BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Army West Point led the way with four major award winners when the Patriot League announced its annual men's lacrosse awards on Monday. Colgate and Navy recorded one major laurel each.

Army sophomore midfielder Evan Plunkett was named the Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year, junior defender AJ Pilate nabbed defensive player of the year and junior faceoff specialist Will Coletti earned faceoff specialist of the year. Head coach Joe Alberici rounded out the major awards for the Black Knights as the League's William Lawson Coach of the Year. Both Pilate and Alberici earned their respective award for the second consecutive year.
 
Colgate junior goalkeeper Matt LaCombe was named the goalkeeper of the year, while rookie of the year went to Navy freshman faceoff specialist Zach Hayashi.

The All-League teams are comprised of 16 student-athletes on the first team and 18 student-athletes on the second team. Of the 34 players who made the teams, there are nine seniors, 10 juniors, seven graduate students, six sophomores, and two freshmen.

Army, Boston University and Navy led the way with six All-League selections apiece, followed by Lehigh (5), Colgate (4) and Loyola Maryland (4). Lafayette had two members on the second team, while Bucknell had one all-League team member.

The first team saw 11 repeat members on the squad from 2023: Army’s Reese Burek, Evan Plunkett, Jacob Morin and AJ Pilate, BU’s Louis Perfetto, Vince D’Alto and Patrick Morrison, Lehigh’s Scott Cole and Richard Checo, Loyola Maryland’s Adam Poitras and Navy’s Jackson Bonitz.

The Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals are scheduled for Tuesday, April 30. No. 3 Navy will host No. 6 Loyola, while No. 4 Boston University welcomes No. 5 Colgate. Both quarterfinal round games will be at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

Army will play the lowest remaining seed on Friday, May 3 at 4 p.m. at Michie Stadium. No. 2 Lehigh will play the highest remaining seed at 7 p.m. The semifinals and championship game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, May 5 at noon. 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.

2024 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year
Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, So., M, Roswell, Ga./Roswell
2024 Stats: 28 goals, 18 assists, 46 points, 10 ground balls, 5 caused turnovers
* Plunkett, the reigning rookie of the year, ended his sophomore regular season with 28 goals and 18 assists for 46 points in 13 games started.
* Plunkett’s goals and points are second among his teammates this season, and his 18 assists rank third at Army.

2024 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year
AJ Pilate, Army West Point, Jr., D, Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa
2024 Stats: 32 ground balls, 23 caused turnovers
* Pilate wrapped the regular season with 32 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers in 13 appearances.
* The back-to-back defensive player of the year recorded a season-high five caused turnovers in the 13-12 win over North Carolina in May.

2024 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Year
Will Coletti, Army West Point, Jr., FO, Monrovia, Md./Linganore High School
2024 Stats: 206-of-324 at the 'X', 111 ground balls, 7 goals, 3 assists
* The junior recorded a 63.6 percent in faceoff wins (206-of-324) and 9.25 ground balls per game in 2024.
* Both his faceoff percentage and ground balls per game lead the League and rank second in the nation.
* Coletti holds Army’s program record for career ground balls (372), career faceoff wins (655) and single-season ground balls (158).
* He was named the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Faceoff Specialist of the Week four times this year.
* He is named a nominee for the 2024 Tewaaraton Award.

2024 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Year
Matt LaCombe, Colgate, Jr., GK, Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville Manlius
2024 Stats: 8-6 record, 11.56 goals-against average, 184 saves, .535 save percentage
* LaCombe finished the regular season averaging 13.14 saves per game for second in the League.
* The junior owns a .535 save percentage, good for fourth in the League.
* His 11.56 goals against average ranks sixth in the League.
 
2024 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Rookie of the Year
Zach Hayashi, Navy, Fr., FO, North Potomac, Md./McDonogh School
2024 Stats: 185-of-324 at the ‘X’, 90 ground balls, 2 goals, 2 assists
* Hayashi has recorded a .571 percent in faceoff wins (185-of-324) in 2024.
* Hayashi’s 185 faceoff wins are tied for Navy’s single-season mark.
* Hayashi, the four-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week, collected 90 ground balls this season and is 10 shy of the school record set by Brady Dove in 2017.
* The freshman was named the League’s faceoff specialist of the week four times.

The William Lawson Coach of the Year
Joe Alberici, Army West Point
* Army head coach Joe Alberici led the Black Knights to a 6-2 League mark and an 11-2 overall record for his second straight and fourth career Patriot League Coach of the Year honor.
* Alberici directed the team to a share of the 2024 Patriot League men's lacrosse regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the championship as the Black Knights will host the semifinals and championship for the first time since 2010.  
* Under Alberici, the Black Knights were ranked No. 1 in the nation two weeks in a row this season.

2024 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, So., M
Defensive Player of the Year – AJ Pilate, Army West Point, Jr., D
Faceoff Specialist of the Year – Will Coletti, Army West Point, Jr., FO
Goalkeeper of the Year – Matt LaCombe, Colgate, Jr., GK
Rookie of the Year – Zach Hayashi, Navy, Fr., FO
The William Lawson Coach of the Year – Joe Alberici, Army West Point
 
2024 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, Sr., A
Louis Perfetto, Boston University, Gr, A
Vince D’Alto, Boston University, Gr., A
Scott Cole, Lehigh, Sr., A
Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, So., M
Jacob Morin, Army West Point, Sr., M
Hunter Drouin, Colgate, So., M
Adam Poitras, Loyola Maryland, Gr., M
AJ Pilate, Army West Point, Jr., D
Patrick Morrison, Boston University, Gr., D
Richard Checo, Lehigh, So., D
Jackson Bonitz, Navy, Sr., D
Will Coletti, Army West Point, Jr., FO
Max Yates, Colgate, Jr., LSM
Jackson Peters, Navy, Sr., SSDM
Matt LaCombe, Colgate, Jr., GK

Second Team*
Jackson Eicher, Army West Point, Jr., A
Connor Davis, Bucknell, Jr., A
Evan James, Loyola Maryland, Gr., A
Matthew Minicus, Loyola Maryland, So., A
Jake Cates, Boston University, Gr., M
John Mathes, Lafayette, Sr., M
Quinn Armstrong, Lehigh, Sr., M
Max Hewitt, Navy, Sr., M
Aidan Murnane, Colgate, Jr., D
Tommy McGee, Lafayette, Sr., D
Luke McAuliffe, Lehigh, So., D
Remi Reynolds, Loyola Maryland, Jr., D
Sean Dow, Lehigh, Jr., FO
Zach Hayashi, Navy, Fr., FO
Roy Meyer, Boston University, Gr., LSM
AJ Marsh, Navy, Fr., LSM
Will Barnes, Boston University, Jr., GK
Dan Daly, Navy, So. GK
 
* Due to a tie, there are 18 members 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 who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.