Sean Morris is recuperating from a high ankle sprain. (Boston Blazers)Current Section
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Massachusetts: NLL's Boston Blazers Acquire Former UMass Star Sean Morris
Massachusetts: NLL's Boston Blazers Acquire Former UMass Star Sean Morris
Aug. 1, 2008
BOSTON, Mass. - In their second major deal this week, the Boston Blazers announced today that they acquired forward Sean Morris, a former University of Massachusetts All-American from Marshfield, Mass..
To obtain the services of Morris, former Syracuse University defenseman Steve Panarelli and a 2010 second-round draft choice, the Blazers traded defenseman Devan Wray to the Calgary Roughnecks in exchange for defenseman Travis Gillespie and a third-round selection in the 2009 National Lacrosse League (NLL) entry draft. To complete the three-way trade, Boston sent Gillespie, forward Tom Johnson and a third-round draft pick in the 2009 NLL entry draft to the San Jose Stealth.
The deal unites two players from the University of Massachusetts' 2006 NCAA Final Four team as Morris joins defenseman Jack Reid who was acquired by the Blazers in a trade on Tuesday, July 29. Morris was the 2005 and 2006 New England player of the year as a collegian.
"We are very excited about Sean's potential for growth as he plays the indoor game," said Blazers head coach and general manager Tom Ryan. "Sean and Jack Reid led the 2006 UMass Minutemen to the NCAA Finals, and we believe they will be two key components for the future success of the Blazers."
Morris, currently playing in the MLL with the Boston Cannons, was a standout at Marshfield High School where he graduated in 2001 as the school's all-time leading scorer with 324 points. In his 2008 NLL season, he played three games with the San Jose Stealth and scored two goals and added six assists.
NLL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A pair of Boston Blazers were honored for big performances on the road in a 13-12 overtime win over the Buffalo Bandits. Sean Morris won Offensive Player of the Week (3 goals, 4 assists) and Daryl Veltman won Rookie of the Week (4 goals, 3 assists). Boston tied Buffalo and New York for best record in the East Division (10-6), and will return to Buffalo to face the Bandits in the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday, May 2.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sean Morris, Boston: 3 Goals, 4 Assists in 13-12 overtime win at Buffalo.
Sean Morris - Boston Blazers
Mending before he can play
Sean Morris is recuperating from a high ankle sprain. (Boston Blazers)The problem with a high-ankle sprain? You never know when it will heal. Just ask Marshfield native Sean Morris.
The Boston Blazers forward missed the professional lacrosse team's first home game of the season on Jan. 17 after he got tangled up with a teammate during practice and injured his right ankle. He thought that he would be sidelined for a couple of games, then a couple of weeks. On Monday, however, Blazers coach Tom Ryan said Morris could be out six weeks under a worst-case scenario.
"It just takes time, I guess," Morris said. "They are always the worst injuries, so it's kind of day to day."
Morris is disappointed to miss games, but grateful that at least it's early in the 16-game season. The Blazers, the newest member of the National Lacrosse League, are 2-2 after sweeping the Philadelphia Wings last week. Morris is around the team and trying to stay in shape while the ankle heals.
Not much can ruin his mood. Last winter, Morris was playing indoor lacrosse in San Jose, Calif., and returned to Boston for the summer to play outdoors with the Cannons, a Major League Lacrosse team. The Marshfield High graduate was a two-time New England Player of the Year at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2005, 2006) and a Division 1 All-American in 2006.
From the day Morris joined the Blazers, he made an impact.
"He really proved to us in preseason scrimmages and early on that he has a great outside shot," Ryan said. "He's quick so he can really separate himself from defenders on his own."
When not playing, he is a sales manager for a company that sells lacrosse equipment and he also runs local lacrosse camps.
"It's awesome to be able to be a lot more rooted in my community," Morris said. "There's not a lot of players that are able to do that, so I'm definitely in a unique situation and very fortunate."
Sean Morris College Career
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ON MORRIS: One of the nation's premiere players ... 2005 Finalist for the Tewaararton Trophy as the sport's top player ... 2005 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year ... 2005 New England Player of the Year ... 2005 Second Team USILA Second Team All-American ... 2006 Preseason First Team All-American ... has great speed, great quickness, great strength, great desire to play ... a tremendous athlete with an inner desire to excel ... not afraid of anyone ... according to Cannella, "is the go-to-guy who will be doubled, tripled and still perform at the highest level ... the mental part of his game has to be strong in his senior year.
