Three from MLAX Earn All-Big Ten Awards
Apr 28 | Men's Lacrosse
ROSEMONT, Ill. --The Big Ten Conference released its 2015 men's lacrosse All-Conference teams on Tuesday and Rutgers had three players recognized. Senior midfielder Joe Nardella was named Big Ten Specialist of the Year and was selected as First Team All-Big Ten. Junior attacker Scott Bieda was also named a First Team All-Big Ten selection. Junior midfielder Zack Sikora was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. Additionally, senior midfielder Brian Goss was selected as the Sportsmanship Award honoree.
"This is a great honor for Joe, Scott and Zack to be recognized by the Big Ten coaches for their efforts and performance this season on the field," head coach Brian Brecht said. "I am proud of the accomplishments of all three of them individually and what they did for us on game day and every day in practice. As much as they were a big part of our success on game day, who they are off the field and in the classroom is even more impressive. All three of them are true student-athletes, competing at the highest level of lacrosse on the field and in the classroom."
Nardella excelled for Rutgers in the faceoff `X'. He won 223 out of 333 faceoffs, a winning percentage of 67.0 percent that was second best nationally. He led the team with 125 ground balls, averaging 8.33 ground balls per game, a mark that led the Big Ten and was fourth in the nation. For his career Nardella was 761-of-1223 (62.2 percent) on faceoffs and collected 440 ground balls.
The Cazenovia, N.Y. native also contributed to the RU attack, tying his career-high with six goals and setting new career bests with nine assists and 15 points. Nardella also had career-high six caused turnovers. He was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week three times during the season.
Bieda set career bests in all offensive categories in his junior season. The Bridgewater, N.J. product scored 30 goals and added 28 assists for 58 points, leading Rutgers in all three categories. He also collected 16 ground balls. His 1.87 assists per game and 3.87 points per game were second in the Big Ten. Bieda had five assists at Michigan, tied for the most assists in a Big Ten game this season.
Sikora was a valuable long-stick midfielder for the Scarlet Knights, contributing at both the defensive and offensive end. The Clifton, Va. native was second on the squad with 48 ground balls and caused eight turnovers. He also scored six goals and added two assists for eight points. The junior was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after collecting seven ground balls in the victory over No. 10/11 Ohio State in the regular season finale.
Goss was the team's Sportsmanship Award selection, given to student-athletes who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. A senior captain, the Arlington Heights, Ill. native scored a career-high 21 goals and notched a career-best 23 points.
2015 MEN'S LACROSSE ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS AND INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Coach of the Year: Dave Pietramala, Johns Hopkins
Offensive Player of the Year: Ryan Brown, Johns Hopkins
Defensive Player of the Year: Casey Ikeda, Maryland
Freshman of the Year: Joel Tinney, Johns Hopkins
Specialist of the Year: Joe Nardella, Rutgers
First-Team All-Big Ten
RYAN BROWN, Johns Hopkins
Wells Stanwick, Johns Hopkins
Kyle Bernlohr, Maryland
Casey Ikeda, Maryland
Joe LoCascio, Maryland
Matt Rambo, Maryland
Carter Brown, Ohio State
JESSE KING, Ohio State
Scott Bieda, Rutgers
Joe Nardella, Rutgers
Honorable Mention All-Big Ten*
Nick Fields, Johns Hopkins
Joel Tinney, Johns Hopkins
Ian King, Michigan
Gerald Logan, Michigan
Jay Carlson, Maryland
Charlie Raffa, Maryland
Tom Carey, Ohio State
Robby Haus, Ohio State
Christopher May, Ohio State
TJ Sanders, Penn State
Mike Sutton, Penn State
Zack Sikora, Rutgers
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
*Additional honorees due to tie
Sportsmanship Award Honorees:
Connor Reed, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Jay Carlson, Sr., Maryland
Mike Francia, Sr., Michigan
Evan Mulchrone, Sr., Ohio State
Kyle Zittel, Sr., Penn State
Brian Goss, Sr., Rutgers
