BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Army West Point led the way with four major award winners when the Patriot League announced its major annual men's lacrosse awards on Monday. Lehigh recorded the other two major laurels.

Lehigh junior attack Scott Cole was named offensive player of the year. Fifth-year faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger received the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Year honor for the third-straight season.
 
Army sophomore defender AJ Pilate nabbed defensive player of the year, senior goalkeeper Knox Dent garnered goalkeeper of the year and freshman midfielder Evan Plunkett earned rookie of the year.

Army head coach Joe Alberici rounded out the major awards as the League's William Lawson Coach of the Year.

The All-League teams are comprised of 16 student-athletes on the first team and 17 student-athletes on the second team. Of the 33 players that made the teams, there are 15 seniors, eight juniors, three graduate students, four sophomores, and three freshmen.

Army led the way with the most first-team selections with five, followed by BU (4) and Lehigh (3).
Loyola Maryland and Navy both earned two spots apiece on the first team.

Army and Boston U both placed seven student-athletes on the All-League teams, followed by Lehigh with five.  Navy (4), Bucknell (4), Loyola (3) Lafayette (2) and Colgate (1) round out the all-League squads.

The Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals are scheduled for Tuesday, May 2. No. 3 Lehigh will host No. 6 Lafayette while No. 4 Navy will host No. 5 Loyola. Both quarterfinal round games will be at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

BU will play the lowest-remaining seed on Friday, May 5 at 4 p.m. at Nickerson Field. No. 2 Army West Point will play the highest-remaining seed at 7 p.m. The semifinals and championship game (Sunday, May 7) will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. Dave Ryan and Evan Washburn will be on the call for all three games.

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.

2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year
Scott Cole, Lehigh, Jr., A, Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh
2023 Stats: 45 goals, 24 assists, 69 points, 29 ground balls
* Cole finished the regular season leading the League in goals per game (3.46) and points per game (5.31). 
* Cole recorded a career-high seven points (6g, 1a) to lead the Mountain Hawks to the third seed in the Patriot League Championship.
* The junior has scored 86 goals and dished out 36 assists for 122 points to go along with 58 ground balls in his career at Lehigh.

2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year
AJ Pilate, Army West Point, So., D, Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa
2023 Stats: 28 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers
* Pilate wrapped the regular season picking up 28 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers in 13 appearances.
* The sophomore forced three turnovers and grabbed four ground balls in the team's regular-season finale against BU.

2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Year
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, 5th., Faceoff Specialist, Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh
2023 Stats: 223-of-335 at the 'X', 150 ground balls, two goals
* The fifth year has recorded a nation-leading 66.6 percent in faceoff wins (223-of-335) in 2023.
* Sisselberger, the three-time Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, averaged a League and program-leading 11.54 ground balls per game in 13 games this season.
* He was named the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Week four times this season to increase his career League record to 13.

2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Year
Knox Dent, Army West Point, Sr., GK, Denver, Colo./Cherry Creek (USMAPS)
2023 Stats: 8-3 record, 8.72 goals-against average, 101 saves, .534 save percentage
* Dent finished the regular season averaging 9.18 saves per game to go with a .534 save percentage, good for third in the League.
* His 8.72 goals against average ranks second in the League.
* The senior was named goalkeeper of the week three times this season.

2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Rookie of the Year
Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, Fr., M, Roswell, Ga./Roswell
2023 Stats: 17 goals, 20 assists, 37 points, 16 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers
* Plunkett ended his first collegiate regular season with 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points in 13 games started.
* He collected rookie weekly honors twice this season.

The William Lawson Coach of the Year
Joe Alberici, Army West Point
* Army head coach Joe Alberici led the Black Knights to a 7-1 League mark and a 10-3 overall record for his third Patriot League Coach of the Year honor.
* Alberici directed the team to a share of the 2023 Patriot League men's lacrosse regular-season title and the No. 2 seed in the championship. 
* Under Alberici, the Black Knights have made the League's semifinals 16 of 18 years with one of those misses being the canceled COVID season.
 
2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Scott Cole, Lehigh, Jr., A
Defensive Player of the Year – AJ Pilate, Army West Point, So., D
Faceoff Specialist of the Year – Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, 5th, FO
Goalkeeper of the Year – Knox Dent, Army West Point, Sr., GK
Rookie of the Year – Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, Fr., M
The William Lawson Coach of the Year – Joe Alberici, Army West Point

2023 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse All-Patriot League Teams
Student-athletes are listed by position, then alphabetically by school

First Team
Reese Burek, Army West Point, Jr., A
Vince D'Alto, Boston University, Sr., A
Louis Perfetto, Boston University, Sr., A
Scott Cole, Lehigh, Jr., A
Jacob Morin, Army West Point, Jr., M
Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, Fr., M
Adam Poitras, Loyola Maryland, Sr., M
Max Hewitt, Navy, Jr., M
AJ Pilate, Army West Point, So., D
Patrick Morrison, Boston University, Sr., D
Richard Checo, Lehigh, Fr., D
Jackson Bonitz, Navy, Jr., D
Mike Sisselberger, Lehigh, 5th, FO
Roy Meyer, Boston University, Sr., LSM
Payton Rezanka, Loyola Maryland, Gr., SSDM
Knox Dent, Army West Point, Sr., GK

Second Team*
Timmy Ley, Boston University, Sr., A
Dutch Furlong, Bucknell, Jr., A
Peter Lehman, Lafayette, So., A
Christian Mule, Lehigh, Sr., A
Tommy Bourque, Boston University, Jr., M
Thomas Niedringhaus, Boston University, Sr., M
Will Hopkins, Bucknell, Fr., M
John Sidorski, Lehigh, Sr., M
Hank Bethel, Bucknell, Sr., D
Andrew Stanzel, Bucknell, Sr., D
Donny Gayhardt, Colgate, Sr., D
Sean Rushton, Lafayette, Sr., D
Matt Hughes, Loyola Maryland, Gr., D
Will Coletti, Army West Point, So., FO
Christian Fournier, Army West Point, So., LSM
Jackson Peters, Navy, Jr., SSDM
Pat Ryan, Navy, Sr., GK

* Due to a tie, there are five defenders on the second team.

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.