The Canisius College men’s lacrosse team named its team captains for the 2017 season, announced by head coach Randy Mearns on Monday. Seniors Jeff Edwards and Lewis Vaccaro plus junior Steven Coss will serve as co-captains for the upcoming campaign.
“We are really excited to have Jeff, Lewis and Steven serve as our three captains for the 2017 season,” Mearns said. “These three young men have not only become great lacrosse players during their time at Canisius, but are also excellent leaders off the field and in the classroom. Leadership is a contact sport and these three men are up for the challenge. They are role models on the field and display their commitment daily by being first-in, last-out players. We have no doubt that they can continue to move our program forward and get our team to accomplish its goals in 2017.”
One of the nation’s top midfielders in 2016, Edwards was named to the All-MAAC First Team after leading the Griffs with 40 points and 26 assists to go along with 14 tallies. The Jamesville, New York, native finished the year as the fourth-highest scoring midfielder in the country with 3.33 points per game, while also placing ninth nationally with 2.17 assists per game. Overall, Edwards has accumulated 88 points, 36 goals and 52 assists in 42 career games with the Blue and Gold.
Vaccaro enjoyed his most productive season as a junior in 2016. After recording three points in his first two seasons with the Griffs, the Buffalo native started all 12 games on the team’s top midfield line last season and totaled 19 points, 13 goals and six assists. Overall, Vaccaro has collected 22 points, 33 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers during his collegiate career.
Coss excelled in his first year as the team’s primary faceoff specialist in 2016. The Canton, Ohio, native ranked third in the conference by claiming 51.5 percent of his faceoffs last season in addition to placing third with 3.67 ground balls per game. He won more than 50 percent of his restarts in six of his last seven contests and seven of the last nine, including a school-record postseason performance at the 2016 MAAC Tournament to earn all-tournament team accolades. Coss has also added eight points and seven goals in 27 career contests.
The trio is set to lead a team that returns 21 letterwinners and six starters from the 2016 campaign, one which the Griffs finished tied for third in the MAAC standings and qualified for the conference tournament for the second time in three years.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
