The similarities between Ray Enners and Kieran Mullins are remarkable. Islip coach Keith Scheidel laid each one out brilliantly in his speech announcing that Mullins won the Enners Award in 2014 at the Suffolk County Boys Lacrosse Coaches Association dinner.He spoke about how Kieran sported qualities of greatness, nobility and courageousness as a student-athlete at Islip High School.

"It's almost as if the two of them were cut from the same mold," said Scheidel. "This Islipian leader has pretty much accomplished every goal a student-athlete would want to attain in his high school career."

Mullins, who will attend Army Prep for one year before enrolling at West Point, where Enners attended, was a three-sport athlete at Islip.

At the beginning of his senior year in lacrosse, Mullins was struck with diversity immediately when he suffered an AC separation on his dominant shoulder in the first game of the season against Babylon.

He was forced to miss two games, but with doctor's approval he was able to play the rest of the season. He was never 100 percent, and could have risked any chance of playing at West Point on any given moment.

"It was a shock because it was right in the beginning of the season," he said. "Doctors told me I could play, but I had to fight through the pain. Being able to play and help my teammates was the most important thing."

"He is by far the most unselfish player I've ever coached," added Scheidel. "His priority was always to help his team win. It was never about his individual performance. His character is based on kindness, unselfishness, integrity, discipline and respect."

Mullins was recruited by Denver and Lehigh, among other schools, but the draw to play at West Point with his brother Shea, who also starred at Islip, and represent his country, was far too strong.

He also had the task of playing for his father, Scott, an assistant at Islip who played at Towson University. Ask any athlete who reports to their dad as a coach and it's never easy.

"He's always had to prove himself from his freshman season on," Scheidel said, "but everything Kieran did, he did it by himself with his father's support."

"It has its ups and downs," said Mullins, whose first recollection of playing lacrosse was picking up a stick in the backyard with his brother as a toddler. "He's hard on me all the time, but I know that he's making better."

Towards the end of his senior season as Mullins grew healthier, his increased performance was notable. He scored 27 points in the final four games to give Islip a chance and post-season birth.

He selflessly gave himself to the program and his team. Shot after shot, point after point, he was a living, breathing example of leadership and charisma in plain sight. "I never met Lt. Enners," said Scheidel. "After researching his story, I feel as if I know him and what he believed in. He would be proud to have his award associated with Kieran Mullins. He would be proud that the West Point lacrosse team was receiving Kieran Mullins. And he would be proud to have Kieran Mullins serve for his country."

The Kieran Mullins File
--2014 Ray Enners Award winner
--281 career points in lacrosse (143 goals, 138 assists)
--All-American, All-Long Island, All-County, All-Division as a senior
--Three-sport athlete at Islip: Football, Basketball, Lacrosse

Meaning of winning the Enners: It was a great feeling. I didn't know at the time that I won it. It adds on to sweetness of it.