BOSTON – The race for the 2023 America East men’s lacrosse title and bids to the championship are heating up! With three weeks left in the regular season, Bryant and Vermont are the last two remaining unbeaten teams after the Bulldogs beat UAlbany and the Catamounts knocked Binghamton from the ranks of the unbeatens with an 11-9 win.
Bryant and Vermont, who will square off in Burlington on Saturday, with first place in the league standings on the line, are tied for first place at 4-0. Binghamton is one game behind at 3-1 and UAlbany and UMBC are both 2-2.
Teams are battling for positioning to earn a top four spot in the league standings and qualify for the conference championship, which takes place May 4 & 6 at the No. 1 seed.
The preseason poll was announced on January 25.
Fans will once again be able to watch the majority of #AEMLAX this season. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the brand new America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
Follow the @AmericaEast Twitter account to stay up-to-date on America East men's lacrosse news all season long and use #AEMLAX to join the conversation.
#AEMLAX Weekly Award Winners – April 10
Offensive Player of the Week
Brian Russell, Merrimack – So., Attacker/Midfielder, Malverne, N.Y.
- Scored a season-best six goals in Merrimack’s win over NJIT on Saturday.
- Four of the scores came in the second half, including three scores in the final 16 minutes.
- This is Russell’s first Offensive Player of the Week honor this season.
Defensive Player of the Week
Matt Shaffer, Vermont – Gr., Goalkeeper, Natick, Mass.
- Made 11 saves and recorded a .550 save percentage in a key 11-9 win over Binghamton.
- The Bearcats came in averaging over 17 goals per game in league play.
- This is Shaffer’s third Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season.
Rookie of the Week
Alex Steers, UMBC – Fr., Faceoff, Westminster, Md.
- Won 16-of-24 faceoffs in UMBC’s win over UMass Lowell on Saturday.
- Picked up career-high 14 ground balls.
- This is Steers’ first Rookie of the Week award of the season.
2023 #AEMLAX Weekly Award Winners
Feb. 6 – Offensive Player of the Week: Tommy Rooney, Merrimack; Defensive Player of the Week: Matt Shaffer, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Kasey Mongillo, Merrimack
Feb. 13 – Offensive Player of the Week: Brock Haley, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Matt Shaffer, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Johnny Hackett, Bryant
Feb. 20 - Offensive Player of the Week: David Closterman, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Tommy Burke, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Jake Lonsinger, Bryant
Feb. 27 - Offensive Player of the Week: Kevin Groeninger, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Drew Lucas, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Johnny Hackett, Bryant
March 6 - Offensive Player of the Week: Quinn O’Hara, Binghamton; Defensive Player of the Week: Jayson Tingue, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Johnny Hackett, Bryant
March 13: Offensive Player of the Week: Garrett Muscatella, NJIT; Defensive Player of the Week: Henry Vogt, Merrimack; Rookie of the Week: Connor Winters, Binghamton
March 20: Offensive Player of the Week: Brock Haley, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Connor Winters, Binghamton; Rookie of the Week: Johnny Hackett, Bryant
March 27: Offensive Player of the Week: Brock Haley, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Nathan Laliberte, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Johnny Hackett, Bryant
April 3 - Offensive Player of the Week: Thomas Greenblatt, Binghamton; Defensive Player of the Week: Tommy Burke, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Jake Lonsinger, Bryant
April 10 - Offensive Player of the Week: Brian Russell, Merrimack; Defensive Player of the Week: Matt Shaffer, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Alex Steers, UMBC
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