| Born | August 18, 1980 |
|---|---|
| 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 | |
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.
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.
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.
• 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.
| 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
| 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| Year | Team | Goals | Assists | Pts | LB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Hofstra | 1 | 3 | 4 | 70 |
| 2002 | Hofstra | 2 | 3 | 5 | 73 |
| Career | 3 | 6 | 9 | 143 |