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Miller, Stewart Named First Team All-MAC; Three Honorable Mention
Posted: 5/11/2010
More Men's Lacrosse news
Messiah's post-season honorees were (from top left to right): Junior J.J. Miller, senior Brent Stewart, senior Morgan Kupfer, sophomore Josh Stewart and senior Nate Windon.

Annville, PA — The Middle-Atlantic Conference announced the 2010 men’s lacrosse all-conference selections Tuesday, highlighting five Messiah athletes overall.

Junior J.J. Miller and senior Brent Stewart earned First Team All-MAC honors, while senior Morgan Kupfer, sophomore Josh Stewart and senior Nate Windon were named honorable mention all-league — honors that are voted upon by conference coaches.

Miller again led the way for the Falcons, making his third consecutive First Team appearance after leading the MAC with a 74.1 percent face-off clip, winning 197 of 266 opportunities on the season.

Miller’s face-off winning percentage was second in all of NCAA Division III competition, while his 11.07 ground balls per game was fourth best in the country.

Naturally, Miller led the team and the conference in both those stats as well, finishing with 155 ground balls — well over a third of the team’s 510 total pick ups.

As impressive as those numbers were, they could have been even better. Miller struggled through illness throughout the season, missing three games while being limited in the Falcons’ final eight contests, serving solely as a face-off specialist.

That role handcuffed a multi-talented athlete, as Miller’s eight goals and three assists were well behind his 19 scores and 11 helpers last season.

Miller was Messiah’s only First Team All-MAC selection last year, complementing a similar honor in 2008, when he was named the MAC Rookie of the Year.

Brent Stewart, meanwhile, earned his first all-conference accolade after a spectacular senior season, scoring 19 goals and dishing out five assists en route to 24 total points. The Silver Spring, Md. native picked up 34 ground balls and spelled Miller in the face-off x, winning eight of 17 chances (47.1 percent).

Stewart was a catalyst on a young Falcons’ offense, often initiating the action and drawing the defense before getting the ball to open attackmen. Perhaps Stewart’s biggest goal came in the MAC Semi-Finals, where the senior finished a shot 2:46 into overtime, defeating an Eastern University team 10-9 just 48 hours after the Eagles beat Messiah by a 9-3 score to close out the regular-season.

Seniors Kupfer and Windon highlighted three Messiah selections on the honorable mention list, as Kupfer led the Falcons’ defense while Windon was Messiah’s most prolific offensive performer on the year. A long pole defenseman, Kupfer picked up 38 ground balls — second on the team only to Miller. He repeatedly drew the opposition’s best attackmen, and helped Messiah to a 7.19 goals-allowed-per-game average — third-best in the MAC.

Windon, meanwhile, erupted to score a team-leading 25 goals, dishing out four assists as well. Windon’s 29 points were also best on the squad, as the Damascus, Md. native improved on just 13 career goals entering the season.

Goalie Josh Stewart finalized the Falcons’ all-league selections, having a stellar sophomore campaign between the pipes. Stewart’s .655 save percentage was third-best among all MAC goalies, while his 11.06 saves per game was fourth best in the league. Stewart allowed just 6.77 goals per game over the season — the sixth-best mark in the conference.

Stewart increased his save percentage to .716 in conference play, averaging 12.36 saves per game against league opponents. He was twice named the league’s defensive player of the week, coming up with 191 saves to 99 goals allowed overall on the year.

Elizabethtown College’s Aaron Weber was named the MAC Player of the Year while FDU-Florham’s Brian Gill was named league rookie of the year. Widener University head coach Jamie Lockard was named the MAC Coach of the Year after leading his Pride to a league championship, only after finishing in sixth place during the regular-season. They were the lowest seeded team to ever win a MAC title.

A complete list of MAC All-Conference teams is below.

