CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Five Patriot League schools each earned one men’s lacrosse weekly accolade each when the League office announced results on Monday.
Bucknell senior attack Will Yorke received the offensive player of the week while Loyola senior long-stick midfielder Ryan McNulty earned the defensive player of the week. Holy Cross senior Dan O’Connell captured faceoff specialist of the week honors, while Lehigh junior James Spence was the named goalkeeper of the week. In addition, Thomas Niedringhaus of Boston University claimed the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Week.
Army West Point’s Brendan Nichtern, Lehigh’s Conor Gaffney and Christian Mule’, and Loyola’s trio of Kevin Lindley, Bailey Savio and Sam Shafer all earned honorable mentions.
Offensive Player of the Week
Will Yorke, Bucknell, Sr., A, Chicago, Ill./Saint Ignatius Prep/Hotchkiss School (Conn.)
* Yorke posted 18 points (13g-5a) in a pair of Bucknell victories this past week.
* Earlier in the week, Yorke scored four goals and dished three assists in the team’s 16-4 win over Binghamton.
* The senior tied the Patriot League record, and broke Bucknell's school record, with nine goals in the 20-11 win over Marist. He also matched Bucknell's school record with 11 points against the Red Foxes.
* He added five ground balls and three caused turnovers during the two games.
Defensive Player of the Week
Ryan McNulty, Loyola, Sr., Long-Stick Midfielder, Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan
* McNulty finished the Greyhounds’ 2-0 week with seven caused turnovers and 13 ground balls, in addition to two assists.
* In the 15-6 triumph on Wednesday night, he caused three Towson turnovers and had five ground balls, to go along with two assists.
* In the Patriot League play opener on Saturday, he set a career-high with eight ground balls while causing four turnovers at Lafayette in a 14-4 win.
Faceoff Specialist of the Week
Dan O’Connell, Holy Cross, Sr., FO, Winchester, Mass./ Winchester
* O’Connell finished the team’s 1-1 week winning 24-of-34 draws (.705), along with picking up 12 ground balls.
* The senior broke the program’s all-time career ground ball record with 221.
Goalkeeper of the Week
James Spence, Lehigh, Jr., GK, Springfield, Pa./Springfield
* Spence stopped 12 of 18 shots sent his way in the Mountain Hawks’ 14-6 victory at home versus Navy.
* After giving up four early goals, Spence and Lehigh's defense held Navy scoreless for a stretch of 23:59 in the second half and to just one goal over the next 51:08.
* For the season, Spence owns a 9.04 goals-against average and 54.6 save percentage.
Rookie of the Week
Thomas Niedringhaus, Boston University, Fr., Attack, St. Louis, Mo./MICDS
* Niedringhaus recorded his second collegiate hat trick in the Terriers’ comeback win at Colgate on Saturday (13-12).
* The freshman’s final goal tied the game at 12-12 with 4:31 to play, after he opened the fourth quarter with a goal cutting the Terriers’ deficit to 10-9 after BU trailed by as many as four in the second half.
* All three of his goals were unassisted.
Honorable Mentions
Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, So., A, Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa (USMAPS)
* Nichtern recorded three goals and four assists for seven points in the 12-5 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.
Conor Gaffney, Lehigh, Sr., FO, Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape
* In a 14-6 win versus Navy, the senior won 11-of-14 faceoffs and picked up nine groundballs.
* Gaffney became the Patriot League leader in career ground balls with 389, passing the previous mark of 384 held by Colgate’s Peter Strid (1993-96).
Christian Mule’, Lehigh, Fr., A, Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West
* Mule' earned his third hat trick of the season to go with his fifth straight multi-point effort to begin the season (and career).
Kevin Lindley, Loyola Maryland, Jr., A, Darien, Conn./Darien
* Lindley tallied 10 goals and 11 points in two games during the week as Loyola went 2-0.
* The junior attack opened the week with four goals as Loyola beat 2019 NCAA Tournament team Towson, 15-6, on Wednesday night. He then had five goals and an assist Saturday when the Greyhounds opened Patriot League action with a 14-4 win at Lafayette.
Bailey Savio, Loyola, Jr., Face-Off Specialist, Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich
* Savio won 67.6 percent of the draws he took against Towson and Lafayette while picking up a total of 17 ground balls.
* He was 14-of-22 against the Tigers with nine groundballs and a caused turnover, and then went 11-of-15 with eight pickups versus the Leopards.
Sam Shafer, Loyola, Jr., Goalkeeper, Rowayton, Conn./Trinity-Pawling School
* Shafer notched a 4.44 goals-against average while saving 65.2 percent of the shots on goal he faced during a 2-0 week for the Greyhounds.
* On Wednesday night, the junior led the Loyola defense as it limited Towson to five goals while he was in the game, while making nine saves in the 15-6 victory. On Saturday, he stopped six of the nine shots on goal he faced against Lafayette (14-4).
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth 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.