Men's Lacrosse Places Ten Names on All-ECC Roster
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Apr. 30, 2014) - On Wednesday, the LIU Post men's lacrosse team had 10 players selected to the All-East Coast Conference Team. Junior defenseman
Robbie Chiocco (Massapequa, N.Y.) and sophomore midfielder
Anthony Berardis (Mahopac, N.Y.) highlighted the Pioneers' honorees with first-team nods.
LIU Post rounded out the regular season at 7-5 overall, and 6-2 versus East Coast Conference opposition. It is set to face NYIT in the semifinals of the East Coast Conference Championship today at 3 p.m. in Old Westbury, N.Y.
Chiocco spearheaded a defense that leads the ECC and ranks fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 7.0 goals per game. He is second-best on the team in caused turnovers (13) and third in ground balls (28). Last Saturday, Chiocco had an assist on a shorthanded goal in a 9-6 upset of then-No. 5 Dowling.
Berardis had a comparable sophomore campaign to his rookie year. In 12 games thus far, he has amassed 17 goals and six assists for 23 points. Five of his tallies came on the extra-man opportunity, which place ninth amongst the East Coast Conference's statistical leaders.
Graduate goalie
T.J. DiCarlo (Farmingdale, N.Y.), junior defenseman
Justin Woodley (Bloomington, Minn.) and sophomore attackman
Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) compose the green and gold's second-team representation.
Between the pipes, DiCarlo, an All-American transfer from Mercy, posted a 6-4 mark in 10 starts. His 6.87 goals-against average and .595 save percentage rank second in the ECC. Those same numbers are also fourth-lowest and sixth-highest, respectively, in all of Division II. In the Pioneers' regular-season tilt versus NYIT (Apr. 19), DiCarlo had a season-high 15 saves.
Woodley, like Chiocco, had a strong year on defense for LIU Post. Though he only collected eight ground balls and six caused turnovers, the Bloomington, Minn. native has limited opposing teams to the fourth-fewest goals against in the country in 2014.
Beccaris, the 2013 ECC Rookie of the Year, paved the way for the Pioneer offense, compiling a team-best 38 points (20 G, 18 A). He scooped up 21 ground balls as well, and tallied at least one point in each of the green and gold's contests this season. In addition, Beccaris' two shorthanded goals are tops in the ECC.
Sophomore attackman
Ryan Slane (North Babylon, N.Y.) was one of five All-ECC Honorable Mention selections for LIU Post. In 10 games, he tied Beccaris for the third-most goals (20) on the squad, while accumulating 33 points in the process. On Mar. 15, Slane posted a career-best 10-point showing (7 G, 3 A) at Roberts Wesleyan.
Graduate attackman/midfielder
Joe Costello (Minneapolis, Minn.), senior defenseman
T.J. McAndrew (Randolph, N.J.), senior midfielder
Octavio Bernabo (Mahopac, N.Y.), and junior midfielder
Connor Drost (Wading River, N.Y.) joined Slane as honorable mention picks.
Costello was a staple on the second attacking unit for the Pioneers, racking up 21 goals (five man-up) and five assists for a total of 26 points. Drost, a 2013 All-ECC second-team choice, was right behind him with 25 points (9 G, 16 A). His 16 helpers slotted him 10th in the league in that category.
In the midfield, Bernabo garnered honorable mention accolades for the second-consecutive year. He picked up 23 ground balls and caused five turnovers in 12 appearances in 2014.
Lastly, McAndrew, a two-year starter at the long pole position, made up part of the defensive wall for Head Coach
John Jez''s team. He has registered a team-high 55 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers. McAndrew's average of 2.17 caused turnovers per game currently ranks eighth in the nation.
For the complete release on the 2014 All-ECC Men's Lacrosse Team, please click
here.