Murphy Named Coach of the Year; Four Players Voted All-Conference
Waltham, Mass. – Bentley University's head men's lacrosse coach Jim Murphy was named the 2019 NE10 Coach of the Year, and four of his players were voted on to the All-Conference teams, it was announced Wednesday.
Murphy was named the NE10 Coach of the Year for the 6th time in his career after he guided the Falcons to a 9-4 regular season record, 7-4 in the NE10 and a spot in the NE10 playoffs. He earned his 200th career win with a victory over Saint Michael's on April 6, which made him just the 5th Division II coach all-time to surpass 200 wins.
His team has been ranked in the USILA Coaches poll for the last three weeks.
The four players voted All-Conference were goalie Michael Haggan (Braintree, Mass./BC High) to the 2nd team, midfielder Matt Brooks (Brunswick, Maine/Phillips Exeter) and defensive midfielder Connor Baughan (Foxborough, Mass./Portsmouth Abbey) to the third team, and defensive midfielder Ben Baldasaro (Exeter, N.H./Exeter) to the All-Rookie team.
Haggan was one of the top goalies in the NE10 in 2019. In 12 regular season games he posted a 57.4 save percentage, made 152 total saves and had a 9.95 goals against average. He was named the NE10 Goalie of the Week on April 9 after two stellar games against Southern N.H. and Saint Michael's, where he combined for an 85.7 save percentage in two wins.
Including the postseason, Haggan is currently 5th in the NE10 in both save percentage (56.6) and GAA (10.44).
Brooks finished the year second on the team in both goals (22) and points (31). He had several big games throughout the season. He netted a hat trick in in Bentley's season opening win at New York Tech and scored three of the team's eight goals. He had a career high five points on three goals and two assists in a win over Southern N.H. Brooks also had three goals in both of Bentley's games against Pace this season.
Baughan led the Falcons with 40 ground balls as a short stick defensive midfielder, and also caused six turnovers. He had a high of seven ground balls in two games, in wins over Roberts Wesleyan and Southern N.H. He also had five ground balls and two caused turnovers in a big win over Assumption. Baughan also chipped in offensively with three goals on the season.
Baldasaro also played as a defensive midfielder. He played in 13 games in his freshman season and picked up 13 ground balls, with a high of three at Pace on April 20.