Landers named Pilgrim Rookie of the Year, among five all-league picks

May 5, 2008

WORCESTER, MA- Freshman Chris Landers (Manchester, MA/Proctor) was named Pilgrim League Rookie of the Year and was one of five Wheaton College men's lacrosse players to land on an all-conference team during the league's postseason meeting at Clark University on Monday. The Lyons earned two of the league's three major honors, as Mike McCaffrey was named coach of the year following his initial season guiding the team.

Landers, a first-year attack, was joined on the all-league first team by senior defenseman Tom Ahern (Holliston, MA/Holliston). Senior midfielder Richie Rasamny (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow), sophomore midfielder Drew Schaffer (New Haven, CT/Loomis Chaffee School) and freshman attack Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) each landed on the second team. Over the weekend, the Wheaton quintet guided the Lyons to their first Pilgrim League Tournament championship game since 1996.

This marked the third straight season that a pair of Wheaton players landed on the all-conference first team, but the first time in program history that five Lyons drew all-league honors. Landers became the first Blue and White player since 2001 to draw a top rookie accolade, as Zak Putnam '04 did so when the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) recognized men's lacrosse players, but Landers is the first Lyon to be named Pilgrim League Rookie of the Year since 1996, which was also the last time a Wheaton coach was honored. McCaffrey joins current men's soccer coach Matt Cushing as the lone men's lacrosse coaches to draw accolades.

Landers led all Pilgrim freshmen in points (39) and goals (29), placing fourth overall in markers and fifth in points, while netting the most goals by a Wheaton freshman since 1996. He scored on 50 percent of his shots, turning in a 46.4-percent clip in league play while scoring a team-high 13 goals with 20 points. He turned in three game-winning goals, all during league play, while notching five hat tricks.

A tri-captain, Ahern started all 17 games in the backfield, finishing second on the team with 50 ground balls. He anchored a defense that allowed seven goals or fewer a conference-best six times during league action. Overall, Ahern picked up at least three ground balls eight times and was penalized only twice all season, not once in conference play. Dating back to his sophomore season, he appeared in 46 of a possible 48 games, drawing 43 starts.

As one of just two upperclassmen playing offense, Rasamny turned in 20 goals, 13 assists and 33 points, as well as notching three man-up goals. The tri-captain was ninth in the league in points and tied for 10th in assists. Rasamny, who also earned a spot on the all-conference first team as a junior, completed his career ninth in program history with 116 career points. In addition to 60 goals, he tied for third in assists (56), becoming the fourth Lyon with 50 goals and assists, and appeared in a program-record 61 contests.

Schaffer tied for 10th in the league in assists (13) while tying for the team lead in conference play with nine helpers. He turned in at least one point in all seven Pilgrim games and notched at least one point in each of the final 13 contests, tallying at least one goal in each of the last nine games. Schaffer finished with 16 goals.

In seven league games, Cederberg led Wheaton with 21 points, tied for the team high with nine assists and was second with 12 goals while notching two hat tricks. Overall, Cederberg finished his rookie campaign with 21 goals, 11 assists and 32 points, placing 10th in the league in points, second among freshmen to Landers.

McCaffrey, who was hired in October, inherited a youthful team, as 14 freshmen and 10 sophomores dotted the 32-man roster. Nonetheless, Wheaton went 5-2 in league play during the regular season to tie for second, its best showing since 1998, after being predicted by Inside Lacrosse to finish fourth. As the second seed in the tournament, the Lyons hosted their first Pilgrim postseason game since 1998 and downed Babson College during the semifinals for their initial league tournament win. During its first title game since 1996, Wheaton narrowly fell to perennial power Springfield College, 9-5. The Lyons completed the season with an 8-9 overall mark.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 5/5/08.
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