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Somerset, NJ -- Northeast Conference men’s lacrosse co-regular season champion Saint Joseph’s took home five of the six major conference awards and placed seven student-athletes on All-NEC teams, it was revealed Wednesday evening at the NEC’s annual pre-tournament banquet in Philadelphia, PA. Saint Joseph’s junior attacker Mike Rastivo (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) took home both the NEC Player of the Year and NEC Offensive Player of the Year awards while teammate T.J. Jones (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) won NEC Defensive Player of Year honors.
 
Hobart’s Chris Aslanian (Westfield, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) was named the NEC Rookie of the Year. SJU head coach Taylor Wray was voted NEC Coach of the Year by his peers for the third consecutive season. Wray led the Hawks to their third consecutive season of 10 wins or more, finishing with an 11-3 overall record. The Hawks, who are receiving votes in various national polls, also won their third consecutive NEC regular season crown and earned the top seed in this week’s NEC Tournament. SJU has amassed a 17-1 record in three years of NEC regular season play.
 
The banquet was held on the campus of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and it brought together all four teams – Saint Joseph’s, Bryant, Hobart and Robert Morris – participating in the 2016 NEC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament for an evening to recognize the best of the best in the conference.
 
Rastivo earned his first NEC Player of the Year award and second NEC Offensive Player of the Year honor. The junior attack leads the NEC with 22 assists, and ranks second in the conference with 33 goals and 55 total points while ranking 20th nationally in points per game (3.93). Rastivo was a two-time NEC Player of the Week. The South Setauket, NY native paces an SJU offense that ranks 11th nationally in scoring (12.57).
 
Jones was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NEC in both goals against average (7.24) and save percentage (.589) during the regular season. The junior netminder and four-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week also ranks in the top-5 nationwide in GAA and save percentage to help SJU achieve a top-5 national ranking in scoring margin (4.86).
 
Aslanian earned NEC Rookie of the Year honors after he ranked second on the Statesmen in both goals (21) and points (29) during the regular season. An NEC Player of the Week honoree and two-time NEC Rookie of the Week award winner, the freshman also scored two game-winning goals and had eight assists on the season for the Statesmen.
 
Overall, 26 student-athletes were recognized on the All-NEC first and second teams.
 
Saint Joseph’s landed six players on the All-NEC first team. Mike Rastivo (South Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) earned All-NEC first team accolades for the second straight year. The junior attack leads the league in assists per game (1.57) and ranks second in goals (2.36) and points (3.93) per outing to helping the Hawks rank 11th nationally in scoring offense (12.57). Joining Rastivo are midfielders Kyle Cain (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) and Kevin Forster (Jenkintown, PA/Maryland). Cain, a sophomore, ranks in the NEC top-10 with 15 assists and is fifth on the Hawks with 19 goals. Forster closed out the regular season with 22 goals and 37 points to rank second on the Hawks in his senior campaign. Senior defender John Winchell (Glen Ridge, NJ/Glen Ridge), junior faceoff specialist Mike Lanham (Garnet Valley, PA/Garnet Valley) and junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) round out the SJU first team honorees. Winchell caused a team-high 15 turnovers and picked up 21 ground balls during the regular season. Lanham leads the NEC in faceoff winning percentage (.640), going 155-87 at the X. He also ranks third in the league with 5.23 ground balls per game. Jones backstopped the Hawks to an 11-3 overall record, ranking third nationally in save percentage (.589) and fourth in goals against average (7.24).
 
Bryant’s Tucker James (Essex Fells, NJ/Bergen Catholic) makes his second consecutive appearance on the All-NEC first team for the NEC regular season co-champs and 20th ranked Bulldogs. The junior attack enters the postseason ranked third in the league in points (52) and tied for first in assists (22). Junior defender Kyle Mummau (Carlsbad, CA/La Costa Canyon) is another repeat first team honoree for Bryant after wrapping the regular season with 17 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
 
Hobart junior defender Arik Andreen (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie) is the lone Statesmen to earn All-NEC first team accolades. Andreen leads Hobart - the third seed in the NEC Tournament - in caused turnovers (21) and picked up 22 ground balls during the regular season.
 
Mount St. Mary’s redshirt junior midfielder Bubba Johnson (Wyoming, DE/Caesar Rodney) was recognized on the first team after he finished third on the Mount in goals (16) and points (25).
 
For Robert Morris, senior midfielder James Rahe (Aldergrove, British Columbia/W.J. Mouat) and senior attacker Luke Laszkiewicz (Oshawa, Ontario/Westminster Prep) earned All-NEC first team accolades. Rahe ranks fourth in the NEC with 18 assists and has 41 total points on the season. A prolific scorer, Laszkiewicz leads the NEC and ranks second in the nation with 3.64 goals per game. The three-time NEC Player of the Week is also the NEC leader and ranks fifth in DI with 4.71 points per game.
 