2006 UPDATE:
AS A JUNIOR IN 2005: Tewaaraton Trophy Finalist as the sport's top player...NEILA New England Player of the Year ... named a Second Team USILA All-American ... invited to Team USA Tryout along with teammate Jack Reid... named ECAC Riddell Offensive Player of the Year, also named to ECAC First Team... finished fourth in the nation in scoring per game (4.32 ppg) and fourth in goals per game (2.75)...had a 22-game point scoring streak ended... led team and ECAC in goals (44) assists (25) and points (69)...point total (69) was most by a UMass player since 1993, when Mark Millon had 81... 44 goal total was tied for 12th-best season in UMass history and most since Millon had 58 in 1993... had nine hat tricks on the season, including in the first four games of the season and in four of the last seven games... tallied two goals, including fifth man-up goal at Hopkins (5/21) in NCAA Quarterfinals... scored the game winning goal with 72 seconds remaining in the NCAA first round win over Syracuse (5/15), tallied three goals and three assists on the afternoon and had game-winning goal featured on ESPN's SportsCenter... named ECAC Player of the Week four times this season, the last coming after the win at Rutgers... tied a career-best five goals and added an assist, including the game-winner on a man-up situation at Rutgers (5/7)... named to the Inside Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll (5/2)... posted sixth five-plus point game of the season against Syracuse (4/30) when he tallied two goals and handed out three assists in the win and scored his 100th career point... dished out two assists and netted a goal in just 2:25 in the third quarter, as part of a 7-0 run, in the win over Harvard (4/26)... tabbed ECAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week (4/25)... tallied four goals, including three in the final 2:15 of the second period, in the victory over Georgetown (4/23)... named as UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week and was the ECAC Offensive Player of the Week... set career-highs in points with eight and goals with five to lead the Minutemen to a win at Hobart (4/16)... piled up five points with two goals and three assists vs. St. John's (4/9)... dished out a career-best five assists and added a goal against Penn State (4/2), the most by a Minuteman since Kevin Leveille handed out six on March 18, 2003 against Albany... added to the Tewaaraton Watch List, midseason... registered a goal and an assist at Loyola (3/26)... buried fifth hat trick of the season at Sacred Heart (3/22)... scored a goal, dished an assist and snagged three groundballs in the win over Brown (3/19)... posted six points (4g, 2a), matched a career-best 11 shots, and scooped up four groundballs at Albany (3/15)... garnered ECAC Honor Roll accolades (3/7)... UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week (3/7)... recorded hat-tricks vs. Yale (3/5) and Stony Brook (3/12), including the game-winners in each contest... named the ECAC Offensive Player of the Week (3/1)... tallied five points (4g, 1 a) to defeat Hofstra (2/26)... named to the Inside Lacrosse Anklebreakers, for being one of the quickest and agile players in the nation... Face Off Magazine Preseason All-American -Third Team... Face Off Magazine All-ECAC Team... Preseason All-ECAC Team - Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
AS A SOPHOMORE IN 2004: A key component to the midfield who played in 10 games and started the final eight after missing time with mononucleous... tallied 24 points (7g, 17a)... led the team in assists (17), fourth in man-up goals (3) and shots (53), and fifth in shots on goal (23)... collected two goals and two assists, including the game-winner over Rutgers (5/8) in a game televised by CSTV... honored as ECAC Offensive Player of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week for his efforts against Rutgers... dished out two assists at Syracuse (5/1)... registered a career-high five points on one goal and four assists with three groundballs at Georgetown (4/22)... passed three assists and picked up a groundball at Yale (4/17)... buried a goal and dished out three assists to propel a victory over Manhattan (4/9)... tallied a man-up goal, two assists, and two groundballs at Penn State (4/3)... registered a man-up goal after ripping a career-high 10 shots and snagging three groundballs vs. Brown (3/20).
AS A FRESHMAN IN 2003: Morris played in the last 14 games of the season after sitting out the first two with an injury... opened his career against Navy (3/8) where he tallied a hat-trick... his performance earned him ECAC Rookie of the Week honors and led the Minutemen to a 10-9 victory over the No. 9 Midshipmen... he tallied his second career hat-trick in only his second career game in the victory over Brown (3/15) on a career-high 10 shots against the Bears... notched his third career three-point game with two goals and an assist in the victory over Hartford (3/21)... Morris tallied his fourth multi-point game of the season with a one-goal, one-assist performance against Hofstra (5/11)... scored a goal and assist in the victory over Harvard (4/16), then added a season-best four points on two goals and two assists in the victory over Georgetown (4/19)... he scored a goal and an assist against Yale (4/12)... dished out assists in victories over Syracuse (4/26) and Hofstra (5/11) in the NCAA Tournament... tallied a goal in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game against Maryland (5/17)... his 22 points as a freshman were more than five of the career top 16 scorers had in their respective freshman campaigns.
BEFORE UMASS: Sat out the 2002 season after transferring from Rutgers University where he did not play... played for five years under Coach Robby Robinson... is Marshfield's all-time-leading scorer with 324 points (182 g, 142 a)... tallied 91 points (49 g, 42 a) during his senior year... was named All-League four times, All-State twice and All-America once... was also selected as Massachusetts State Player of the Year in Division I... an accomplished prep football player, he won two state championships and rushed for over 3,000 career yards... was a two-time All-State selection as a running back in football.
PERSONAL: Sean Paul Morris... son of Paul and Elaine Morris... born Sept. 10, 1982... favorite athlete is former UMass lacrosse player and UMass Hall of Fame inductee Mark Millon... majoring in economics.
Career Statistics Year GP/GS G A Pts. Shots EMG GWG GB Pen 2003 14/0 14 8 22 66 1 0 4 0/0:00 2004 10/8 7 17 24 53 3 1 10 1/1:00 2005 16/16 44 25 69 132 5 5 26 4/3:00 2006 18/18 33 39 72 117 2 3 26 0/0:00 Totals 58/42 98 89 187 368 11 9 66 5/4:00
Career Highs
Goals: 5 vs. Hobart, 4/16/05 & at Rutgers, 5/7/05
Assists: 5 vs. Penn State, 4/2/05 & vs. Hofstra, 2/26/06
Points: 8 vs. Hobart, 4/16/05 & vs. Hofstra, 2/26/06
Shots: 13 vs. Yale, 3/5/05
Multi-Goal Games: 36; Multi-Point Games: 45; Hat Tricks: 14
Point Scoring Streak: 40 games-(4/9/04 to 5/29/06)
Goal Scoring Steak: 34 games - (5/8/04 to 5/27/06)
