NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's lacrosse team led the region with eight selections to the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) Division II Preseason Team, which was announced today.
The Warriors dominated the field of selections, having a representative at nearly every position. Sophomore
Charlie Bertrand was slotted at attack. Graduate student
John Bassett and senior
Kyle Stenberg were the midfield representatives. Senior
James Bassett and junior
Ryan Burke were honored on defense. Senior
Blake Boudreau was the region's preseason favorite at the faceoff specialist spot; senior
Hunter Schmell was the lone short-stick defensive midfielder honored; and senior
Eric Coburn was tapped the region's preseason honoree at long-stick midfield.
Bentley and Saint Anselm were the only other schools with multiple selections, while Assumption and Saint Michael's had one representative apiece.
Bertrand was a USILA All-American (second team) as well as an NEILA All-New England First Team and NE10 All-Conference First Team pick. Not surprisingly, the freshman phenom was the NE10 Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the NE10 All-Rookie Team, as well. He was named USILA Offensive Player of the Week once after leading team in goals (52), assists (23), and points (75), starting 18 games. He had at least one goal in every game he played and recorded 12 hat tricks and one six-goal performance.
John Bassett has twice been an NEILA All-New England First Team selection and did so again last year after appearing in 19 games with 17 starts. He finished the season fifth on the team in goals (23) and sixth in points (28), with four of those goals coming in a victory over Limestone in April.
Stenberg enjoyed a breakthrough season as well last spring, earning NEILA All-New England Second Team and NE10 All-Conference Second Team honors. He ranked third on the team in overall scoring with 52 points and also ranked third in goals (37) and assists (15). Finally, he was tied for second with three game-winners and third with seven man-up goals.
James Bassett is coming off a phenomenal season that saw him earn USILA and Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors en route to being named a USILA First Team All-America. He also was an NEILA All-New England First Team and NE10 All-Conference First Team selection. He appeared in 19 games (18 starts) in 2017, finishing third on the team in ground Balls (55) and second on the team in caused turnovers (24).
Burke appeared in 11 games with six starts as a sophomore, finishing the season with eight ground balls and three caused turnovers. His role projects to be a bigger one this year and could be in for a major season among Merrimack's stout defensive corps.
Boudreau earned his first USILA All-America Honorable Mention selection after another wonderful junior season. The two-time NEILA All-Region and NE10 All-Conference pick ranked 12th nationally in faceoff winning percentage and 15th nationally in ground balls per game. He won 236-of-382 on the X, good for .617 faceoff winning percentage, while leading the team in ground balls (114).
Schmell made his second full season with the Navy and Gold his most impactful, rising to the ranks of one of the nation's best defensive short stick midfielders while earning USILA Second Team All-America honors. The first-time NEILA All-New England First Team and NE10 All-Conference First Team pick ranked sixth on the team with 37 ground balls and was 10th in both total points (21) and goals (8).
Coburn stepped into the long-stick midfield role last year and was excellent; with continued improvement, he could be in for a big senior season, as well. He appeared in all 19 games last year and placed second on the team in ground balls (60) while leading the team in caused turnovers (27). He also averaged 1.42 caused turnovers per game (43rd/NCAA) while finishing the season with three goals and six assists.
The top-ranked Warriors open the year at No. 8 NYIT this Sunday, Feb. 18, with a 12 p.m. start time.
