Hempstead PAL Lacrosse Awards Presented To Outstanding Rising Players

The 13th season for Hempstead PAL lacrosse culminated again with annual team awards that honored seventh and eighth grade players who have expressed commitments to continue exploring leading education and athletic opportunities.

The Hempstead PAL Tigers program has increased in popularity each year since its introduction to the community. The program is led by Alan Hodish, a former lacrosse and football coach at Hempstead High School. An attorney in Garden City and an East Meadow resident, he has coached youth lacrosse on Long Island for decades. Hodish is a member of the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame.

Significant financial support for the Hempstead program is provided by James C. Metzger, a three-sport athlete at Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills. He received the 1977 Lt. Ray Enners Award for outstanding Suffolk County lacrosse player when he scored 102 points and received All-American honors. An All-American lacrosse player at Hofstra University, Metzger’s support for Long Island lacrosse includes boys high school leadership, MVP and outstanding player awards for teams in Nassau and Suffolk counties. He is the founder and chairman of Whitmore – The Agency, an insurance and financial services firm in Garden City now known as Acrisure.

Team awards were presented by James Pannell and Jack Concannon.

Pannell is a graduate of Smithtown West High School, where he was a two-time All-American and career points leader. He became an All-American at the University of Virginia and a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) All-Star.

From Lindenhurst, Concannon is a graduate of St. Anthony’s High school in South Huntington and a multi-time All-American goalies at Hofstra University. He is a Major League Lacrosse and Premier Lacrosse League All-Star for New York Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).

Major Awards

Among the annual major awards for Hempstead PAL are The Rob Pannell Award and the James C. Metzger Award.

The Rob Pannell Award that recognizes the team’s outstanding player was presented for the second consecutive season to Bently Cannon. Pannell is a professional lacrosse player for the Maryland Whipsnakes in the Premier Lacrosse League. Previously, he starred at Cornell University. He is the fourth leading scorer in men's Division I history and he holds the Cornell and Ivy League all-time scoring records. Pannell attended Smithtown High School in Suffolk County, where he played on the varsity lacrosse team for three years. He led Long Island in scoring during his senior year with a school record 130 points. Pannell was named offensive MVP of the team that season and earned a place on Newsday's All-Long Island second team. He also was named to the 2007 high school All-American team.

The James C. Metzger Award was presented to two players – Mark Smith and Mathew Brucknor –for “their strong work ethic and improvement made throughout the lacrosse season." Smith is headed to Brooklyn’s Erasmus High School and Brucknor will attend Iona Prep in New Rochelle.