Complete Awards
TROY, N.Y. – The Liberty League has announced its year-end honorees for men’s lacrosse and four Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes have been chosen. Junior
Paul Cerone was named to the All-Liberty League First Team while senior captains
Nick Casale and
Josh Secora garnered Second Team recognition. Junior
Kyle Blackman was an Honorable Mention selection.
Cerone, a midfielder out of Ridgefield, Conn., posted a team-best 21 goals with two assists for 23 points in 14 games. A starter in 11 contests, he led the team in shots with 81 and was second in points, shots on goal (31), game-winning goals (1) and man-up tallies (2).
This is the first year-end honor for the former Ridgefield High School standout, who posted at least one goal in nine games, including seven with two or more. Cerone ranked ninth in the Liberty League in goals per game (1.62 average) and recorded at least one shot in every contest.
A defenseman from Waterford, N.Y., Casale wrapped up his final season with his third consecutive Second Team honor. Playing in all 14 games, including 13 as a starter, he ranked fourth on the squad in caused turnovers with eight and added five ground balls. The LaSalle Institute graduate was also a standout defensive lineman in football.
Secora, a midfielder from Evergreen, Colo., led the team in points with 26 on 20 goals and six assists. Hampered by injury for a majority of the season, he appeared in just eight games, but tallied two or more goals in seven of those contests, to rank fourth in the conference in goals per game (2.43). A Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week once in 2009, he was also seventh among conference players in points per contest (2.86).
A graduate of Golden High School, this is Secora’s third year-end award, having been named to the Second Team as a junior and Honorable Mention as a rookie.
Blackman, a long-stick midfielder out of Ft. Montgomery, N.Y., finished fourth on the team in caused turnovers with eight and was sixth in ground balls with 22. This is the first year-end honor for the James I. O’Neill High School graduate, who scooped up at least one ground ball in 10 games, including five with two or more.
The men’s lacrosse team, under the direction of head coach Jim Townsend, concluded its season with a 6-8 record and went 3-3 in the Liberty League.