State College, Pa. - May 11, 2006 - Four members of head coach Glenn Thiel's Penn State Nittany Lion lacrosse team have earned All-ECAC honors as voted on by the league's eight head coaches. Freshman Drew Adams (Springfield, Pa.) leads the way as the conference's Goalkeeper of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Joining Adams on the All-ECAC squad is senior attacker Nate Whitaker (Great Falls, Va.), junior midfielder Pat Heim (Wayne, Pa.) and junior defender Dan Saltsman (Concord, N.H.). Junior Brian Boyle (Derry, N.H.) and senior Greg Gurenlian (Springfield, Pa.) were named to the All-ECAC second team. In his first season with Penn State, Adams started all 13 games for Penn State and boasted an 8.25 goals against average. He had 164 saves as well, facing 414 shots during the course of the season. Adams is the only freshman on the team and one of only two underclassmen. Whitaker led Penn State in goals with 28 and added four assists to finish second on the team with 32 points. He leaves Penn State with 101 goals, fourth all-time at Penn State, and 141 points, seventh all-time. Heim had 17 goals and five assists for 22 points this year. He added 28 ground balls as well, sixth on the team. He is one of three repeat All-ECAC selections on this year's team as well. In three years as a starter, Heim has 44 goals and 22 assists for 66 points. Saltsman earned his first All-ECAC nod with this year's selection. A three-year letterman, Saltsman has started for the last two. This year, he collected 28 ground balls, fifth on the team and has 82 career ground balls. UMass attacker Sean Morris was named Offensive Player of the Year, Minuteman defender Jack Reid was named Defensive Player of the Year and Loyola's Charley Toomey was named Coach of the Year. Boyle led Penn State in scoring with 37 points off 12 goals and a team-best 25 assists. A three-year letterman, Boyle has 67 career points off 26 goals and 41 assists. Gurenlian led Penn State with 98 ground balls and a .610 face-off percentage (winning 158 of 259). He leaves Penn State as the all-time leader in face-offs won. Penn State is coming off an 8-5 season that saw it go 5-2 in the league and finish in second place. The Lions dropped a 10-9 decision to No. 5 Georgetown in the season finale, a game that decided the league title. Penn State was ranked No. 16 in the final regular season USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The complete 2006 ECAC All-League Honors are as follows: Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Goalkeeper of the Year Rookie of the Year Coach of the Year First Team Second Team
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