BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Army earned two of the five Patriot League GEICO Men’s Lacrosse weekly awards while Bucknell, Lehigh and Navy each earned one when the League announced the awards on Monday.
Army senior attack Brendan Nichtern was named the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week while teammate senior goalkeeper Wyatt Schupler earned goalkeeper of the week. Navy junior defender Kyle Fairbanks claimed defensive player of the week, while Lehigh senior faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger received faceoff specialist of the week.
Bucknell freshman attack Connor Davis rounded out the awards as rookie of the week for the second-straight week.
Boston University junior faceoff specialist Conor Calderone and senior goalkeeper Matt Garber, Bucknell senior defender Travis Talarico, Colgate senior attack Brian Minicus, Lafayette junior midfielder James Turco, Lehigh graduate student James Spence, and Navy junior goalkeeper Pat Ryan and senior attack Jack Sweeney all earned honorable mention recognition.
Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week
Brendan Nichtern, Army, Sr., A, Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa (USMAPS)
* Nichtern tied a career-high in goals (5) and points (8) while adding a game-high three assists to help lift the Black Knights to a 14-13 victory over UMass on Saturday.
* Nichtern scored his first goal of the season to give Army an early 1-0 lead. With the game tied at 10-10 entering the fourth quarter, he scored two consecutive goals to take a 12-10 lead.
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week
Kyle Fairbanks, Navy, Jr., D, Potomac, Md./Bullis School
* Fairbanks held Mercer's second-leading scorer Taylor Dooley without a point or a shot in Navy’s 15-5 win.
* Fairbanks recorded a career-high three caused turnovers and three ground balls as part of a defensive effort that held Mercer without a goal for the first 30:59, allowing Navy to hold a 7-0 halftime advantage.
* Navy's defense held Mercer to just 24 shots in the contest, to mark the fewest amount of shots by a Navy opponent since Furman had 16 shots on Feb. 15, 2020.
Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, Sr., FO/M, Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh
* Sisselberger finished 14-of-16 at the ‘X’ with 11 groundballs in Saturday’s 10-5 win at NJIT.
* After losing the game’s first faceoff, he won the next 11 and 14 of his final 15.
Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week
Wyatt Schupler, Army West Point, Sr., GK, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedrajames
* Schupler set a career-high in saves with 18 in Army’s season-opening 14-13 victory over UMass on Saturday.
* The goalkeeper finished with a .581 save percentage while facing 46 shots.
Patriot League Rookie of the Week
Connor Davis, Bucknell, Fr., A, Bethesda, Md./Bullis School
* Davis recorded a team-best five-point performance (4 goals, 1 assists) in a victory at Robert Morris.
* The freshman’s fourth goal gave the Bison a 12-11 lead with 1:37 left in the third quarter, snapping the Colonials' game-tying three-goal run.
Honorable Mentions
Conor Calderone, Boston University, Jr., FO, Smithtown, N.Y./Maryland
* Calderone went 15-for-23 at the ‘X’ and matched his career high with four ground balls in the Terriers’ 12-10 win over Merrimack.
* He went 4-for-4 in the second quarter, 4-of-6 in the fourth quarter to help the Terriers earn a season-opening victory.
Matt Garber, Boston University, Sr., GK, Westport, Conn./Staples
* Garber made 12 saves in the Terriers’ 12-10 win over Merrimack, along with two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
* Garber did not commit a turnover helping BU go 22-of-23 on clears.
Travis Talarico, Bucknell, Sr., D, Oradell, N.J./Bergen Catholic
* Talarico paced the Bison in both ground balls (5) and caused turnovers (2) in the 14-12 victory over Robert Morris.
Brian Minicus, Colgate, Sr., A, Darien, Conn./Darien
* Minicus recorded three goals in each game against High Point and North Carolina.
* He also dished out an assist on Sunday versus North Carolina to go with three groundballs.
James Turco, Lafayette, Jr., M, Woodbury, N.Y./Hill Academy
* Turco went 13-for-17 on face-offs and grabbed six ground balls to help the Leopards earn their first win of the season over VMI (10-5).
James Spence, Lehigh, Gr., GK, Springfield, Pa./Springfield
* Spence made 12 saves while allowing just five goals in Saturday’s season-opening 10-5 win at NJIT.
Pat Ryan, Navy, Jr., GK, Groton, Mass./Groton School
* Ryan made eight saves, including six in the first half to keep Mercer scoreless over the first 30 minutes of the game.
* In the 15-5 win, he held Mercer to a season-low five goals after the Bears scored nine against Bellarmine and 14 against Bucknell.
Jack Sweeney, Navy, Sr., A, Glenelg, Md./McDonogh School
* Sweeney scored a career-high four goals on six shots to lead Navy to a 15-5 win over Mercer.
* The senior scored two of Navy's first three goals of the game as the Mids jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the half.
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.