University of Albany Men's Lacrosse Places Seven Players on 2009 All-America East Conference Team - UAlbany Sports 2009

Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics

Cambridge, Mass. – University at Albany’s Brian Caufield leads a group of seven players who were voted to the 2009 America East All-Conference Men’s Lacrosse Team, as announced on Tuesday, April 28 by the conference office. Caufield was named to the all-league first team for the second consecutive year.

A sophomore attackman, Caufield ranks 11th among the NCAA Division I leaders in scoring at 3.54 points per game. He has totaled 45-plus points for the second year in a row with 24 goals and 22 assists. Caufield accounted for four or more points against six opponents this season, including a season-high seven (3 goals, 4 assists) in a victory over nationally-ranked Massachusetts. He also had six points, including a season-best five assists, against top-ranked Syracuse.

Joe Resetarits becomes the second freshman in the UAlbany program’s history to be chosen to the first team. Resetarits is the fourth-highest scoring freshman in Division I at 3.08 points per game. He has 31 goals, the most by a UAlbany freshman since 2004, and nine assists. Resetarits, whose brother was an All-American for the Great Danes, had three or more points in 10 of 13 games played this season. Garrett Pedley, a senior defenseman, makes his first appearance on the first team after earning a spot on the second team as a sophomore. Pedley, who has 28 ground balls this season, has started 42 of 60 games played as a collegian.

Corey Small, a senior attackman, and Chris Schongar, a long-stick midfielder, are on the America East second team for the second straight year. Small, who missed four games this season due to leg surgery, has 27 goals and five assists. He tied the program’s single-game record by scoring eight times against Delaware. Small, who has scored at least one point in 26 consecutive games played, is tied for sixth on UAlbany’s all-time chart with 105 career goals. Schongar leads the team in ground balls with 48, plus has two goals. The senior is second among the program’s all-time Division I leaders with 204 ground balls. He netted his seventh career goal at Stony Brook last Saturday.

John Alpizar and Mark Kelly are members of the all-conference second team for the first time. Alpizar, a senior midfielder, has four goals and seven assists with 30 ground balls. Alpizar, who scored the game-winning goal against league opponent Hartford on April 1, has 62 career points (19 goals, 43 assists). Kelly, a junior defenseman, picked up 29 ground balls and led a unit that allowed 9.8 goals against conference opponents.

Joining Resetarits on the America East all-rookie squad are midfielders Rocky Bonitatibus and Luke Cometti. Each freshman totaled eight points this season. Sophomore Joe Pompo and Pedley were each selected to the America East all-academic team. Pompo has a 3.54 cumulative GPA in accounting with a minor in business administration. Pedley has a 3.35 GPA in business administration with a minor in communication. He is a member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

UAlbany has produced 51 all-conference players, including 21 first-team selections, since joining the America East Conference in 2002.