NATIONALS' BOLTUS WINS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

“I am pretty overwhelmed and very excited to say the least,” Boltus said. “We had a deep draft class and it’s truly an honor to be named as the MLL Rookie of the Year.
 
“I give all the credit to the coaching staff and veteran players who helped me out and walked me through the first few games,” Boltus added. “They were instrumental to my success this season. I also want to give credit to the other rookies as well because they all had huge years,” Boltus continued. “I think this is more of a team award than an individual honor and I thank the Nationals for giving me the opportunity to play for them.”
 
Selected with the Nationals’ eighth round pick in the MLL Collegiate Draft, the former United States Military Academy attackman was the Nationals’ second-leading scorer with 30 points, which also led all MLL rookies. He was the Nationals’ leading goal scorer with 19 goals and contributed 11 assists, which ranked third on the team.
 
A two-time selection as the Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week, Boltus earned the award on May 23rd after scoring two goals against the Chesapeake Bayhawks. He also earned the award on August 1st after helping the Nationals earn a victory over the Bayhawks, scoring two goals with two assists.
 
In addition, Boltus was named as the MLL Offensive Player of the Week on June 27th after leading the Nationals to a pair of wins over the Rochester Rattlers. After tying the Hamilton single-game record with seven goals in a 19-16 win over the Rattlers, he contributed a pair of goals in Hamilton’s overtime victory just 24 hours later. Boltus tallied a point in all 12 games while scoring a goal in seven straight games before being limited to an assist in the regular season finale against Long Island on August 13th.

The Nationals will travel to the 2011 Sports Authority MLL Championship Weekend (August 27th and 28th) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The top-seeded Boston Cannons will face the defending MLL champion Chesapeake Bayhawks in the first semifinal at noon on Saturday, while Hamilton and Denver will play in the second semifinal at 3:00 p.m.