Once again, Ryan Slattery has made history.
On Monday afternoon, the North Andover resident becomes the first player from St. Anselm College — and just the second player in Northeast-10 history — to three-peat as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
After winning nearly every accolade possible last year, including being named a Division II All-American, Slattery has been the leader of one of the top defensive units in the nation this spring that allowed the third-fewest total goals in all of NCAA Division II.
Slattery led the Hawks with a team-high 19 caused turnovers, a metric that also cracked the top-10 in the conference. The two-time USILA First Team All-American scooped up 20 ground balls across his 12 starts so far this spring.
“This award is a tremendous honor but I could not have won it without my teammates and my coaching staff,” said Slattery. “My coaching staff has helped me so much over my career with practice drills, film sessions, scouts, game plans, and much more. Although it is an individual award, lacrosse is a team sport and my defensive unit as a whole won this award. We operate as a seven man unit, six defensive players, and one goalie. We fail as a unit and we succeed as a unit. This award shows the dedication, hard work, and preparation that our defensive unit has put in since last May.”
St. Anselm closed out the regular season with a 9-3 record and will face Pace University in the first round of the NE10 Playoffs.
“I came back for my fifth year for a reason. I believe this team has the ability to make a run in the NE10 playoffs and make program history,” he said. “We have strong upperclassmen leadership and young underclassmen talent. This moment right now is what we have worked for, for so many years, for the chance to play postseason lacrosse in May. It is an absolute privilege that my teammates and I do not take for granted. So, we will make the most of our opportunity and not waste the borrowed time we are on.”
The upcoming playoffs will mark the end of a historical career for Slattery.
“Half a decade of playing the sport I love with my best friends. The end is going to be bittersweet, but all good things must come to an end,” he said. “After I graduate and finally retire, I think I will take a break from lacrosse for a little bit. Eventually, down the road, I think I would like to get into coaching, either at the high school or collegiate level. The future is a bit unknown but we will see where it takes me.”
Elsewhere, St. Michael’s College senior Michael Cammarata, also of North Andover, was recently named the Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Week. Cammarata recorded six ground balls and five caused turnovers while anchoring a defensive unit that yielded only 9.5 goals in two wins. Against No. 7 Saint Anselm, he notched five ground balls and four caused turnovers before posting one more ground ball and caused turnover at Saint Rose.
The second-year captain, who was a New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) All-New England pick as a sophomore, has 11 ground balls and eight caused turnovers this spring, bolstering a career line of 84 ground balls and 50 caused turnovers in 50 games, including 49 starts. He is tied for ninth in program history in the latter.
Besides lacrosse, Cammarata is a member of Army ROTC, Knights Standard, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and the Saint Michael’s chapter of the Student Veterans of America.
Staying with defense and North Andover residents, Patrick Carey, a graduate student at UMass Boston, leads the team with a whopping 85 groundballs, to go with his 37 caused turnovers. Also, Nicholas Fulgione has kept up his torrid scoring ways as he now has 33 goals and 17 assists for Emerson College (7-8).
Castleton College is struggling in the win department, but Jordan Damske, of Haverhill, has 12 goals and two assists, along with 24 groundballs.
Curry also has just four wins this season, but Methuen’s Connor Bryant has found the back of the net 11 times.
Defender Francis Pino, who played at Central Catholic, has 53 groundballs and 26 caused turnovers for Lasell University. He has now surpassed the 100 mark in career groundballs with 104.
Also formerly of Central Catholic, brothers Michael and Connor Finneran, of Andover, are playing a part in the success of RIT (15-1). Michael has eight goals and four assists and Connor has three goals on the season.
There are ten local players on the Southern New Hampshire University team including eight who have seen action. The team’s top two scorers include Ryan Auger (Pinkerton Academy), who has 26 goals and 28 assists, and Ryan Lynch (Pinkerton), who has 31 goals and six assists. Also in the mix includes Cody Fleming (Timberlane) with nine goals, Owen McCormack (Pinkerton) with four goals, Patrick Roy (North Andover), Christian Perez (Methuen) and Gennaro Marra (Pinkerton) with two goals each.
Matt Licata, a senior who scored 225 points during his career at Timberlane Regional, leads Villanova University (8-5) in scoring with 31 goals and 18 assists. He has scored in every one of the team’s 13 games. Another former Timberlane star, Nathan Vibber is enjoying a great season with Husson, with 27 goals and 5 assists as well as 23 groundballs and 10 caused turnovers.
