Minnesota's Cousins And Rochester's Toll Win 2007 Awards
Published on May 1, 2007 under National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release
The naming of the 2007 National Lacrosse League season award winners continues today with the announcement of the winners of the Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Transition Player of the Year Award. Minnesota Swarm defender Ryan Cousins has been named the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year and Steve Toll of the Rochester Knighthawks has been named the 2007 Transition Player of the Year.
Ryan Cousins of the Minnesota Swarm was named the 2007 NLL Defensive Player of the Year. The 2007 award is the first season award of Cousins' career. The veteran defender serves as captain of the Swarm and led the team to a 9-7 record this season. Behind Cousins' leadership Minnesota captured their second consecutive playoff berth. In this, his six year in the league, Cousins played all 16 regular season games for the Swarm, helping the team to a third place finish in the Eastern Division. Cousins led Minnesota with 108 loose balls in 2007 while also helping the Swarm offense by scoring 23 points (9g, 14a).
Previous winners of the Defensive Player of the Year Award include; Brodie Merrill (2006), Andrew Turner (2005), Cam Woods/Taylor Wray (co-winners, 2004), and Jim Moss (2003).
Steve Toll of the Rochester Knighthawks wins the first ever NLL Transition Player of the Year Award. The 2007 award is also his first career season award. Toll tallied 38 points on 14 goals and 24 assists while helping the Knighthawks to a league best 14-2 record in 2007. The veteran led Rochester with 177 loose balls during the regular season, a total that was also good for third best in the league. Toll tallied four short handed goals for Rochester's league leading penalty kill unit in 2007 and also added a power play goal. He earned Transition Player of the Week honors twice this season, in Week #10 and in Week #16.
The award winners are chosen by a vote of the leagues coaches, general managers, and executives.
The award announcements will continue on Wednesday when the league will announce the Progressive Goaltender of the Year Award. The award was won by Steve Dietrich of the Buffalo Bandits last season.
The league will announce its season award winners over the next two weeks, leading up to the 2007 National Lacrosse League Championship presented by Edge Active Care on May 12th. The game will be played at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona at 4PM Eastern/1PM Pacific. The Rochester Knighthawks and the Arizona Sting will meet in the championship game. The game will be broadcast live on VERSUS in the US. Championship Game television plans for viewers in Canada will be announced at a later date.
National Lacrosse League Stories from May 1, 2007
- Knighthawks' Steve Toll Wins Transition Player Of The Year - Rochester Knighthawks
- Minnesota Swarm Defenseman Ryan Cousins Named NLL Defensive Player of the Year - Minnesota Swarm
- Minnesota's Cousins And Rochester's Toll Win 2007 Awards - NLL
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