Morrissey, Hawley & Gerbush named Face-Off/Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Three standout players from last year's Williams men's lacrosse team that captured its first NESCAC title have been accorded 2009 Preseason All-American honors by Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse magazine. Seniors Brian Morrissey (Winchester, Mass.) and goalie Michael Gerbush (Glen Head, NY) are joined by sophomore attack David Hawley (New Canaan, CT) on the Face-Off Preseason All-America teams.

Morrissey was named to the Face-Off Preseason All-America Second Team, Hawley was named to the Third Team and Gerbush was awarded Honorable Mention recognition.

This trio led the Williams to the its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament last spring when they closed out the regular season and the NESCAC Tournament with six consecutive wins over nationally ranked teams.

Last season Morrissey was named First Team All-NESCAC, Second Team All-NEILA and Second Team ECAC-New England. He tallied four goals on the year and two of them were game-winners. He assisted on the game-winning goal in OT in the regular season finale to lift the Ephs over Bowdoin and into the NESCAC Tournament as the sixth seed.  Morrissey had six points on the year on four goals and two assists.

This past fall Morrissey concluded his Williams football career as the Ephs all-time leading rusher in Division III play with 2,682 yards. His is a four-year letterman in both football and lacrosse.

Hawley was named a Face-Off Preseason All-American after leading the Ephs in goals last season with 40. He also assisted on six goals for a total of 46 points. Hawley was a NESCAC First Team selection, First Team All-NEILA, First Team All-ECAC-New England and was named the NESCAC and NEILA Rookie of the Year.

Michael Gerbush was named to the NEILA First Team and earned Second Team All-NESCAC honors. A year ago Gerbush posted a 7.74 goals against average in 977 minutes. He registered 199 saves on the year resulting in a .612 save percentage.