Terps Claim Multiple Big Ten Honors
5/2/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland men's lacrosse head coach John Tillman has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year, senior attackman Matt Rambo has been named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and senior defender Tim Muller has been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as announced Wednesday by the Big Ten Conference.
Rambo, who was unanimously selected First Team All-Big Ten, was joined on the first team by Muller and junior midfielder Connor Kelly. Senior defensive midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen, senior attackman Colin Heacock and junior midfielder Tim Rotanz were named Second Team All-Big Ten.
Muller is the second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in Maryland history, joining Casey Ikeda in 2015, while Rambo is the first three-time All-Big Ten honoree for the program.
Junior goalkeeper Dan Morris earned the team's Sportsmanship Award.
Tillman's conference coach of the year honor is the second of his career, as he won ACC Coach of the Year in 2014. Tillman's 2017 team recently captured the Big Ten regular season title outright with a 4-1 conference record, while ranking in the top-10 of the national polls all season.
Rambo is having a career-best season with 33 goals and 30 assists through 13 games, leading the Big Ten in both points (4.9/g) and assists (2.3/g) while also ranking third in goals (2.5/g). He recently became Maryland's all-time points leader, passing Bob Boneillo ('80) with a spectacular seven-point performance against rival Johns Hopkins.
Muller has been the defensive anchor for Maryland's close defense, starting all 13 games and totaling 23 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. The senior has also had a career-best season on the offensive end in transition, scoring three goals and adding an assist.
Kelly has proven to be one of the best midfielders in the nation, totaling 28 goals and 10 assists in his junior season. He totaled 15 of his 28 goals in conference action, including four goals against both Johns Hopkins and Penn State.
Davis-Allen has largely been known as one of the best short stick defensive midfielders in the country for years, and has totaled 35 ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. A two-time captain for the Terrapins, Davis-Allen is also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.
Despite missing one conference game to injury, Heacock still totaled 14 points in Big Ten action. The senior captain currently ranks second on the team with 14 assists and also has 21 goals to his name on the season.
Rotanz has shined in his first season as a starter on the first midfield line, posting 29 points on 19 goals and 10 assists. He has four hat tricks on the season, with three coming against opponents ranked in the top-10 nationally at the time.
2017 MEN'S LACROSSE ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS AND INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Coach of the Year: John Tillman, Maryland
Offensive Player of the Year: Matt Rambo, Maryland
Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Muller, Maryland
Freshman of the Year: Tre LeClaire, Ohio State
Specialist of the Year: Jake Withers, Ohio State
First-Team All-Big Ten*
Nick Fields, Johns Hopkins
Joel Tinney, Johns Hopkins
Connor Kelly, Maryland
Tim Muller, Maryland
MATT RAMBO, Maryland
Tom Carey, Ohio State
Eric Fannell, Ohio State
JAKE WITHERS, Ohio State
Grant Ament, Penn State
NICK APONTE, Penn State
Michael Rexrode, Rutgers
Second-Team All-Big Ten
Kyle Marr, Johns Hopkins
Shack Stanwick, Johns Hopkins
Isaiah Davis-Allen, Maryland
Colin Heacock, Maryland
Tim Rotanz, Maryland
Tre LeClaire, Ohio State
Ben Randall, Ohio State
Chris Sabia, Penn State
Max Edelmann, Rutgers
Kieran Mullins, Rutgers
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
*Additional honorees due to tie
-TERPS-
