WASHINGTON, D.C. - Three America East men's lacrosse standouts are among the nominees for the 2016 Tewaraaton Award, which were unveiled on Friday evening. Albany's Connor Fields and Blaze Riorden and Stony Brook's Challen Rogers are three of the 25 nominees for the award, which annually honors the top college lacrosse player in the United States and has been given out each year since 2001.
Fields, the reigning America East Rookie of the Year, ranks fifth in the country averaging 4.77 points per game. The sophomore attack leads America East with 62 points on 36 goals and 26 assists and has 150 points in just two seasons. This season, he has had seven games with at least five points and three with eight.
Riorden, a two-time All-Conference selection, is second in all of Division I in save percentage at .591 and third in saves per game with 13.0 per contest. The senior goalkeeper has started every game for Albany, allowing 9.2 goals per game, good for third in the conference.
Rogers, a three-time All-Conference choice, recently became the fifth player in Stony Brook history to reach the 200-point plateau. He has 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points, which ranks fourth in the conference. He's tallied at least two points in all 14 games this season and leads America East in assists per game (2.36).
The list of 25 will be narrowed to five finalists on May 12. Those five finalists will be invited to the 16th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony in Washington D.C. on June 2,
America East is the only conference other than the ACC to have had multiple Tewaaraton Award winners and have four in total. Lyle Thompson won the award for the seccond time last year after sharing the honor with his brother, Miles, in 2014. Hofstra's Doug Shanahan, who won the first award in 2001, was the first America East athlete to earn the honor.