First Team All-Middle Atlanic Conference
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown (High School)
Whit Bruemmer — DeSales — Attack — Jr. — Holland PA (Council Rock South)
Kevin Shadiack — FDU-Florham — Attack — Sr. — Kinnelon, NJ (Kinnelon)
Aaron Weber — Elizabethtown — Attack — Sr. — Lititz, PA (Manheim Township)
Jon Day — Elizabethtown — Midfielder — Sr. — Thornton, PA (Bishop Shanahan)
J.J. Miller — Messiah — Midfielder — Jr. — Odenton, MD (Annapolis Area Christian)
Brent Stewart — Messiah — Midfielder — Sr. — Silver Spring, MD (Paintbranch)
Kevin Walker — DeSales — Midfielder — Sr. — Wilmington, DE (Salesianum)
Rob Novack — FDU-Florham — Long Stick Mid — Jr. — Madison, NJ (Madison)
Chris Day — Elizabethtown — Defender — Sr. — Thornton, PA (Bishop Shanahan)
Jason Fluss — FDU-Florham — Defender — Jr. — Farmingdale, NY (Sachem)
Matt Mandia — Eastern — Defender — Jr. — Souderton, PA (Souderton)
Andrew Predun — Manhattanville — Goalkeeper — Sr. — Cold Spring, NY (Cold Spring)

Second Team All-Middle Atlanic Conference
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown (High School)
Zac Ivy — Eastern — Attack — Fr. — San Diego, CA (Foothills Christian)
Cory Malmapy — Widener — Attack — Sr. — Ridley, PA (Ridley)
Nate Walter — Lycoming — Attack — Sr. — Harrisburg, PA (Bishop McDevitt)
Brian Gill — FDU-Florham — Midfielder — Fr. — Levittown, NY (East Meadow)
Michael Hofmeister — Eastern — Midfielder — Sr. — Ridge, MD (Great Mills)
Andrew Janusz — Widener — Midfielder — Jr. — Easton, PA (Easton)
Pat O’Brien — FDU-Florham — Midfielder — So. — Flemington, NJ (Hunterdon Central)
Ed Williams — Lycoming — Midfielder — Sr. — Florham Park, NJ (Hanover)
Mike Kenneally — Elizabethtown — Long Stick Mid — Jr. — Lutherville, MD (Loyola Blakefield)
Nick Fernicola — FDU-Florham — Defender — Sr. — Levittown, NY (Division)
Jim Forsythe — Widener — Defender — Sr. — West Chester, PA (Henderson)
Dave Simcox — Widener — Defender — Sr. — Ridley, PA (Ridley)
Alex Kajencki — FDU-Florham — Goalkeeper — Sr. — Medford, MA (Xavierian)

Honorable Mention All-Middle Atlanic Conference
Player — Team — Pos. — Yr. — Hometown (High School)
John Booth — King’s — Midfielder — Sr. — Boothwyn, PA (Garnet Valley)
Paul Colflesh — FDU-Florham — Midfielder — So. — Moorestown, NJ (Holy Cross)
Lenny Fox — King’s — Midfielder — Fr. — Marlton, NJ (Cherokee)
Joe Fuchs — King’s — Defender — Jr. — Freeland, MD (Hereford)
Mike Doherty — Lycoming — Midfielder — Fr. — Berlin, MD (Stephen Decatur)
Will Johnson — Eastern — Attack — Fr. — Canandaigua, NY (Canandaigua Acad.)
Morgan Kupfer — Messiah — Defender — Sr. — Annapolis, MD (Annapolis)
Kevin Rider — Widener — Midfielder — Sr. — Shamong, NJ (Arizona St. University)
Stephen Romano — Lycoming — Attack — Fr. — Sewell, NJ (Washington Twp.)
Ryan Shewell — Widener — Midfielder — So. — Ellicott City, MD (Loyola Blakefield)
Josh Stewart — Messiah — Goalie — So. — Taneytown, MD (Francis Scott Key)
Nathan Windon — Messiah — Midfielder — Sr. — Damascus, MD (Chapelgate Christian)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Aaron Weber, Elizabethtown
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Brian Gill, FDU-Florham
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jamie Lockard, Widener