Rounding out the All-NEC first team, Sacred Heart long stick middie Ryan O’Donoghue (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) ranked second on the Pioneers in ground balls (36) and caused a team-high 34 turnovers during the regular season.
 
Bryant dominated the All-NEC second team with six players recognized. Senior attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, PA/Episcopal Academy) earned All-NEC accolades for the fourth consecutive season. He ranks third in the NEC with 2.23 goals per game and fifth with 3.00 points per game. Bulldog midfielders Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) and Ryan Sharpe (Aldergrove, British Columbia/W.J. Mouat) join Morrell on the second team. Kennedy, a sophomore, concluded the regular season with 14 goals and 10 ground balls. Sharpe currently ranks third on the Bulldogs in goals (24) and points (36) in his junior year. Sophomore defenders Anthony Johnson (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Prep) and Chas South (Lincroft, NJ/Taft School), along with senior goalkeeper Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, MD/Saint Paul’s School) were also second team honorees. Johnson ranks third on the team with 13 caused turnovers and picked up 14 ground balls during regular season play. South is second on the Bulldogs with 41 ground balls and paces the team with 21 caused turnovers. Waldt earned his fourth consecutive All-NEC honor after wrapping the regular season ranked second in the league in save percentage (.567) and goals against average (8.56). Waldt, a two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year and two-time USILA All-American, was recently chosen as one of 25 Tewaaraton Award semifinalists. He was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week five times this spring.
 
Hobart’s Frank Brown (Salamanca, NY/Silver Creek), Cooper Stefaniak (Lancaster, NY/St. Francis) and Andrew Spallanzani (Clarkstown, NY/Don Bosco Prep) earned All-NEC second team honors. Brown, a junior attacker, finished the regular season tied for third in the league in goals (30) and led all Statesmen in points (38). Stefaniak, a senior midfielder, paces Hobart with 41 ground balls and heads into the postseason with 16 points. Spallanzani ranks second in the league in faceoff winning percentage (.568). The sophomore specialist is also second on the Statesmen with 40 ground balls.
 
Mount St. Mary’s graduate student Mark Hojnoski (West Springfield, MA/West Springfield) finished the regular season ranked fourth in the league with 3.15 points per game. The attacker also led the Mountaineers with 26 goals.
 
Robert Morris senior midfielder Eric Rankel (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West) ranks fifth on the Colonials in points (17) and currently has 10 goals on the season for the playoff bound Colonials.
 
Sacred Heart senior defender Chase Godfrey (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) ranked fourth on the Pioneers in ground balls (30) and second in caused turnovers (17) to earn second team All-NEC accolades.
 
Rounding out the All-NEC second team was Saint Joseph’s junior long stick midfielder Connor Kubikowski (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood), who has picked up 24 ground balls and caused five turnovers for the Hawks.
 
Ten players made up the NEC All-Rookie Team.
 
Bryant long stick midfielder Mike Vailas (Bedford, NH/Bedford) finished the regular season with 14 ground balls for the Bulldogs, helping his team to rank 10th nationally with 31.57 ground balls per game.
 
For Hobart, NEC Rookie of the Year Chris Aslanian (Westfield, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) is tied for second in the NEC with two game-winning goals and ranks tenth in shots per game (5.64). Joining Aslanian was midfielder Bryan Hancock (Highlands, CO/Mountain Vista), who finished the regular season with eight goals for the Statesmen, including a game-winner and two man-up goals.
 
Mount St. Mary’s landed two players on the NEC All-Rookie team. Attacker Chris DiPretoro (Owings, MD/Calverton) led all NEC freshmen with 22 goals and ranked second on the Mountaineers with 27 points. Defensive midfielder Jack Mangan (Bayville, NY/Chaminade) finished the regular season with 47 ground balls to rank second on the team and caused a team-high 21 turnovers.
 
Robert Morris attack Eddie Smith (Victoria, British Columbia/Claremont) and goalkeeper Alex Heger (Carmel, IN/Carmel) represented the Colonials on the NEC All-Rookie squad. Smith ranks fourth on the Colonials in goals (12) and ended the regular season with 15 points. Heger sits third in the NEC in save percentage (.540) and goals against average (8.92).
 
Sacred Heart landed two on the NEC All-Rookie team. Goalkeeper Greg Price (Yardley, PA/Holy Ghost Prep) finished his first season with a .502 save percentage and ranks fourth amongst league leaders with 10.15 saves per game. Midfielder Max Tuttle (Castle Rock, CO/Castle View) concluded the season third on the Pioneers in goals (20) and points (30).

Rounding out the NEC All-Rookie Team was Wagner goalkeeper Matt Sefcik (Towaco, NJ/Morristown-Beard School). Sefcik finished his 2016 campaign ranked fifth in the league in goals against average (10.36) and save percentage (.505).
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.