BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Loyola Maryland earned two of the five Patriot League GEICO men’s lacrosse weekly awards when they were announced by the League office on Monday. Army West Point, Lehigh and Navy also received weekly laurel.
Army West Point junior Brendan Nichtern was named the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season, while Lehigh junior Mike Sisselberger collected faceoff specialist of the week for the fifth-straight week.
Loyola Maryland graduate student short-stick defensive midfielder Matt Higgins garnered defensive player of the week, while teammate senior Sam Shafer received goalkeeper of the week honors for the second time this year.
Navy attack Jon Jarosz rounded out the weekly awards as the rookie of the week for the second week.
Army West Point senior faceoff specialist Stevie Grabher and junior goalkeeper Wyatt Schupler, Colgate junior attack Brian Minicus and freshman attack Michael Minicus, and Loyola Maryland senior attack Kevin Lindley and senior faceoff specialist Bailey Savio all earned honorable mentions.
Offensive Player of the Week
Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., Attack, Massapequa, N.Y. /Massapequa
* Nichtern tied a career-high with eight points on a hat trick and five assists in the win over Colgate.
* His five assists were tied for a season-high mark.
* Four of his eight points came in the fourth quarter, including the final goal of the game which came with 21 seconds left to give Army a two-goal lead.
* Nichtern leads the Patriot League in points per game at 5.10 and assists per game at 2.80.
Defensive Player of the Week
Matt Higgins, Loyola, Gr., SSDM, Marietta, Ga./Blessed Trinity
* Higgins was part of the defense that limited No. 6 Georgetown to under 10 goals for just the third time this season.
* Higgins had three caused turnovers and a ground ball, and did not allow a goal from any of the Georgetown midfielders he covered during the game.
Faceoff Specialist of the Week
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO/M, Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh
* Sisselberger won 20-of-22 faceoffs at No. 16 Villanova Saturday, marking his fewest losses of the season.
* The junior won his final 11 faceoffs for the game to go along with eight ground balls.
* He has won 84-of-100 faceoffs over the last four games (84.0%) to up his season total to 80.3 (192-of-239), which leads the nation, in addition to 135 ground balls.
Goalkeeper of the Week
Sam Shafer, Loyola, Sr., Goalkeeper, Rowayton, Conn./Trinity-Pawling School
* Shafer made a season-high 13 saves on Thursday to help Loyola post an 11-9 win over No. 6 Georgetown in the teams’ regular-season finale.
* His biggest save, came while the Greyhounds were two men down, and he stopped a shot that would lead to a Greyhounds’ clear, enabling them to kill the penalties.
* The Greyhounds held the Georgetown offense, which was averaging more than 14 goals entering the game, to less than 10 goals for just the third time this year.
Rookie of the Week
Jon Jarosz, Navy, Fr., A, Gambrills, Md./Severn School
* Jarosz was one of nine players to score for the Mids in the win over Lafayette, as he paced Navy with a career-high five-point performance on four goals and an assist.
* The four goals are the most by a Navy freshman since co-captain Christian Daniel punched in five against Lafayette in 2018.
* The freshman has scored in five of the seven games in which he has played, including multiple goals in four contests.
* Jarosz is the Mids' third-leading scorer with 17 points on 12 goals and five assists and having played one less game.
Honorable Mentions
Stevie Grabher, Army West Point, So., FO, Glen Head, N.Y./North Shore
* Grabher finished 14-of-27 at the faceoff in the win over Colgate, and picked up a career-high 15 ground balls in the victory.
Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Jr., GK, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra
* Schupler stopped 13 shots against Colgate to help give Army a quarterfinal-bye into the 2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
* The junior has reached double-digit saves in five straight games and nine of his 10 games this year.
Brian Minicus, Colgate, Jr., Attack, Darien, Conn./Darien
* Minicus scored two goals and assisted on four others to match his career-high with six points against Army West Point.
Michael Minicus, Colgate, Fr., Attack, Darien, Conn./Darien
* Minicus scored his eighth goal of the season against Army West Point. His goal was on a man-up opportunity in the first quarter to tie the game at 3-3.
Kevin Lindley, Loyola, Sr., Attack, Darien, Conn./Darien
* Lindley posted all three of his points in the second half Thursday night as Loyola rallied from two down at halftime to beat No. 6 Georgetown, 11-9, in the regular-season finale.
* With his third goal, the senior from Darien, Conn., tied a 39-year old school record for career goals. He now has 151 goals, matching the total put up by Gary Hanley from 1978-82, and his total is also third-most in Patriot League history.
Bailey Savio, Loyola, Sr., Face-Off Specialist, Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich
* After Kevin Lindley tied the game at 7-7 late in the third quarter, Savio won the ensuing faceoff going forward, got the ground ball and scored his second goal of the season to put Loyola in front. Entering the game, Georgetown’s James Reilly had a .627 faceoff winning percentage, but Savio battled him to a 12-12 draw at the X while also picking up five ground balls.
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
4.26 – Christian Mule’, Lehigh, So., 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
4.26 – Nick Franchuk, Navy, Sr., D
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
4.26 – 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
4.26 – Spencer Rees, Navy, Sr., 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
4.26 – Peter Lehman, Lafayette, Fr., A
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