BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Army West Point and Lehigh both earned two major awards each as the postseason major accolades and all-League honors were announced by the League office Tuesday morning.

Army junior Brendan Nichtern was named offensive player of the year, while teammate junior Marcus Hudgins earned defensive player of the year.

Lehigh junior faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger received the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Year, and head coach Kevin Cassese nabbed the William Lawson Coach of the Year honor.

Navy senior Spencer Rees was named goalkeeper of the year, while Lafayette freshman attack Peter Lehman rounded out the major awards as rookie of the year.
The All-League teams are comprised of 16 student-athletes on the first team and the second team each. Of the 32 players that made the teams, there are 11 seniors, 13 juniors, three graduate students, three sophomores, and two freshmen.

Loyola Maryland led the way with the most first-team selections with six, followed by Lehigh (4), Army (3) and Navy (3).

Loyola placed eight total student-athletes on the All-League teams, followed by Lehigh with seven, and Army and Navy each had six honorees each. Boston University had two student-athletes while Bucknell, Colgate and Holy Cross rounded out the all-League squads with one student-athlete each.

The 2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals are scheduled for Tuesday, May 4. Loyola Maryland will host Navy in the South Division quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Boston University will host Colgate in the North Division quarterfinal at 6 p.m. Both quarterfinal round games will be available live on ESPN+. Lehigh will host the North Division quarterfinal winner on Friday, May 7 at 4 p.m. at Ulrich Sports Complex. Army West Point takes on the South Division quarterfinal winner at 7 p.m.  The semifinals and championship game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.

The Major Awards and All-League teams were voted on by the nine Patriot League head coaches who could not vote for their student-athletes or themselves.

2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year
Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., Attack, Massapequa, N.Y. /Massapequa
2021 Stats: 23 goals, 28 assists, 51 points, nine ground balls
* The four-time 2021 offensive player of the week, Nichtern finished the regular season averaging 2.30 goals per game, 2.80 assists per game and 5.10 points per game.
* Nichtern’s assists and points per game ranks first in the Patriot League this season, while his assists are eighth and points per game are ninth in NCAA D1 this season.
* The junior has scored 72 goals and dished 105 assists for 177 points to go with 47 ground balls in his three seasons at Army.
Career Accolades: Tewaaraton Award – Top 25 (’21), 2020 Inside Lacrosse Third Team All-American, 2020 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, 2019 USILA All-America Honorable Mention, 2019 All-Patriot League Second Team and All-Tournament Team member.

2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year
Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Jr., Defender, Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee (USMAPS)
2021 Stats: one assist, 30 ground balls, 20 caused turnovers
* Hudgins wrapped the regular season picking up 30 ground balls and nabbed 20 caused turnovers in 10 starts.
* He averaged 2.00 caused turnovers per game this season to rank tied for 10th nationally, all while guarding the opponent’s top offensive threat each week.
* Hudgins was named defensive player of the week on April 12 after collecting a team-high and season-best six ground balls and two caused turnovers in the 12-7 win over Loyola Maryland.
Career Accolades: 2020 Inside Lacrosse Third Team All-American

2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Year
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., Faceoff Specialist, Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh
2021 Stats: 192-of-239 at the ‘X’, 135 ground balls, four goals, one assist, five points
* The junior has won 84-of-100 faceoffs over the last four games (.840) to up his season total to 80.3 (192-of-239), which leads the nation.
* Sisselberger averaged 13.50 ground balls per game in 10 games this season, which is good for first in this year’s NCAA DI stats.
* Sisselberger owns the record of most faceoff specialist weekly honors in a season with six. The record was previously held by Joe Varello at Navy in 2017 with five.

2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Year
Spencer Rees, Navy, Sr., Goalkeeper, Baltimore, Md./Boys’ Latin
2021 Stats: 9.11 goals-against average, 112 saves, .594 save percentage
* Rees finished his fourth regular season as a Midshipman averaging 14.00 saves per game, good for fifth in the NCAA this season.
* The senior’s .594 save percentage mark ranks second in the NCAA, while his 9.11 goals-against average is eighth-best.
* During his four years at Navy, Rees has recorded a 9.20 goals-against average and a .591 saves percentage.

2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Year
Peter Lehman, Lafayette, Fr., Attack, Warminster, Pa./Council Rock North
2021 Stats: 20 goals, four assists, 24 points, 16 ground balls, three caused turnovers
* Lehman ended his first collegiate regular season with a team-leading 20 goals and four assists for 24 points in 11 games.
* The two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week scored a season-high four goals against Lehigh on April 18.

The William Lawson Coach of the Year
Kevin Cassese, Lehigh
* The two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year led the Mountain Hawks to an 8-0 League mark and a 4-0 record in South Division this year. He also won the award in 2012.
* The U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame Inductee’s team paced the team to the overall top seed of the 2021 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Championship and will host the semifinals and championship. 
* Cassese led the Mountain Hawks to a program-record 13-game winning streak from the end of the 2020 season to late this season.

2021 Men’s Lacrosse All-Patriot League and Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., A
Defensive Player of the Year – Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Jr., D
Faceoff Specialist of the Year – Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO
Goalkeeper of the Year – Spencer Rees, Navy, Sr., GK
Rookie of the Year – Peter Lehman, Lafayette, Fr., A
The William Lawson Coach of the Year – Kevin Cassese, Lehigh

First Team
Brendan Nichtern, Army West Point, Jr., A
Tommy Schelling, Lehigh, Jr., A
Kevin Lindley, Loyola Maryland, Sr., A
Aidan Olmstead, Loyola Maryland, Sr., A
Bob Abshire, Army West Point, Jr., M
John Sidorski, Lehigh, So., M
Peter Swindell, Loyola Maryland, Gr., M
Patrick Skalniak, Navy, So., M
Marcus Hudgins, Army West Point, Jr., D
Anthony Tangredi, Lehigh, Jr., D
Cam Wyers, Loyola Maryland, Jr., D
Nick Franchuk, Navy, Sr., D
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Jr., FO
Ryan McNulty, Loyola Maryland, Gr., LSM
Matt Higgins, Loyola Maryland, Sr., SSDM
Spencer Rees, Navy, Sr., GK
 
Second Team
Vince D’Alto, Boston University, Jr., A
Brian Minicus, Colgate, Jr., A
Cole Kirst, Lehigh, Jr., A
Christian Daniel, Navy, Sr., A
Gunner Phillipp, Army West Point, Jr., M
Christian Quadrino, Boston University, Fr., M
Andrew Eichelberger, Lehigh, Gr., M
Evan James, Loyola Maryland, So., M
Kyle Beyer, Army West Point, Sr., D
Bryant Boswell, Bucknell, Sr., D
Chris Conlin, Holy Cross, Jr., D
Jackson Bonitz, Navy, Fr., D
Bailey Savio, Loyola Maryland, Sr., FO
Teddy Leggett, Lehigh, Sr., LSM
Tim Griffin, Navy, Sr., SSDM
Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Jr., GK
 
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