Bryant is off to an 8-4 start which includes two locals playing big parts. Senior Nathan Laliberte, formerly a Pinkerton Academy star, has won 181 of 282 faceoffs, while, another former Pinkerton star Mason Drouin has scored 18 goals and assisted on ten others. Finally of Pinkerton fame, Riley Spellman has 31 goals and 10 assists coming in just 17 games for Roger Williams.
Senior Thomas Doe of Windham is about to finish off a solid career at New England College. This year he has 13 goals, 7 assists and 62 groundballs.
Rivier is off a strong 9-6 record and has seven locals players on the roster including Salem residents, defender Adam Hailey (39 groundballs, 22 caused turnovers) and attacker Michael Ference (30 goals, 33 assists, 63 points), while Windham’s Sawyer Hall and Plaistow resident Jaden Lee have combined for eleven goals and four assists.
Senior attack Owen McCormack, a former Phillips Academy star, has 19 goals and 17 assists thus far for Franklin Pierce. Another PA star Jon Krikorian has started half of the games for Trinity and is second on the team in scoring with 20 goals and 16 assists.
Women
North Andover resident Isabela Miller is having an incredible season for Holy Cross. A former Brooks School star who also played one year at Phillips Andover, leads the team with 37 goals and 48 assists. She recently had four goals and four assists against Army West Point and then a pair of goals against Boston University. Teammate Tory Rider, who previously played at Phillips, has 13 goals and seven assists.
Windham resident Frida Turriza continues to light the lamp for Simmons College. The junior, who transferred from UMass Lowell, has 53 goals and five assists this season, to go with her 51 draw controls and 41 groundballs. Last year she netted 49 goals. Also of Windham, Cecelia Ponzini has 23 goals and 22 assists, as well as 27 draw controls and 33 groundballs for Colby-Sawyer.
Also leading her team in scoring is St. Lawrence attacker Morgan Arakelian. The North Andover resident has 12 goals and 24 assists, including four straight games with two assists each. Former Brooks star Kate Coughlin is also tops on Connecticut College’s stats page with 35 goals and nine assists.
Babson College is enjoying a fantastic season with a 13-2 overall record and a 9-0 mark in NEWMAC play. Three North Andover residents have played a part in the success, starting with sisters Abbie and Michaela Downer. Abbie, a senior, who plays defense, has 12 groundballs and eight cause turnovers. Her sister is an attacker and has scored 20 goals. The third player, Solana Fahey has six goals to her credit.
Sticking with the North Andover theme, Ainsley Dion has scored 12 goals thus far for Colby College (10-4), while, Olivia DeLonais has 21 goals and eight assists for Franklin Pierce. She has already surpassed last year’s point total of 25. Finally, Alison Ferullo has continued to be a legitimate scorer for St. Anselm. Currently she has 35 goals on the season and 120 in her career. She had four goals in a recent game against Franklin Pierce.
At Bentley College, former Central Catholic star Caroline Affolter is continuing to have a tremendous career for the Falcons, needing two more goals to reach 100 in her career. The senior midfielder currently has 30 goals and 13 assists, giving her 98 career goals, 23 assists and 121 points. Also, formerly of Central Catholic, Lindsey Bohenko has nine goals and six assists for Westfield State and Grace Lydon has scored in eleven straight games for UMass Lowell, giving her 26 goals and six assists on the season.
Alexis Hornsby is making quite the impression as a freshman for New England College. The former Timberlane star has 19 goals, four assists, 38 groundballs and 31 caused turnovers.
Another defender who is excelling is Pelham’s Cassie Hemmerdinger, who has 55 groundballs, 54 draw controls and 44 caused turnovers to go along with her three goals and five assists. In her career, she has 124 groundballs, 123 draw controls and is 12 caused turnovers away of reaching 100 in that department as well. Also of Pelham, Jordan Galgay has ten goals and six assists for AIC, which has struggled with a 1-9 record thus far.
Former Brooks School star Madeline Delaney has been on a tear for Tufts (13-2). She has scored in each of the past eight games and during that streak she has scored 17 of her 22 goals on the season.
At the University of New Haven, Derry resident Caitlin Seleny is enjoying a successful season with 18 tallies and 12 helpers.