West Chester Football Team Named ECAC DII Team Of The Year

DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced today that West Chester University has been named the 2014 ECAC Division II Football Team of the Year. This marks the seventh time in school history that West Chester has been selected for the award, which was established in 1974. The Golden Rams were chosen as the most outstanding team by coaches within the ECAC Division II membership and members of the media.

West Chester will be recognized on February 19th, at the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet, hosted by the ECAC at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Eastern College Football Awards Banquet will feature the presentation of the ECAC Football Awards as well as the Lambert Meadowlands Awards.

"We are proud to be selected as the DII ECAC Team of the Year. It is a great honor and a nice reward for our entire program and especially for our senior class, which has worked tirelessly to maintain a high-level of excellence," said West Chester Head Coach Bill Zwaan. "The ECAC is replete with exceptional football programs, who have distinguished themselves among the best in Division II, and we are honored to be at the top of that group."

Led by a prolific offense and ECAC Offensive Player of the Year Sean McCartney (Doylestown, Pa.), the Golden Rams began the season with seven consecutive wins and finished 2014 with an 11-2 mark. West Chester earned a second consecutive berth into the NCAA Division II Playoffs, claiming the fourth seed in Super Region 1. The Golden Rams went on to clinch their second consecutive season with at least 11 wins with a 46-20 win over Slippery Rock in the first round.  

McCartney was nothing short of spectacular in his senior season, leading all of Division III with 42 touchdown passes, while amassing 3,744 yards through the air. The Doylestown, Pa. native finished fifth in the Harlon Hill Trophy voting as Division II's player of the year and was also selected Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division Offensive Athlete of the Year. On the ground, junior running back Brandon Monk (West Grove, Pa.) led the way, rushing for 1,296 yards and nine touchdowns. As a team, West Chester averaged an outstanding 39.85 points and 500.3 yards per contest.

Defensively, West Chester tied for tops in the PSAC in sacks (34) and ranked second in scoring defense, allowing 20.4 points per game. Senior linebacker Mike Labor (Havertown, Pa.) paced the unit, racking up a team-high 96 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, two sacks and three forced fumbles. In the secondary, ECAC All-Star Al-Hajj Shabazz (Philadelphia, Pa.) hauled in a team-high five interceptions, while also recording 11 pass breakups.

The Golden Rams earned four consecutive distinctions from 2006-2009 and also walked away with the award in 2004.

About the ECAC
In the 76 years since its inception, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nation's largest Conference. The ECAC has grown considerably from its charter membership of 58, currently boasting over 300 member schools in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to South Carolina, and westerly to Missouri.  In the 2014-15 academic year, the ECAC will host nearly 100 championships in 32 men's and women's sports as the sponsors of over 5,800 varsity teams and 111,000 male and female athletes. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.