University Park, Pa. — The Penn State Nittany Lion men’s lacrosse team is well represented on the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association all-conference teams. Junior Matthew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) and freshman Austin Kaut (Morton, Pa.) were named to the All-CAA first team while Kaut was honored as CAA Rookie of the Year and head coach Jeff Tambroni was named Co-Coach of the Year.
Mackrides earns his second straight first team All-CAA selection on attack after another outstanding season that saw him lead Penn State in goals with 20 and tack on 10 assists for 30 points. Mackrides had a solid .600 shot on goal percentage and 39 ground balls. He also caused five turnovers.
Kaut, Penn State first CAA Rookie of the Year, earned his initial first team All-CAA nod at goalie. He ended the campaign with a superb 7.90 goals against average and played in all but 15 of Penn State’s 851 minutes of game time. Kaut had 191 saves and a .635 save percentage having faced 498 shots.
Tambroni shared Coach of the Year laurels with Massachusetts’ Greg Cannella. The veteran head coach led the Nittany Lions to a 7-7 overall record in his first year at the helm of the team, including a 4-2 record in CAA action. The superb conference mark was good enough for second place in the league and earned Penn State the right to host a CAA semifinal game. Tambroni now sports a 116-47 career record in 11 years as a head coach.
While Mackrides and Kaut earned first team honors, three Nittany Lions were named to the All-CAA second team. Sophomore Nick Dolik (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), was a second team selection in the midfield, sophomore Danny Henneghan (Beverly Hills, Mich.) was a second team face-off specialist pick and senior Matt Bernier (Drexel Hill, Pa.) was a second team pick on defense.
Dolik earned his second straight second team All-CAA nod after scoring 13 points off 11 goals and two assists. He had a .632 shot on goal percentage and tallied 19 ground balls. Henneghan had a solid .523 face-off percentage, winning 139 of 266 face-offs this year (taking all but eight of Penn State’s 274). Henneghan led Penn State with 71 ground balls and had seven points off six goals and an assist. Bernier, a tri-captain this year, anchored the Penn State defense. He had 39 ground balls and a team-best 14 caused turnovers.
Penn State ended the 2011 season with a tough 10-9 loss to UMass in the CAA semifinals on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions went 7-7 overall, 4-2 in the CAA (good enough for second place), in Tambroni’s first year at the helm of the program. Penn State was ranked in the nation’s top 20 on numerous occasions throughout the year.