Though neither of the Binghamton University lacrosse programs were able to bring home an America East Championship this season, nine players were named to All-Conference teams while one was named to the America East All-Academic Team.

After being picked to finish fifth in the America East this season, the men’s team surprised and ended the year in a three-way tie for first place. Now, some of its players are being recognized with All-Conference honors.

Senior Derrick Danieu leads the way for the Bearcats on the conference first team. His 14 starts were the most of any BU player this year, while his 29 caused turnovers ranked second on the team. In a season dominated by controversy and uncertainty, Danieu’s consistency along with that of other seniors could be what made the difference between success and failure.

“I don’t know if there was any year where we needed leadership more than this one,” interim head coach Kevin McKeown said. “[The seniors] have done a great job carrying us all year.”

Joining Danieu on the first team was junior Ben Waldron, who was the only player to rank ahead of him in caused turnovers with 30. Waldron also picked up the second-most ground balls for the Bearcats with 49.

Binghamton’s only second-team selection was sophomore Matt Springer, who had his second consecutive strong year. After breaking the program’s single-season scoring record with 29 goals as a rookie, Springer showed no signs of a sophomore slump as he finished the 2011 season with 29 once again, including his two goals in the conference tournament. He now sits in third place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 58 career goals.

Three Bearcat freshmen — Brandon Planck, Michael Antinozzi and Greg Cove — highlight the All-Rookie Team. Antinozzi and Planck netted 14 and 13 goals, respectively, on the season while Cove, a defenseman, picked up 30 ground balls.

Planck and Antinozzi were also crucial in the Bearcats’ senior night win over University at Albany last Saturday with two goals apiece. While Antinozzi’s first period goal stretched his team’s lead to two, his second stood as one of two fourth quarter game-tying goals for Binghamton. Meanwhile, Planck’s first of the night came with under 10 minutes remaining and complemented Antinozzi’s second as the other game-tying goal; his second gave Binghamton the lead with 20 seconds remaining. Planck’s efforts also garnered him America East Rookie of the Week honors last week.

On the women’s side, seniors Ali Castiglie and Beth Moore and junior Lauren Lukefahr were each selected to the conference’s second team.

The senior duo of Moore and Castiglie ranked in the top 10 in the conference in scoring while Moore’s 41 goals and Castiglie’s 36 led the team. Moore also caused the most turnovers on the team with 22 and tied for the lead in ground balls with 37. Castiglie finished her season with 44 points, five behind the Binghamton leader.

The duo will soon be graduating, but will only do so after leaving their mark on the program. Moore is the all-time scoring leader with 119 goals while Castiglie is a close second with 109.

With Lukefahr’s selection, Binghamton has also now had a defender named to the second team for three straight years. She ranks sixth in the conference with 1.24 caused turnovers per game. This season also saw Lukefahr pick up 27 ground balls and score her only collegiate goal to date, which came against Colgate University.

Senior goalie Lauren Scott garnered a different type of honor as she was named to the America East All-Academic Team. On the field, she led the conference with 9.41 saves per game while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.66 off the field.

This year’s men’s team finished its regular season 7-7 (3-2 America East) after coach Ed Stephenson resigned mid-season. With McKeown at the helm, the Bearcats bounced back from four straight losses and made the AE tournament, where they fell to No. 1 seed Stony Brook University.

The women came within one win of making the conference tournament for the first time but ran out of gas and fell to the University of New Hampshire in their final game to finish 4-13 (1-5 AE).