BERLIN- Former Stephen Decatur lacrosse standout Mike Doherty, who now plays at Lycoming College, has been tabbed a pre-season honorable mention All American by InsideLacrosse.com for the second straight year.
Doherty, a Berlin native, who excelled at Decatur, is now a junior face-off specialist with a penchant for gobbling up ground balls at Lycoming College, a Division III school in Williamsport, Pa. Last season, Doherty finished 15th in the country in face-off percentage, winning 174 of 272, or 64 percent, of his draws. He was also ninth in Division III in ground ball, grabbing a total of 133, or over eight per game for the Warriors.
As a sophomore in 2008, Doherty started all 16 games for Lycoming, scoring three goals. He led the team in ground balls and recorded a nation’s best 11-plus ground balls per game. He also won nearly 69 percent of his face-offs that season. As a freshman in 2007, Doherty played in 14 games, starting 11. He scored one goal and recorded two assists in his freshman year and grabbed 46 ground balls and had a successful face-off percentage of just over 53 percent.
Under fourth-year head coach Brian Anken, Lycoming went 11-5 overall in 2009 and tied for first in the Middle Atlantic Conference with a 9-1 record. The Warriors open their 2010 season on February 27 against SUNY-Maritime.