Men’s Lacrosse Recognized with Seven All-Conference Honors; Fernandes Tabbed Rookie of the Year

After finishing second in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference with a 6-1 record, winning their first post-season conference game in program history, and making their way to the GNAC Championship, the Lasell College men's lacrosse team capped their successful 2011 campaign with seven  All-Conference awards, including a Rookie of the Year honor for freshman Dylan Fernandes (Billerica, MA).  Sophomore Dylan Gray (Bayport, NY), senior Nick Sampson (Londonderry, NH), and junior Adam Foss (Billerica, MA) pulled in first team recognition while senior Chris Bulkley (Groton, CT), sophomore Matthew Keiler (Salem, MA), and senior Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) were acknowledge on the second team.

Fernandes was selected for the ultimate rookie honor after a season where he scored points in 14-of-17 total contests, including five hat tricks, totaling 29 goals, five assists, and 34 points.  He converted on three goals while man-up and added 23 ground balls over the course of the season.  Fernandes averaged 1.71 goals and 2.00 points per game throughout the season.  

Fernandes finished third on the team in total points and tied for first in goals.  He produced a personal season-best of six points in the GNAC semi-finals against Norwich.  The freshman midfielder was also named GNAC Rookie of the Week twice this season.

Gray led Lasell in points nearly the entire season, finishing the year with 46 points on 19 goals and 27 assists. He led the team and the league, ranked 4^th, in assists and assists per game (1.59) and also was ranked at 9^th in points per game in the conference (2.71).  In the NCAA, amongst all Division III men's lacrosse players, Gray finished the season ranked 50^th in assists per game.

Five of Gray's goals were scored in extra-man conversions and the sophomore attackman added 26 ground balls this season. He was named GNAC Player of the Week once and twice reached a personal best of seven points in a single game.  He scored four goals and added three assists against Becker and then reversed that against Daniel Webster.    Gray scored points in all but two contests this season, scoring two or more points in nine of those games.

Sampson ended his senior season with 38 points, good for second on the team, with 29 goals and nine assists.   He finished tied for first on the team with Fernandes in goals, averaging 1.71 goals per game, and averaged 2.24 points per game.   He picked up 36 ground balls, produced five hat tricks, scored four goals while man-up, and added two game-winning goals, including the overtime goal against Roger Williams University (9-8) for Lasell's first win of the season and the game-winner against Daniel Webster. 

The senior midfielder also had a personal season-high of six points against Daniel Webster, scoring four goals and adding two assists.

Foss set three new Lasell All-Time records this season, in addition to one record he already held in face-off win percentage for a single season (.601), which he set in 2009.  Foss broke the record for ground balls in a single-game (17), ground balls in a season (93), and career ground balls (214).  In addition, Foss had an outstanding face-off win percentage of .599 this season, claiming victory on 118-of-197 total face-offs and finished the season ranked 37^th nationally in winning percentage.  He also ranked 49^th in the NCAA, and 2^nd in the GNAC, for ground balls per game, averaging 5.81. 

Foss also added 12 points for the Lasers this season, scoring eight goals and dishing out four assists.  He scored points in seven total matches this season, and scored the game-winning goal against Norwich in the conference semi-finals.  Foss had a personal season-best of three points in that game, netting two goals and adding an assist.

This is Bulkley's second season collecting all-conference honors, having been a Pilgrim League First Team honoree in 2010.  This season, the senior midfielder finished second on the team in assists, with 19, tallied 14 goals and combined for 33 total points. He averaged 1.12 assists, 0.82 goals, and 1.94 points per game.  Bulkley also contributed 35 ground balls and nine caused turnovers this year.

Bulkely was ranked 8^th in the GNAC in assists per game and 4^th in man-down goals per game (.12), and also tied the Lasell career record for man-down goals. Bulkley had a personal season high of five points in two contests, against Johnson State and Daniel Webster. He was awarded the GNAC Player of the Week award once this year.

This is also Keiler's second straight conference honor, having been a Pilgrim League First Team choice in 2010.  As a defender, Keiler was always called upon to guard the opposition's top offensive threat.  He was the catalyst of the Lasers defense on a team that had the lowest goals against average (7.22) in the conference.  Throughout the season, playing against a tough regional schedule which included two top 25 teams and the reigning NCAA Division III national champion, Tufts University, Keiler only let up seven goals and three assists by opponents he was charged with covering. Keiler also scored one goal this season, against Emerson College, picked up 19 ground balls, and had eight caused turnovers.

Rounding out the Lasers awards was goalkeeper Eric Walsh whom played 773:25 minutes in the cage, making 138 saves, with a goals-against-average of 7.68, a conference slate of 4-1 and an overall record of 7-8.  He had a save percentage of .582, facing 364 total shots over the course of the season.  He finished the year ranked 1^st in the GNAC amongst primary goalkeepers in GAA, 2^nd in save percentage, and 4^th in saves per game (9.20).  Nationally, Walsh concluded his career ranked 43^rd in GAA, 51^st in save percentage, and 104^th in saves per game across the NCAA.

Walsh was named GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week four times this season.

The Lasell College men's lacrosse team finished the year with a 9-8 overall record, a 6-1 conference slate, and a second place finish in the GNAC.