RICHMOND, VA -- The University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team, which will play Towson for the Colonial Athletic Association championship Saturday night at Towson, dominated the All-CAA post-season awards that were announced Friday afternoon by the league office.

Led by CAA Player of the Year Alex Smith (Boy’s Latin/Timonium, MD - at top right), the Blue Hens placed a league-high five players on the All-CAA first team, one on the All-CAA second team, and two on the CAA All-Rookie team. Joining Smith on the first team were senior attackman Adam Zuder-Havens (Corning East/Corning, NY - fourth at right), senior midfielder Dan Deckelbaum (Owings Mills/Owings Mills, MD - at middle right), senior midfielder Jordan Hall (Fleetwood Park/Surrey, British Columbia - second at right), and senior defenseman Rob Smith (Somers/Mahopac, NY - bottom right).

Senior longstick defenseman Brian Calabrese (West Genesee/Syracuse, NY) earned a spot on the second team while attackman Curtis Dickson (Riverside/Port Coquitlan, British Columbia) and midfielder Kevin Kaminski (Strath-Haven/Wallingford, PA) were named to the All-Rookie team.

Delaware (10-5), which is currently ranked No. 17 in the latest USILA Top 20 poll, defeated Drexel 11-7 in the CAA semifinals Wednesday night and will travel to No. 14 Towson for the championship game May 5 at 7:30 p.m. The winner earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Drexel captured the other three major awards as senior Adam Crystal was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, attackman Colin Ambler was named Rookie of the Year, and head coach Chris Bates was named Coach of the Year.

Alex Smith, a two-time All-American and the most successful faceoff specialist in the history of college lacrosse, becomes the seventh Delaware player to earn conference Player of the Year honors and the first since current teammate Jordan Hall was honored in 2005. Smith also becomes just the third UD player to earn all-conference honors all four years (first team selections in 2005, 2006, and 2007), joining Ralph Rogers (1977-80) and Anthony DiMarzo (1992-95).

He solidified himself as the most accomplished faceoff specialist in the history of the game this season as he leads the NCAA in the category for the third straight year. In addition to scoring five goals and dishing out two assists, he has won 260 of 349 faceoff attempts (74.5 percent) and also leads the nation in groundballs with 140 (9.3 per game) this season. He has set NCAA career records for faceoffs won (976) and attempted (1,403) this season and his 523 career groundballs are just 18 shy of Steve Shaw’s Delaware and NCAA record of 541 set in 1983-86. A team co-captain, he also holds Delaware records for games played in a career (65), groundballs in a game (22), faceoffs won in a game (27) and season (261), faceoffs taken in a game (40) and a season (381), and faceoff winning percentage in a game (21 for 21 vs. Wagner, 2006).

Zuder-Havens is the leading goal and point scorer for a Delaware team that leads the CAA and ranks third nationally in scoring offense with 12.1 goals per game. The second-year transfer from Herkimer Junior College has 29 goals and eight assist for 37 points to go with 25 groundballs. He has scored two or more goals eight times, including four each vs. Lehigh, Villanova, and in the CAA semifinal win over Drexel. His six points on four goals and two assists vs. Villanova is the top-scoring performance by a Blue Hen this season.

Deckelbaum earned a spot on the first team for the second straight season as he is Delaware’s second leading goal and point scorer with 22 goals and six assists for 28 points and also has contributed 21 groundballs. He scored at least one point in all but one game this season and scored three or more four times, including four in the season-opening win over Saint Joseph’s. He was Delaware’s leading goal scorer with 31 a year ago and has registered 72 career goals.

Hall, a member of the Canadian National Team, earned a spot on the All-CAA for the third straight year after being named CAA Player of the Year in 2005 and earning second team honors last season. Ranked No. 16 on Delaware’s all-time scoring list with 129 points on 77 goals and 52 assists, Hall has scored a point in 27 straight games entering the Towson game, the 10th longest active streak in the country. A co-captain, he is Delaware’s third leading scorer this season with 27 points on 18 goals and nine assists and ranks third on the team with 41 groundballs. He scored a season-high four goals vs. Towson earlier this season.

Rob Smith, a first-year transfer from Georgetown University, was the Blue Hens’ top defenseman all season long and helped Delaware allow just 8.27 goals per game and hold six opponents to five goals or less. He started all 15 games, scored four goals from his defensive position, led the team with 20 caused turnovers, and ranked second on the squad with 45 groundballs. He helped lead Georgetown to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances before transferring to Delaware where he is currently working on his master’s degree in business.

Calabrese, a co-captain, enjoyed his finest season with the Blue Hens despite playing most of his career in a backup role. The team’s Gary Celeste Award winner for dedication to the team, he has played in all 15 games and registered one goal, 37 groundballs, and 15 caused turnovers and was a key component of the Blue Hens’ man down defense that ranks third in the nation with a success rate of 81.1 percent.

Dickson came on late in the season to become one of the Blue Hens’ most reliable goal-scorers. After playing a backup role at midfield, he moved into a starting spot on attack late in the season and is currently the team’s fifth leading scorer with 13 goals and six assists for 19 points. He appeared in just five of the team’s first nine games, but gained the starting nod vs. Drexel April 7 and proceeded to score at least one point in each of the final six games. He scored 11 goals over the last five games, including four vs. Villanova when he scored the game-winner with under three minutes left to play.

Kaminski has played well in a backup role at midfield and is the team’s fourth leading goal scorer with 15 goals and seventh leading point-producer with 17 points. He played in 14 games and also posted eight groundballs and two forced turnovers. He scored two more goals four times, including three each in wins over Manhattan and Mt. St. Mary’s and two in the CAA semifinal win over Drexel.

AGATE:

First Team All-CAA: Attack - Andrew Chapman (Drexel), Bobby Griebe (Towson), Adam Zuder-Havens (Delaware); Midfield - Dan Deckelbaum (Delaware), Jordan Hall (Delaware), Eric Heidenberger (Villanova); Defense - Rob Smith (Delaware), Adam Crystal (Drexel), Matthew Mehrer (Towson); Faceoff - Alex Smith (Delaware); Longstick Midfield - Steve Grossi (Drexel); Goalkeeper - Bruce Bickford (Drexel).

Second Team All-CAA: Attack - Chris MacDonald (Villanova), Tom Dooley (Hofstra), Peter Greco (Sacred Heart); Midfield - Kevin Unterstein (Hofstra), Brian Vetter (Towson), Mike Unterstein (Hofstra); Defense - Adam Swarsen (Hofstra), Brett McGlensey (Sacred Heart), Paul Genovese (Villanova); Faceoff - Chris Colliniates (Villanova); Longstick Midfield - Brian Calabrese (Delaware); Goalkeeper - Matt Antol (Towson).

CAA All-Rookie Team: Colin Ambler (Drexel), Curtis Dickson (Delaware), Cryder DiPietro (Drexel), Zak Fisher (Drexel), Tom Interlicchio (Hofstra), Kevin Kaminski (Delaware), Bryan McCartney (Villanova), Matt McCormick (Drexel), Evan Morgan (Sacred Heart), Danny Orlando (Hofstra), Dan Stein (Hofstra).

CAA Player of the Year: Alex Smith (Delaware)
CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Adam Crystal (Drexel)
CAA Rookie of the Year: Colin Ambler (Drexel)
CAA Coach of the Year: Chris Bates (Drexel)