The Syracuse University Men's Team of the Decade

The polls have closed, the results tabulated, and you have chosen the Syracuse University Men's Lacrosse Team of the Decade.

We asked you to consider a list of players at seven positions, players who had had at least two years on the field as part of the Orange. They were limited to one position. Short-stick, or defensive middie and LSM were the positions with the most wiggle-room, since they both really came of age as positions in their own right as the decade progressed.

It was interesting watching the results as they came in over the week. The first day found most of the late-decade choices taking early leads, which we attributed to the proclivity of the younger fans to jump on the web early on the weekend. As Monday ended, however, the early-decade stars had fought their way back into the mix. No one player was a unanimous choice at their position, which was a little bit of a surprise, but two players in particular dominated all week long.

We will list those chosen as the first team, with their percentage of the vote, and the just-missed vote-getter. Our personal choices will be in italics. As you note the percentages for the 3-player positions, a 34% figure would mean a unanimous selection.

Attack:

There was no question from the get-go as to who would claim one of the attack slots. Four-time Attackman of the Year and Two-time Tewaaraton Award winner Mikey Powell (33%) was the runaway choice as the top attackman, and also gathered the most votes of any player at any position. Mike Leveille (24%), SU's second Tewaaraton Award winner, finished second. Rounding out the attack was one of the heroes of the 2009 NCAA Championship Game, Kenny Nims (18%) (Watertown). Josh Coffman (10%)  (Carthage) came in fourth.  (Mikey Powell, Josh Coffman, Liam Banks)

Midfield:

As the votes came in, there was really only one spot up for grabs in this category. Matt Abbott (26%) (Nottingham) and Steven Brooks (25%) swapped the top spot several times, with Matt finishing on top by 6 votes. Several players were in the mix for the last slot, and Sean Lindsey (15%) finally claimed the third spot in the last few days. Finishing fourth was Dan Hardy (11%) (Tully). (Matt Abbott, Steven Brooks, Sean Lindsey)

Longstick Defenders:

Of the 3-player positions, this was the tightest battle among the top three vote-getters as they each received more than 20% of the votes. When the smoke cleared, Sid Smith (28%) finished on top, followed by Marshall Abrams (25%) and John Glatzel (21%). Tully High assistant coach Sol Bliss (10%) was a distant, but respectable fourth. (Sid Smith, Marshall Abrams, John Glatzel)

Long Stick Middie:

This category was not even close. Like he does with loose balls on the field, Joel White (94%) (Cortland) grabbed  the lead and kept on running, ending with the second-most votes overall. Sean McGonicle (3%) came in second. (Joel White)

Defensive Middie:

The result here was never in doubt. Jarett Park (72%) (CBA)  took the early lead despite his first name being spelled wrong on the survey. Sorry Jarett. John Carrozza (14%) made a late run, but it was too little, too late. (Jarett Park)

Faceoff Middie:

The final two positions, Goalie and FOGO, were the most hotly contested in the survey. Throughout the voting period, Chris Cercy and Danny Brennan, one might say, faced off for the FOGO title as this was the closest race in the survey. The early lead went to Brennan, and they swapped positions several times before Chris Cercy claimed the lead and secured it in the last 48 hours. Cercy ended with 50% of the vote, while Brennan came in with 43%. (Chris Cercy)

 Goalie:

As we choose the nominees for the All Decade Team, it was apparent that Goaltender would probably be one of the most competitive categories since Championship teams absolutely need great goaltending. And great goaltenders we had, with seven Championship Game appearances between the three nominees. The pattern mentioned above continued, with current goalie John Galloway taking an early lead with alumni Jay Pfeifer and Rob Mulligan close behind. But during the middle of the week, Pfeifer pulled ahead and seemed to be on his way. As the week ended, though, John Galloway (48%) (West Genesee) dominated the last two days of voting , overtaking Jay Pfeifer (35%) to become Goalie of the Decade. (Jay Pfeifer)

Attack:  Mikey Powell, Mike Leveille, Kenny Nims

Midfield: Matt Abbott, Steven Brooks, Sean Lindsey

Defense: Sid Smith, Marshall Abrams, John Glatzel

LSM: Joel White

D-Middie: Jarett Park

FOGO: Chris Ceercy

Goalie: John Galloway