Once again, the youth movement on the men’s lacrosse team was noticed around the America East. At the conference awards banquet on Wednesday evening, freshman midfielder Steve Carlson and senior defender Tom Wilmot were named first-team all-conference. Carlson, the only freshman on the all-conference teams, was named the AE Rookie of the Year.

Carlson made an immediate impact on the offense as the long-range shooting threat that Binghamton desperately needed in the 2006 season.

‘Carlson’s a freaking sniper,’ said sophomore attack Jake Boyce. ‘He’s changed a lot in how we run the midfield. He the reason we came back against UMBC the first time.’

Carlson scored five goals in the first UMBC matchup, and scored 15 on the season. He was second on the team in scoring and third in points.

The offense also benefited from three freshmen attackers: Jeff Rurey, Drew Wichmann and Andy Cook. All three, along with Carlson were named to the AE All-Rookie ream. It is the second straight year that Binghamton had a conference-high four players named to the rookie squad.

While the Bearcats’ future looks bright, they will lose their most physical defenseman to graduation this spring. Wilmot, a defender known for his punishing body checks, excelled at causing turnovers. Consequently, Wilmot picked up 33 ground balls, tops among Binghamton’s defenders.

Regular season champions Albany placed all 10 starters on the first and second all-conference teams.