SOUTH EASTON, Mass.
- Seniors Mike and Sean
Ball (Salem, NH) of the Southern New Hampshire University
men's lacrosse team were each named Northeast-10 First Team
All-Conference Monday as the Penmen had a total of four players
honored by the league's head coaches. Sophomore Gary
McKay (Billerica, MA) was a Second Team selection, while
freshman Brendan O'Brien (Hopkinton, MA) was named
to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Mike Ball was named to the NE-10
First Team for the second straight year. This season, he led
the Penmen for the second straight year offensively, racking up 40
goals and 19 assists for 59 points. Ball has totaled 10
points in two occasions, in wins over American International and
Franklin Pierce, and is currently ranked second in the league in
goals and points per game, trailing only NE-10 Player of the Year
Greg Rogowski of Merrimack. Mike recently passed the
100-point mark for his career and is also three goals shy of 100.
Sean Ball currently ranks second on
the Penmen in goal scoring as he has scored 23 times this season,
while his 32 points place him third on the squad. He
currently ranks ninth in the NE-10 in goals per game. He
totaled a season-high four goals and an assist in a recent win over
Franklin Pierce and also had two goals and three assists in a win
at Saint Michael's. Sean currently sits just two points shy
of 100 for his career.
McKay has established himself as
one of the top faceoff men in Division II. This season, he
has won 66% (192-291) of his faceoff attempts while also collecting
a team-high and league-high 101 ground balls on the season.
In last week's NCAA Division II statistical rankings, McKay ranked
third nationally in faceoff percentage and fifth in ground balls
per game. In last week's win over Franklin Pierce McKay won
34 of 38 faceoffs and collected 22 ground balls.
O'Brien established himself midway
through the season as SNHU's primary goalkeeper. In nine
games this season, O'Brien has registered a .557 save percentage
and 10.86 goals-against average. He made a season-high 20
saves in a 12-8 victory at Saint Michael's while also stopping 14
shots in an 11-5 setback to top-ranked Le Moyne last weekend.
SNHU returns to action Tuesday
night when it travels to Bentley University for a 7:00 Northeast-10
Tournament first round contest.
