CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Army West Point earned three awards while Loyola Maryland and Navy both collected one in this week's Patriot League GEICO men's lacrosse awards, announced by the League on Monday.

Army West Point junior attack Brendan Nichtern was named the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week, sophomore faceoff specialist Stevie Grabher received faceoff specialist of the week, and junior goalkeeper Wyatt Schupler earned goalkeeper of the week.

Loyola freshman midfielder Seth Higgins was named rookie of the week for the second straight week and Navy senior defender Nick Franchuk collected the defensive player of the week nod.

Army West Point junior defender Bryan Lehman, Boston University senior faceoff specialist Sean Christman, sophomore attack Vince D'Alto, and freshman midfielder Christian Quadrino, Colgate senior midfielder Mike Hawkins, Loyola Maryland senior attack Kevin Lindley, and Navy senior goalkeeper Spencer Rees all earned honorable mention.

Offensive Player of the Week
Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., Attack, Massapequa, N.Y. /Massapequa
* Nichtern sat atop the Army leaderboard for the second straight weekend, this week in the Black Knights 18-11 comeback victory over No. 4 Syracuse after trailing 6-1 in the first quarter.
* Nichtern found the back of the net four times against the Orange while adding three assists for seven total points on the afternoon.
* The junior currently leads the Black Knights in all three offensive categories with six goals, six assists and 12 points through two games.

Defensive Player of the Week
Nick Franchuk, Navy, Sr., Defense, Southport, Conn./Fairfield College Prep
* Franchuk anchored a defensive effort that held Mount St. Mary's scoreless for the first 37 minutes of the game and allowed Navy to jump out to a 7-0 lead, including a 6-0 advantage at the half.
* In the Mids' 8-5 win, he matched a career-high two caused turnovers and grabbed a team-high four ground balls. He has forced a turnover in each of his last 7 appearances dating back to 2019.
* The senior was matched up against starting attackman Joe Bethke, who was held to just two shots (neither on goal). Bethke's only point was off an assist when the Mids were a man down.
 
Faceoff Specialist of the Week 
Stevie Grabher, Army West Point, So., FO, Glen Head, N.Y./North Shore
* Grabher went 13-of-25 at the X for the Black Knights in their 18-11 victory over No. 4 Syracuse on Sunday.
* The sophomore battled to a .471 faceoff percentage, to go with one ground ball.

Goalkeeper of the Week 
Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Jr., GK, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra
* Schupler recorded 12 saves on 23 shots while also grabbing three ground balls in the Black Knights' 18-11 upset over No. 4 Syracuse.
* After giving up six goals in the first, Schupler held Syracuse scoreless for 12 total minutes between the end of the first and second periods.
 
Rookie of the Week 
Seth Higgins, Loyola, Fr., Midfielder, Hampstead, Md./St. Paul's School for Boys
* Higgins was key in the midfield for the Greyhounds against No. 3 Virginia on Saturday as he finished the night with a goal and an assist.
* He dodged for an unassisted goal in the first quarter, and he assisted on an Evan James goal in the second quarter to get Loyola within one at halftime.
 
Honorable Mentions
Bryan Lehman, Army West Point, Jr., Defense, Commack, N.Y. / Commack
* After not seeing any action in 2020, the junior collected a game-high four ground balls against No. 4 Syracuse on Sunday. He sits in second overall on Army's leaderboard in ground balls (6), behind Schupler.

Sean Christman, Boston University, Sr., FO, Kimberton, Pa./Malvern Prep
* Christman went 15-of-29 at the X with 10 ground balls in Saturday's 15-12 win at Merrimack. He was instrumental in the Terriers' game-winning goal, as he won a faceoff, picked up the ground ball and fed D'Alto for the goal that broke the 12-12 tie.
* Christman also picked up 10 ground balls.
 
Vince D'Alto, Boston University, So., A, Northport N.Y./Kings Park
* D'Alto dished out a career-high four assists and added three goals for a career-high seven points in the team's 15-12 win at Merrimack this weekend.
* His most important goal came in the fourth quarter when he ended a three-goal Merrimack run with his third goal of the day to break a 12-12 tie with 3:28 to go in the game.
 
Christian Quadrino, Boston University, Fr., Midfielder, Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North
* In his collegiate debut, Quadrino scored the Terriers' second goal of the game with an unassisted effort. He also tallied one assist.
 
Mike Hawkins, Colgate, Sr., Midfield, Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury
* Hawkins led Colgate against Robert Morris with four goals, one shy of his career high. He also dished three assists for seven points.
 
Kevin Lindley, Loyola, Sr., Attack, Darien, Conn./Darien
* Lindley led Loyola with four goals on Saturday night against No. 3 Virginia.
* He had scored two in the first half, and then tied the game at 7-7 just 35 seconds into the third quarter with an unassisted tally. He picked up the ground ball on the fourth quarter's opening faceoff to then beat the Cavaliers' goalkeeper one-on-one for his fourth and final goal of the game.
 
Spencer Rees, Navy, Sr., GK, Baltimore, Md./Boys' Latin
* In Navy's 8-5 win, Rees made 12 saves on 27 shots faced for a .706 save percentage to help keep Mount St. Mary's scoreless for the first 37 minutes of the game.

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.