Hofstra's Byrne & Tierney Headline MLAX Awards
Kelly McCarthy
RICHMOND, Va. (May 3, 2017) – No. 14/14 Hofstra University senior
Josh Byrne was named the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Year while Pride teammate
Ryan Tierney was named the CAA Rookie of the Year in a vote of the league’s six head coaches. No. 12/13 Towson University’s
Tyler Mayes was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year while University of Delaware Head Coach
Bob Shillinglaw was selected as CAA Coach of the Year.
Byrne becomes Hofstra’s fifth CAA Player of the Year after leading the conference with 36 goals, 24 assists and 60 points this season. Nationally, the All-CAA First Team selection is ranked tenth in goals per game (2.77) and 13th in points per game (4.96). Byrne has recorded four or more points 10 times and has five or more points in eight of 13 games this season. The three-time CAA Player of the Week was also named as a top-25 nominee for the Tewaaraton Award.
Tierney, who picked up All-CAA Second Team honors, is the Pride’s first CAA Rookie of the Year since Jay Card earned the award in 2008. The two-time CAA Rookie of the Week has had impressive debut and is in the top-five in the league in goals (27) and points (43).
Mayes, a long stick midfielder, has paced the Tigers’ defensive unit with 33 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls. The All-CAA First Team selection is currently ranked fourth in the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.75). Earlier this season, Mayes tied a CAA single game record with six caused turnovers against Drexel.
Shillinglaw announced that the 2017 season would be his 39th and final one at the helm of the Blue Hens. Shillinglaw has been on the sidelines for more than 600 games in his career, compiling 334 wins, including 310 at UD, and leading the Blue Hens to 16 conference championships, and six NCAA Tournament appearances.
In addition to Byrne, Towson’s
Ryan Drenner (23g, 20a) and Drexel’s
Cole Shafer (34g) were selected to the All-CAA First Team on attack. Earning top honors in the midfield were Hofstra’s
Dylan Alderman (15g, 16a) and
Brendan Kavanagh (20g), Towson’s
Mike Lynch (13g), and UMass’
Dan Muller (17g, 13a). On defense were Towson’s
Jack Adams, who missed part of the season with injury, and
Zach Goodrich (36gb), along with Hofstra’s
Brett Osman (18gb). In the cage, both Hofstra’s
Jack Concannon (8.34 GAA) and Drexel’s
Jimmy Joe Granito (11.23 GAA) earned All-CAA First Team honors while Towson faceoff specialist
Alex Woodall, who had a .603 faceoff percentage, rounded out the group.
The
2017 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship gets underway on Thursday, May 4 at 5:00 p.m. as top-seeded Towson will face fourth-seeded Drexel in the semifinals. That game is followed by a 7:30 p.m. match-up between No. 2 Hofstra and third-seeded UMass. Both games will be streamed live on
Lax Sports Network. The two winners advance to Saturday's championship game which will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network (ASN) at 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed via
CAA.tv and the CAA.tv Roku app. For television clearance information,
CAASports.com/ tvinfo.
2017 All-CAA Men’s Lacrosse Teams
| First Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Josh Byrne |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
A |
New Westminster, British Columbia |
| Ryan Drenner |
Towson |
Sr. |
A |
Westminster, Md. |
| Cole Shafer |
Drexel |
Sr. |
A |
Coquitlam, British Columbia |
| Dylan Alderman |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
M |
Downingtown, Pa. |
| Brendan Kavanagh |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
M |
Rockville Centre, N.Y. |
| Mike Lynch |
Towson |
Sr. |
M |
Forest Hill, Md. |
| Dan Muller |
UMass |
R-Sr. |
M |
Massapequa, N.Y. |
| Jack Adams |
Towson |
Sr. |
D |
Freeland, Md. |
| Zach Goodrich |
Towson |
So. |
D |
Stevensville, Md. |
| Brett Osman |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
D |
Miller Place, N.Y. |
| Tyler Mayes |
Towson |
Sr. |
LSM |
Bel Air, Md. |
| Alex Woodall |
Towson |
So. |
FO |
Annapolis, Md. |
| Jack Concannon |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
GK |
Lindenhurst, N.Y. |
| Jimmy Joe Granito |
Drexel |
Sr. |
GK |
New Canaan, Conn. |
Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Colin Burke |
Fairfield |
So. |
A |
Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. |
| Joe Seider |
Towson |
Sr. |
A |
Sparks, Md. |
| Ryan Tierney |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
A |
Massapequa, N.Y. |
| Will Hirschmann |
Delaware |
Sr. |
M |
Edgewater, Md. |
| Joe Rodrigues |
Fairfield |
Jr. |
M |
Saratoga, Calif. |
| Tyler Young |
Towson |
Sr. |
M |
Crofton, Md. |
| Sid Ewell |
Towson |
Jr. |
D |
Carlisle, Pa. |
| Tanner Griffin |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
D |
Loveland, Ohio |
| Michael Meurer |
Drexel |
Jr. |
D |
Towson, Md. |
| Isaac Paparo |
UMass |
So. |
D |
Westport, Conn. |
| Austin Haynes |
Delaware |
So. |
LSM |
Moorestown, N.J. |
| Noah Rak |
UMass |
Jr. |
FO |
Norwich, Conn. |
| Tyler Behring |
Fairfield |
Sr. |
GK |
Little Silver, N.J. |
All-Rookie Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Dylan Beckwith |
Fairfield |
Fr. |
A/M |
Wantagh, N.Y. |
| Gray Bodden |
Towson |
Fr. |
D |
Westminster, Md. |
| Reid Bowering |
Drexel |
Fr. |
A |
Coquitlam, British Columbia |
| Matt DeLuca |
Delaware |
Fr. |
GK |
Farmingdale, N.Y. |
| Travis Ford |
Fairfield |
Fr. |
M |
Webster, N.Y. |
| Kyle Gallagher |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
FO |
Northport, N.Y. |
| Charlie Kitchen |
Delaware |
Fr. |
A |
Marlton, N.J. |
| Will Stabbert |
Drexel |
R-Fr. |
D |
Granite Bay, Calif. |
| Ryan Tierney |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
A |
Massapequa, N.Y. |
| Jeff Trainor |
UMass |
Fr. |
M |
Billerica, Mass. |
|
2017 CAA Player of the Year: Josh Byrne, Hofstra
2017 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler Mayes, Towson
2017 CAA Rookie of the Year: Ryan Tierney, Hofstra
2017 CAA Coach of the Year: Bob Shillinglaw, Delaware |
All-Academic Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Steve DeLargy |
Delaware |
Gr. |
M |
Morristown, N.J. |
| Jake Knostman |
Fairfield |
Sr. |
A |
Bainbridge Island, Wash. |
| Dan Muller |
UMass |
R-Sr. |
A |
Massapequa, N.Y. |
| Kyle Strang |
Drexel |
Jr. |
M |
Olney, Md. |
| Thomas Voelkel |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
M |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Tyler Young |
Towson |
Sr. |
M |
Crofton, Md. |