Naperville's Danny Loyall From Aurora University Lacrosse Team Receives Postseason Conference Honors

2013 May 10

The Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC) announced the 2013 All-Conference Team and postseason awards on Monday, May 6 with the AU Spartans being prominent members throughout, including Danny Loyall of Naperville.

AU Head Coach Kylor Berkman was named the MLC Coach of the Year, while junior long-stick midfielder Spencer Fuqua (Cypress, Calif./ Los Alamitos H.S.) was named the MLC Defensive Player of the Year, his second consecutive season winning the award, and sophomore midfielder Max Obriecht (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North H.S.) was named the MLC Offensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Berkman's team had seven players on the All-Conference First-Team, one player on the All-Conference Second-Team and two players on the Honorable Mention Team. In his second season at the helm of the Spartans, Berkman led AU its first MLC Championship and NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships appearance. In his two seasons, he is 28-7 overall and 18-1 in the MLC.

In addition to his Defensive Player of the Year award, Fuqua was selected to the MLC First-Team All-Conference team. On the season, he has five goals and three assists, while picking up 102 ground balls and 67 caused turnovers. A leader of the AU defense, Fuqua and the defensive corps have allowed 5.78 goals per game and caused 249 turnovers. In 99 man-down situations, the Spartans have allowed just 10 goals.

As the MLC Offensive Player of the Year, Obriecht, also a First-Team All-Conference selection, leads the Spartans with 50 goals while dishing out 29 assists. He has four man-up goals while going 208-of-308 in faceoff opportunities.

Joining Fuqua and Obriecht as a First-Team selections were junior goalkeeper Adam Holka (Howell, Mich./Hartland H.S.), junior defenseman Corey Loubert (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central H.S.), junior attackman Garret Rosiek (Blue Bell, Penn./Wissahickon H.S.), junior short-stick defender Jack Barry (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo H.S.) and sophomore defenseman Johnny Harkins (Lake Oswego, Ore./Lake Oswego H.S.). Holka holds a 15-3 record with a 5.73 goals-against average and 149 saves in 18 games; Loubert has 26 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers; Rosiek has 102 points with 64 assists and 38 goals (four being man-up goals) to go along with 63 groundballs; Barry has 22 goals, six assists, 72 groundballs and 33 caused turnovers; Harkins has 23 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers.

Second-Team All-Conference honors went to sophomore attackman Danny Loyall (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central H.S.). Loyall has 42 goals (two being man-up goals) and 22 assists.

The Spartans two honorable mention all-conference recipients were junior midfielder Justin Bose (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Pioneer H.S.) and junior short-stick defender Andrew Miller (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston H.S.). Bose has 15 goals and eight assists, while Miller has one assist, eight groundballs and three caused turnovers.

The Aurora University men's lacrosse team is currently 16-3 overall and played in their first NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships game in the brief history of the program at Aurora University on Wednesday, May 8 at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Spartans defeated the host Battling Bishops 13-9. The win marks the first men's lacrosse win by a NCAA program in the state of Illinois. AU was the 2013 regular season and tournament champions in the MLC and went 10-0 in the MLC regular season.

Next action for the Spartan men's lacrosse team comes on Saturday, May 11 in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. AU will travel to SUNY Cortland in Cortland, New York. Game time is to be determined and will be announced once released by the host school.

Aurora University is an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning, annually educating more than 4,400 degree-seeking students at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. The university has a long tradition of preparing students for lives of service and leadership, and using its resources and expertise to meet the needs of the community. In addition to its main campus in Aurora, Ill., AU offers programs online, at its George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wis., and at the Woodstock Center in downtown Woodstock, Ill. Learn more at aurora.edu.