Men's Lacrosse 4/29/2026 2:00:00 PM Four Programs Earn #AEMLAX Major Awards as All-Conference Honors are Revealed BOSTON – Following their first undefeated conference record since 2017, UAlbany had a league-best two major award winners and eight players named All-Conference. The major awards were announced on Wednesday afternoon, along with All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic honors. Silas Richmond and Max Neeson both repeated as major award winners for the Great Danes, taking home Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Binghamton’s Connor Winters was recognized as the Goalkeeper of the Year, while Walter Zhao of Vermont was named Face-Off Specialist of the Year. NJIT’s Blake Piscitiello captured Rookie of the Year and UAlbany’s Scott Marr was named Coach of the Year. The award winners were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The All-Academic selections were chosen by a committee of athletic administrators. 2026 #AEMLAX Major Award Winners Offensive Player of the Year Silas Richmond, UAlbany - Sr., Attack Leads the league in points per game (4.77) and assists per game (2.15). Has 62 points on 34 goals and 28 assists and ranks 4th in conference history with 265 points. First player since Connor Fields to win the award twice. Selected First-Team All-Conference for a third straight season. Defensive Player of the Year Max Neeson, UAlbany - Sr., Defense Leads the league in caused turnovers (30), while picking up 27 ground balls and scoring four goals. Anchored a defense which allowed just 7.0 goals per game in conference play and didn’t allow more than nine in any contest. Fourth straight year a Great Dane has won this award. Named First-Team All-Conference for the second straight year. Goalkeeper of the Year Connor Winters, Binghamton – Gr., Goalkeeper Tied for the league lead in save percentage (.550) and second in saves per game (13.15). Recorded 11+ saves in 11 of 13 games, including three games with 16+ saves. Scored a goal in a season-opening contest against Lafayette. Named First-Team All-Conference after a Second-Team Selection in 2025 and First-Team in 2023. Face-Off Specialist of the Year Walter Zhao, Vermont – Jr., Face-off Ranks third in the nation in both face-off percentage (68.5%) and ground balls per game (8.73). In conference play, won 69.4% of face-offs with 8.83 ground balls per game. Has five games with 10+ ground balls and four games winning over 85% of face-offs. Second straight Catamount to earn this award. Rookie of the Year Blake Piscitiello, NJIT – Fr., Attack Ranked first in the America East in points (65), goals (35) and assists (30). Ranked second nationally among freshmen in points (65), goals (35) and assists (30). First major award-winner for NJIT men’s lacrosse. Named First-Team All-Conference. Coach of the Year Scott Marr, UAlbany Led UAlbany to its first undefeated conference regular season since 2017 and the first for any #AEMLAX program since 2023. In conference play, UAlbany led the league in both scoring (12.2) and scoring defense (7.0), while giving up nine or fewer goals in every league contest. Eighth career Coach of the Year honor and second in the past three seasons. Seeking third consecutive conference championship. UAlbany led all programs with five First-Team All-Conference selections, while UMBC had three and Vermont had two. UAlbany had three second team honorees for eight total, while NJIT also had three on the second team. NJIT had three All-Rookie Team honorees, along with Bryant, while Vermont had a pair. UMBC had an impressive five All-Academic selections, while UAlbany was second with three. The 2026 #AEMLAX Championship begins on April 30 as No. 2 Bryant battles No. 3 Vermont on ESPN+ at 4 p.m. in Albany, N.Y. No. 1 Seed and host UAlbany faces No. 4 UMBC at 7 p.m. in the second semifinals. The two semifinal winners square off on Saturday, May 2 at 1 p.m. in the #AEMLAX Championship on ESPN+. ABOUT AMERICA EAST Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast. - America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -