The top 23 college men?s lacrosse players have been nominated for the 2006 Tewaaraton Award, and a number of players with Baltimore-area ties are included.
Four Baltimore-area high school products, Mount St. Joseph product Dan Boyer (Salisbury), Archbishop Spalding?s Kyle Dixon (Virginia), Calvert Hall alum Kevin Huntley (Johns Hopkins) andBoys Latins? Alex Smith (Delaware), help keep the local tradition alive.
“It?s a great honor,” Huntley said. “A lot of great players go on to win it. I don?t know if I?ll be fortunate enough to get that far. If I do, it?ll be a great honor, but to get this far, it?s a great honor for me.”
Johns Hopkins housed the award winner in 2005, as senior midfielder Kyle Harrison took home the hardware.
“People at this institution care a lot about lacrosse,” Huntley said of Hopkins. “We have a great coaching staff and great fan support. It?s a lot of fun to come out and play on Saturdays on Homewood.”
Huntley, one of four products from Baltimore?s top-flight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association, said his prep background has been of benefit in his collegiate career.
“Playing in the MIAA you always play against great teams,” the sophomore said. “Game in and game out, it?s always a great challenge.”
The list of finalists will be trimmed to five before the trophy presentation on June 1.
Coming Up
The Villa Julie men?s lacrosse team (7-5) will visit Goucher (5-10) on Wednesday in a game scheduled for 4 p.m. at Gopher Stadium.
Goucher is led by Dan Flamholz, whose 23 goals, 30 assists and 53 points pace the Gophers. He and his Goucher teammates will be forced to try and solve a stingy VJC defense that allows an average of 7.42 goals per game.
Elsewhere, the Loyola women?s lacrosse team (6-7) has a busy week, hosting Towson (7-7) at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and traveling to No. 3 Georgetown (11-2) for a 1 p.m. game Saturday.
Also on Saturday, Charles Street men?s lacrosse rivals Johns Hopkins (6-4) and Towson (8-4) square-off in the Blue Jays? homecoming game at 2 p.m.
A FULL CUP
» Boyer has scored 47 goals in 14 games for Salisbury. Leading the team in goals and points, Boyer is a marksman around the goal. He scores on 81 percent of his shots, and his overall shooting percentage is .723, helping to lead the Seagulls to a 14-0 mark overall.
» Maryland, Navy and Hopkins each have two nominees. The Terps are represented by Joe Walters and Xander Ritz, while Navy?s Matt Russell (DeMatha) and Bill Looney, and Hopkins? Paul Rabil (DeMatha) and Huntley are also candidates.
» This year, six states and three countries (including Canada and Australia) were represented among the 23 Tewaaraton nominees.
