May 6, 2007

SIX BRYANT MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYERS NAMED ALL-CONFERENCE
Kaufmann, Murnane, and Pressler Garner Major Awards

Mike Pressler was named the Northeast-10 Conference Co-Coach of the Year for 2007 www.dspics.com

SMITHFIELD, RI -  The Bryant University men's lacrosse team placed six players on the 2007 Northeast-10 All-Conference team the conference office announced Sunday.  The Bulldogs placed three on the All-Conference First Team and Three on the All-Conference second team. 

Sophomore attackman Bryan Kaufmann (Putnam Valley, NY) was named the Co-Player of the Year in the Northeast-10 for 2007, sharing the honor with Merrimack's Greg Rogowski.  Defensive standout Matt Murnane (Rockville Centre, NY) was named the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Year while first-year coach Mike Pressler was named the Co-Coach of the Year for the NE-10, sharing the honor with Saint Anselm's Rick Senatore. 

Kaufmann, who had three goals in Bryant's 5-4 championship loss to Le Moyne Sunday, led the Bulldogs with 44 goals this season and had 20 assists.  Twelve of Kaufmann's goals were in man-advantage situations this year. 

Also earning first team honors were senior's Corey MacDougall (Waltham, Mass.) and senior co-captain Bryan Molk (Peabody, Mass.).  MacDougall paced the defense this year with 50 ground balls for the Bulldogs and started all 15 games.  Molk finished third on the team with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points.  He had a career-best four goals against Merrimack earlier this year.

Freshman Matt Murnane was named the NE-10 Freshman of the Year and earned Second Team All-Conference honors. He is the only freshman selected to either the first or second team. www.dspics.com

Earning Second Team All-Conference honors were sophomore attacker Kevin Hoagland (Glastonbury, Conn.), sophomore midfielder Jim Long (Durham, NH) and Murnane - the only freshman to earn first or second team honors.  Hoagland was second on the team this year with 40 goals and added 10 assists while Long was fourth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 12 assists. 

Murnane led the Bulldogs with 61 total ground balls on the year and also started in all 15 games at defense this year for Bryant.

Bryant went 11-4 this season, winning its first-ever Northeast-10 Conference regular season title and advanced to the team's fourth conference tournament championship before falling to Le Moyne. 

The Bulldogs, ranked sixth nationally and first in the North Region, will await NCAA Division II tournament selection which will take place Sunday night at 9 p.m.