BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Lehigh and Navy both earned two of the five Patriot League GEICO men’s lacrosse weekly awards when they were announced by the League office on Monday. Lafayette also received one weekly laurel.
Lehigh sophomore Christian Mule’ was named the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week, while teammate junior Mike Sisselberger collected faceoff specialist of the week for the fourth-straight week.
Navy senior Nick Franchuk garnered defensive player of the week. Teammate senior Spencer Rees received goalkeeper of the week honors for the second time this year.
Lafayette attack Peter Lehman rounded out the weekly awards as the rookie of the week for the second-straight week.
Boston University sophomore defender Patrick Morrison, Bucknell freshman attack Dutch Furlong, Lehigh senior goalkeeper James Spence, Loyola Maryland junior short-stick defensive midfielder Payton Rezanka, and Navy senior midfielder Joe deLyra, freshman midfielder Max Hewitt and junior faceoff-specialist Jacob Jarosz all earned honorable mentions.
Offensive Player of the Week
Christian Mule’, Lehigh, So., A, Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West
* Mule’ posted career highs in goals (7) and points (10) against Bucknell.
* His 10 points were the most by a Lehigh player since Dan Taylor had 10 on Feb. 14, 2015, at Furman.
* Mule' had seven first-half points (four goals, three assists), having a hand in 70 percent of the Mountain Hawks' first-half goals.
* For the season, Mule' has totaled 27 goals and 13 assists while having had at least four points in each of the last five games.
Defensive Player of the Week
Nick Franchuk, Navy, Sr., D, Southport, Conn./ Fairfield College Prep
* Franchuk held Army's Brendan Nichtern, the nation's eighth-leading scorer (5.38 points per game), scoreless. It is only the third time in Nichtern's career that he has been held without a point.
* Navy held Army to just four goals, its lowest goal output since losing to Loyola 13-4 in the 2017 Patriot League Championship Game.
* Navy's defense held Army to a single goal in the opening half and just one goal over the final 17-plus minutes of the contest.
Faceoff Specialist of the Week
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO/M, Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh
* After winning six of his first 11 faceoffs, Sisselberger won 15 of his last 16 to finish the day 21-of-27 with 15 ground balls against Bucknell.
* The junior also recorded his first-career assist with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter.
* For the season, Sisselberger has won 79.3 percent of his faceoffs (172-of-217) with 127 ground balls.
Goalkeeper of the Week
Spencer Rees, Navy, Sr., GK, Baltimore, Md./Boys’ Latin
* Rees turned in a career-high 19 saves, the most by a Navy player since Ryan Kern turned aside 19 shots against Princeton on March 5, 2019.
* 14 of his 19 saves were made over the final 30 minutes, making five stops on 11 shots in the third quarter and nine saves on 20 shots in the fourth.
* Army’s four goals were also the fewest goals scored by Army in an Army-Navy Game (Star Game or otherwise) since the Mids beat the Black Knights 8-4 on April 11, 2009.
Rookie of the Week
Peter Lehman, Lafayette, Fr., A, Warminster, Pa./Council Rock North
* Lehman posted a four-point effort against No. 19 Loyola on Saturday afternoon as the Leopards pushed the Greyhounds to a one-goal game in the fourth quarter in an eventual 11-7 defeat.
* Lehman, Lafayette’s leading scorer this season with 20 goals in his rookie campaign, scored three goals and an assist and added four ground balls on the afternoon.
Honorable Mentions
Patrick Morrison, Boston University, So., D, Franklin, Mass./Franklin
* Morrison collected a career-high five ground balls and had a career-best four caused turnovers for the Terriers on Friday night against Brown. He now leads the team with 30 ground balls and is second on the squad with 11 caused turnovers.
Dutch Furlong, Bucknell, Fr., A, Baltimore, Md./Gilman School
* Furlong logged a career-best four points on two goals and two assists against nationally-ranked Lehigh.
