Smithfield, RI -- Bryant University junior defender Mason Poli (Downingtown, Pa.) has been named among the 25 Tewaaraton Award nominees for the 2012 season, as announced Wednesday afternoon by the Tewaaraton Foundation.
Poli is one of just two Northeast Conference players named to the list along with RMU's Kiel Matisz and is the first Bulldog nominee since Zack Greer was named a finalist in 2009. The junior longpole is enjoying one of the most impressive campaigns of his career in 2012, having scored 17 goals in 14 games this season. The top longpole scorer in the nation, Poli adds six assists for 23 points on the year, sixth best among the 20th-ranked Bulldogs, and his 17 goals are tied for third most on the team.
Poli has scored a goal in 10 games this season, including in six of the last seven, and has recorded a pair of hat tricks on the year, coming March 17 against the University at Albany and April 20 against then-#20 Yale, with both games being played on the road. The junior has also done his job on defense, picking up 38 ground balls with eight caused turnovers.
For his career, Poli has 28 goals and nine assists for 37 points and has picked up 122 ground balls. He adds this nomination to a host of 2011 postseason accolades, including USILA All-America Honorable Mention, NEILA All-New England First Team and All-NEC First Team.
The list of 25 nominees will be whittled down to just five finalists on May 10. The men's award nominees come from 20 different schools and represent 18 of the current top 20 teams ranked in the April 23 USILA Coaches Poll. Robert Morris's Kiel Matisz is the only other Northeast Conference representative to join Poli on the prestigious list.
Bryant will conclude its regular-season schedule Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.) as the team travels to Moon Township, Pa., for a showdown with Robert Morris, the winner taking the title of NEC Regular-Season Champion and earning the right to host the 2012 NEC Men's Lacrosse Tournament.