Who Are the Most Skilled Lacrosse Players in D-II?
Thursday, May 31, 2012
East Greenwich went undefeated in D II and were led by Ethan Zink - is he the top player in D II. The coaches breakdown the list of the top D II stars.
Zink finished the regular season with 73 points - 43 goals and 30 assists.
“Ethan is a good athlete, he’s very strong going left and right, and he’s very aggressive,” said La Salle head coach Steve O’Donnell. “He’s one of the big reasons why [East Greenwich] had the type of season they had.”
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The Avengers won the Division II South title and captured the number 1 seed in the tournament with a 15-1 record.
Ned Murphy of Middletown also received recognition for hardest shot.
“We had to shut Ned down or we never had a chance against him,” said Mount St. Charles head coach Doug Allen. The only negative is, he has to be open to get off his shot. He can’t unleash in traffic. But boy, when he winds up, it’s scary.”
Best With the Ball
Mount St. Charles’ Ben Handanyan was named the best with the ball in his stick. “He can run under, over, or around people and maintain control,” said Allen.
Handanyan led the state in scoring in 2012, putting up 75 points on 54 goals and 21 assists. “If he were in Division I, he’d be one of the best players in Division I,” Allen said. “He’s just that good a player. He’s so accurate…he can put the ball where he wants it from ten yards out. A lot of goalies aren’t used to that,” Allen said. “It makes it very difficult on them for sure.”
Handanyan will be attending the University of Delaware in the fall to pursue an engineering degree. Allen expects him to try out for the school’s lacrosse team, which competes in NCAA Division I.
Fastest
Connor McCarty of Mount St. Charles was named as the fastest player in Division II, and Allen said that he allows Connor to “pick the ball up in the defensive end and just run past the entire riding attacks.”
“He has no fear. Will just go,” Allen said.
Toughest in the Open Field
East Greenwich attacker Kyle Carosotto was named as the toughest to stop in the open field. “I think he was the top middie in Division II this season,” said East Greenwich head coach Brian Trapani.
“He’s very tough to stop. He’s got the ability to possess the ball, go right or left with speed. And he’s very unpredictable. I think Kyle is your guy,” he said.
Best Faceoff - FOGOs
Matt Cruise of East Greenwich and Bailey Lessard of Mount St. Charles each received recognition as the toughest face-off guy.
“Matt is consistently strong,” said Trapani. “He pays attention to detail, and he works on his face-off technique every practice. He takes a lot of pride in his ability, and he’s very focused. He really works hard at it.”
Mount St. Charles head coach Doug Allen said Lessard was the best this season because of his strength. “He has very quick hands, and his strength is getting his body in front of the other players and being able to pick up ground balls,” he said.
Best Passer
Teddy Fenton was named as the best passer in Division II. Just a freshman, Fenton led the state in assists with 35 and was a part of the reason why Mount St. Charles finished as the top scoring team in the state. Allen described him as “quick on his feet, with a great feel for the game.”
“Teddy is such a creative player,” said Allen. “His ability to think on his feet is what makes the difference. A lot of teams run set plays…but we’re able to run our offense fluidly through our big three just passing and cutting because they both have such a great feel for the game.”
Best Goalie
Nathan Farrar of Prout was named the best goaltender. “We beat them 12-10 in the playoffs,” Allen said. “It could have been 20 if not for the goalie.” He also gave up just 3 goals in a regular season game against the Mounties.
Strongest
Prout’s Chris Kopelcheck was named as the strongest player in the state. “If he wants to bull-rush the goal, he pretty much can,” said Allen.
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