Nicky Polanco

Nicholas Polanco (born August 18, 1980) is an American former lacrosse player. He is regarded as one of the best defensemen in MLL (and professional lacrosse in general) history. He attended Oceanside High School.

Nicky Polanco

Born	(1980-08-18) August 18, 1980 (age 44)
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	235 pounds (107 kg)
Shoots	Right
Position	Defense
NCAA team	Hofstra (2002)
NLL draft	15th overall, 2002 New York Saints
NLL teams	New York Saints
MLL draft	4th overall, 2002 Bridgeport Barrage
MLL teams	Bridgeport/Philadelphia Barrage New York/Long Island Lizards Chesapeake Bayhawks
Pro career	2002–2015
Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame, 2022

Professional career

Polanco was drafted by the Bridgeport Barrage in the 1st round (4th overall) of the 2002 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. In 2004, he was awarded the Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year Award and led the Barrage to winning the Steinfeld Cup.

In 2005, Polanco was traded to the Long Island Lizards where he was again given the Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year Award and was selected for his second consecutive All-Star game.

Polanco played just one season in the National Lacrosse League with the New York Saints in 2003.

His brother, Armando, played for both the Philadelphia Barrage and New York Saints.

On May 17, 2012, Polanco was traded to the Chesapeake Bayhawks.

Collegiate career

Polanco transferred to Hofstra University, for his final two years of eligibility, after playing two seasons at Nassau Community College. While at Nassau, Polanco lead his team to win the National Junior College Athletic Association championships in 1999 and 2000. He was named National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year.

Following his transfer, Polanco earned All-America honors each of his two years at Hofstra, and as a senior he was named Colonial Athletic Association Player and Defensive Player of the Year.

Honors and awards

• Member of 2006 U.S. Men's National Team
• Named alternate to the 2002 U.S. Men's National Team
• Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year (2002)
• 1st Team All-American (2002) & Honorable Mention All-American (2001)
• National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year (1999, 2000 at Nassau C.C.) Richard D'Agostino is the former doctor for the Long Island Lizards.

Preceded by Ryan Curtis

Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year Award 2004 & 2005

Succeeded by Brodie Merrill

Statistics

MLL

Nicky Polanco		Regular Season											Playoffs
Season	Team	GP	G	2PG	A	Pts	Sh	GB	Pen	PIM	FOW	FOA	GP	G	2PG	A	Pts	Sh	GB	Pen	PIM	FOW	FOA
2002	Bridgeport Barrage	4	2	0	0	2	2	7	0	1	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2003	Bridgeport Barrage	12	1	0	1	2	11	53	0	11	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2004	Philadelphia Barrage	12	0	0	1	1	1	35	0	4.5	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	0	14	0	0	0	0
2005	Long Island Lizards	12	1	0	0	1	4	44	0	7.5	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
2006	Long Island Lizards	10	0	0	0	0	3	40	0	6	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2007	Long Island Lizards	12	1	0	1	2	2	35	0	8	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2008	Long Island Lizards	12	0	0	0	0	1	38	0	18	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2009	Long Island Lizards	6	0	0	0	0	0	19	0	6	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
2010	Long Island Lizards	11	0	0	1	1	2	46	0	5	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	7	0	0
2011	Long Island Lizards	11	0	0	3	3	0	36	0	3.5	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2012	Chesapeake Bayhawks	11	0	0	0	0	0	29	0	12.5	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	1	0	0
2013	Chesapeake Bayhawks	11	1	0	0	1	2	26	0	3.5	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
2014	Chesapeake Bayhawks	14	2	0	1	3	4	34	0	11.5	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2015	New York Lizards	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0.5	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2015	Chesapeake Bayhawks	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		144	8	0	8	16	32	449	0	99.5	0	0	10	0	0	1	1	0	31	0	10	0	0
Career Total:		154	8	0	9	17	32	480	0	109.5	0	0

GP–Games played; G–Goals; 2PG–2-point goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; Sh–Shots; GB–Ground balls; Pen–Penalties; PIM–Penalty minutes; FOW–Faceoffs won; FOA–Faceoffs attempted

NLL

			Regular Season							Playoffs
Season	Team		GP	G	A	Pts	LB	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	LB	PIM
2003	New York		16	1	4	5	91	13		-	-	-	-	-	-
NLL Totals			16	1	4	5	91	13		-	-	-	-	-	-

College

Year			Team	Goals	Assists	Pts	LB
2001			Hofstra	1	3	4	70
2002			Hofstra	2	3	5	73
Career				3	6	9	143

External links

• Nicky Polanco Team USA Player Bio
• Nicky Polanco Long Island Lizards Player Bio
• Nicky Polanco professional lacrosse stats via statscrew.com