Rutgers *#
D P.T. Ricci, Loyola *
Sp. Dom DeNapoli, St. John's (LSM/F/O)
G Doc Schneider, Massachusetts #

2009 All-ECAC Second Team
A Jeff Colburn, Hobart
A Craig Dowd, Georgetown 
A Cooper MacDonnell, Loyola *
M Brent Adams, Fairfield
M Tyler Cassell, Hobart 
M Bob Hayes, Massachusetts
M Mike Sawyer, Loyola
D Steve Bauer, Georgetown
D Barney Ehrmann, Georgetown *# 
D Steve Layne, Loyola
Sp. John Schiavone, Loyola (F/O)
G Drew Adams, Penn State *#^

* 2008 All-ECAC
# 2007 All-ECAC
^ 2006 All-ECAC

ABOUT THE ECAC
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic conference with 319 Divisions I, II, and III colleges and universities from Maine to North Carolina. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors more than 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports. The ECAC assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The conference, located on Cape Cod, administers nine affiliate sports organizations, including the ECAC Lacrosse League. Established in 1999, the ECAC Lacrosse League is a Division I men's lacrosse league. Charter members Georgetown, Massachusetts, Penn State, and Rutgers added Hobart College, Loyola College (Md.) and St. John's University in 2005. Fairfield University joined the league in 2006. In 2010, the league will expand westward with the addition of former Great Western Lacrosse League members Air Force, Bellarmine, Denver, Ohio State, and Quinnipiac.

For the latest news, information, and statistics about the ECAC Lacrosse League, go to the league's website: www.ecaclacrosse.com.