James Spence, Lehigh, Sr., GK, Springfield, Pa./Springfield
* Spence made 11 saves, allowing 11 goals in Saturday's win over Bucknell. He also had two ground balls and recorded an assist on Lehigh's third goal of the game.
Payton Rezanka, Loyola Maryland, Jr., SSDM, San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic H.S.
* Rezanka scored a goal, had two caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls as part of a defensive unit that held Lafayette to seven goals on Saturday in Easton. The short-stick defensive midfielder scored his second career goal – his first came just one week prior – in early offense off a feed from Ryan McNulty early in the third quarter.
Joe DeLyra, Navy, Sr., M, Brightwaters, N.Y./Chaminade
* deLyra paced the Mids with his first three goals of the season in the win over Army. He scored his three goals on five shots.
Max Hewitt, Navy, Fr., M, Denver, Colo./Kent Denver
* Hewitt matched his season goal total with a pair of unassisted goals against the Black Knights.
Jacob Jarosz, Navy, Jr., FO, Gambrills, Md./Severn School
* Jarosz won 10 of the 17 (58.8) draws for the Midshipmen, including winning 4 of the 5 faceoffs in the fourth quarter.
Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week
2.15 – Kevin Lindley, Loyola Maryland, Sr., A
2.22 - Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., A
3.1 - Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., A
3.8 – Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., A
3.15 – Timmy Ley, Boston University, Jr., A
3.22 – Aidan Olmstead, Loyola Maryland, Sr., A
3.29 – Tommy Schelling, Lehigh, Jr., A
4.5 – Cole Kirst, Lehigh, Jr., A
4.12 – Tommy Schelling, Lehigh, Jr., A
4.19 – Christian Daniel, Navy, Sr., A
Men’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week
2.15 – Ryan McNulty, Loyola Maryland, Gr., LSM
2.22 – Nick Franchuk, Navy, Sr., D
3.1 – Chris Conlin, Holy Cross, Jr., D
3.8 – Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Jr., D
3.15 – Cam Wyers, Loyola Maryland, Jr., D
3.22 – Cam Wyers, Loyola Maryland, Jr., D
3.29 – Nicholas Ellerton, Boston University, Gr., D
4.5 – Travis Talarico, Bucknell, Jr., D
4.12 – Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Jr., D
4.19 – Doug Jones, Army West Point, Jr., SSDM
Men’s Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Week
2.15 – Bailey Savio, Loyola Maryland, Sr., FO
2.22 – Stevie Grabher, Army West Point, Jr., So., FO
3.1 – Jacob Jarosz, Navy, Jr., FO
3.8 – Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO
3.15 – Connor DePiero, Holy Cross, Fr., FO
3.22 - Bailey Savio, Loyola Maryland, Sr., FO
3.29 - Stevie Grabher, Army West Point, Jr., So., FO
4.5 – Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO/M
4.12 – Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO/M
4.19 – Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO/M
Men’s Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Week
2.15 – Sam Shafer, Loyola Maryland, Sr., GK
2.22 – Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Jr., GK
3.1 - Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Jr., GK
3.8 – James Spence, Lehigh, Sr., GK
3.15 – Matt Garber, Boston University, Jr., GK
3.22 - Matt Garber, Boston University, Jr., GK
3.29 – Spencer Rees, Navy, Sr., GK
4.5 – Sean Collins, Colgate, Jr., GK
4.12 – Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Jr., GK
4.19 – Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Jr., GK
Men’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Week
2.15 – Seth Higgins, Loyola Maryland, Fr., M
2.22 – Seth Higgins, Loyola Maryland, Fr., M
3.1 – Jon Jarosz, Navy, Fr., A
3.8 – Charlie Cunniffe, Lafayette, Fr., A
3.15 – John Mathes, Lafayette, Fr., M
3.22 – Tommy Bourque, Boston University, Fr., M
3.29 - Charlie Cunniffe, Lafayette, Fr., A
4.5 – Christian Quadrino, Boston University, Fr., A
4.12 – Scott Cole, Lehigh, Fr., A
4.19 – Peter Lehman, Lafayette, Fr., A
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.