August 13, 2009
Eck named MLL's Most Improved
by PR Wire Report/
Cannons faceoff man Chris Eck was selected as the 2009 Warrior Most Improved Player of the Year in Major League Lacrosse. The award was based on the votes submitted by the head coaches and general manager of each of the league’s six teams.
Last season, Eck, selected by the Cannons with the 38th overall pick in the 2008 MLL Collegiate Draft, appeared in just a single game for the Cannons, going 23 of 37 at the faceoff X vs. Denver’s Geoff Snider in the Cannons' final regular-season game.
Eck ranks third all-time in NCAA Division 1 lacrosse history and first in Colgate history in faceoff wins with a total of 658. He's a four-time All-Patriot League honoree who owns the top three single-season win totals in Colgate lacrosse history. His best year came in 2008 when he won 193 faceoffs.
This year Eck appeared in all 12 regular-season games for Boston, winning 196 of 359 faceoff attempts and collecting 70 ground balls. His 196 victories were second to only Washington’s Alex Smith, who had 217 faceoff wins on 368 attempts.
Eck also scored five goals this season, including the game-winning goal in Boston’s May 30 victory over the Chicago Machine and two in Boston’s decisive 22-11 victory over the Machine on June 15.
All-Time Most Improved Players of the Year
2005 Andrew “Buggs” Combs, Rochester Rattlers
2006 John Christmas, Boston Cannons
2007 Spencer Ford, Los Angeles Riptide
2008 Merrick Thomson, New Jersey Pride
2009 Chris Eck, Boston Cannons
Eck received three first-place votes and tallied 18 points, while his Cannons teammate Sean Morris (Marshfield, Mass./UMass) finished second in the voting with 15 points.
Eck, Morris and the fourth-seeded Cannons will face the top-seeded Denver Outlaws in the first semifinal matchup of Saturday, Aug. 22, as part of New Balance MLL Championship Weekend. The game is slated to begin at noon, televised live on ESPN2HD.
Toronto and Long Island will meet in the other semifinal at 3 p.m., with the championship game scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 23, at 1 p.m.
