Center Valley, Pa. - Loyola Maryland junior Pat Spencer was named the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. He led the Greyhounds to a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with hosting honors for the upcoming Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. The postseason major awards and all-League honors were announced by the League office Monday morning.
The three-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week this year helped the Greyhounds to seven League wins as he averaged 5.85 points per games, 3.69 assists per game and 2.15 goals per game overall this season to rank among the nation’s leaders. Earlier this month Spencer set the Patriot League's career record for assists and now has dished 155 total in his 47 career games played.
Fellow Greyhound Foster Huggins earned Defensive Player of the Year honors as he has collected 36 groundballs through 13 games. Huggins also leads the nation in caused turnovers with 44. The senior has nabbed five Defensive Player of the Week accolades so far this season. In the Greyhounds’ last regular-season League competition versus Army West Point, the senior finished the game with six groundballs and four caused turnovers. Teammate Jacob Stover was named Goalkeeper of the Year as he averages 8.69 saves per game in goal. Stover also gathered 23 groundballs and tallied two caused turnovers so far this season.
Navy senior Joe Varello nabbed Faceoff Specialist of the Year as he have averaged 6.00 groundballs per game while leading the Mids with 72 groundballs in 2018. In 12 games this season, the senior has earned a .596 faceoff percentage (149-of-250). Boston University’s Chris Gray earned Rookie of the Year after leading the Terriers in assists (34), points (59) and shots (104) through 14 games played. Gray set a single-season scoring record for Boston U with 59 points after his five points (3g, 2a) in the team’s 9-4 win against Holy Cross this past weekend.
This year’s William Lawson Coach of the Year honoree is Bucknell Head Coach Frank Fedorjaka. Fedorjaka led his team to an 11-3 overall record while going 7-1 in League play. Fedorjaka also won this award in 2009 and 2011.
The All-League teams are comprised of 17 student-athletes on the first team and 16 on the second team. Of the 33 players that made the teams, 13 are seniors, 10 are juniors, four are sophomores, and three are freshmen. While Loyola Maryland led the way with the most first team selections at five, Lehigh, Bucknell, Loyola Maryland, and Navy all tied for the most overall total of six student-athletes on the All-League teams. Army West Point totaled four honorees, Colgate had three total on the teams while Boston University had two and Holy Cross had one.
The 2018 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Championship begins Tuesday, April 24 with two quarterfinal contests that will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network. No. 4 seed Lehigh hosts No. 5 Colgate in a 7 p.m. contest, while No. 3 Bucknell will host No. 6 Boston University at 7:30 p.m. The winners advance to Friday's semifinal round at Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md. Both semifinal games (4:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.) and the Patriot League Championship at 12 p.m. on Sunday, April 29 will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
2018 Men’s Lacrosse All-Patriot League and Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Pat Spencer, Loyola Maryland, Jr., A
Defensive Player of the Year – Foster Huggins, Loyola Maryland, Sr., D
Faceoff Specialist of the Year – Joe Varello, Navy, Sr., FO
Goalkeeper of the Year – Jacob Stover, Loyola Maryland, Jr., GK
Rookie of the Year – Chris Gray, Boston University, Fr., A
The William Lawson Coach of the Year – Frank Fedorjaka, Bucknell
First Team*
Chris Gray, Boston U., Fr., A
Will Sands, Bucknell, Sr., A
Andrew Pettit, Lehigh, Jr., A
Pat Spencer, Loyola Maryland, Jr., A
David Symmes, Army West Point, Sr., M
Sean O’Brien, Bucknell, Sr., M
Jay Drapeau, Loyola Maryland, Sr., M
Greyson Torain, Navy, Jr., M
John Surdick, Army West Point, Jr., D
Craig Chick, Lehigh, Jr., D
Foster Huggins, Loyola Maryland, Sr., D
Mike Strack, Navy, Sr., D
Joe Varello, Navy, Sr., FO
Conor Gaffney, Lehigh, So., FO
Jon Lamonica, Army West Point, Sr., LSM
Brian Begley, Loyola Maryland, Sr., SSDM
Jacob Stover, Loyola Maryland, Jr., GK
Second Team^
Jack Wilson, Boston U., Sr., A
Connor O’Hara, Bucknell, Sr., A
Mike Hawkins, Colgate, Fr., A
Lucas Spence, Lehigh, Jr., A
Reed Malas, Bucknell, Jr., M
Sam Cleveland, Colgate, So., M
Griffin Brown, Colgate, So., M
John Duffy, Loyola Maryland, Jr., M
Ryan Wade, Navy, Jr., M
Matt Gilray, Bucknell, Sr., D
Benny Borgognone, Bucknell, Sr., D
Matt Farrell, Holy Cross, Jr., D
Eddie Bouhall, Lehigh, Jr., D
Teddy Leggett, Lehigh, Fr., LSM
DJ Plumer, Navy, Sr., SSDM
Ryan Kern, Navy, So., GK
Note: Teams are listed by position then alphabetical order by school
*Due to a tie, there are two faceoff specialist on the first team and no faceoff specialist on the second team
^Due to a tie, there are five midfielders on the second team
The Major Awards and All-League teams were voted on by the nine Patriot League head coaches who could not vote for their student-athletes and selves.
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.