WASHINGTON — Richmond’s Dalton Young and Lance Madonna, Massachusetts Matt Knote and Saint Joseph’s coach Taylor Wray all were selected as Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse major award winners for the second consecutive season. Richmond’s Zach Vigue and SJU’s Levi Verch and Jesse Jason also earned major awards for their play in the 2024 season. The awards were announced Wednesday,
The Atlantic 10 announced the five major awards along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams ahead of the 2024 championship which begins Thursday at Garber Field in Amherst, Mass. The major awards, All-Conference Teams and All-Rookie Team were voted on by the A-10 head men’s lacrosse coaches. The All-Academic team was selected by the media relations directors.
Young was voted the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year while his teammate Madonna earned A-10 Midfielder of the Year. Verch was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Knote and Vigue shared Co-Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Jason was the league’s top newcomer, garnering the Rookie of the Year award, and Taylor Wray, the Saint Joseph’s bench boss, was named Coach of the Year for the second straight year.
Young, a graduate student attacker from Chantilly, Va., led Richmond with 70 points, ranking seventh nationally with 5.0 points per game and 15th nationally in assist per game with 2.57. He totaled 36 helpers, leading the team and ranking second in the A-10, and scored 34 goals, shooting 62.4 percent on goal.
Madonna, a senior midfielder from East Syracuse, N.Y., had 21 goals and eight assist to total 29 points. He also totaled nine ground balls and two game-winning goals. He shot 50.7 percent from the midfield.
Verch led the A-10 and was 16
th in the nation in caused turnovers per game, averaging 1.85. He was also fourth in the Atlantic 10 in ground balls per game, collecting 5.15. The junior defender from Victoria, British Columbia, helped anchor a defense that was 10
th nationally in scoring defense and second in man-down defense.
A goalkeeper graduate student from Speonk, N.Y., Knote is second in the Atlantic 10 and 18
th nationally in save parentage (.545) and tops in the league and 19
th in the country in saves per game (12.54). He’s third in the Atlantic 10 in goal against average, allowing just 10.65 per game, which ranks 25
th in Division I
Vigue leads the Atlantic 10 and is sixth nationally in save percentage, stopping 58.2 percent of the shots he faced. The goalkeeper from Apex, N.C., was second in goals against average with a 8.53, the second-best GAA in the nation. He also is third in the A-10 with 10.69 saves per game.
Jason is a sophomore midfielder from Sykesville, Md., who was fourth in points for the Hawks with 28, tallying 18 goals and 10 assists with a .576 shooting percentage. He also had three goals while playing a an up and collected 10 ground balls this season.
Wray is concluding his 13
th year at the helm of the Hawks, leading SJU to a perfect 5-0 record and an A-10 regular season title for the second straight year. SJU compiled an overall mark of 10-3 and are ranked 14
th in both major men’s lacrosse polls. Now a seven-time conference coach of the year, the 2024 season is Wray’s ninth winning season on Hawk Hill. He is an Edmonton, Alberta, native and has played and coached internationally.
There were 14 players selected to the All-Conference First Team and 12 on the Second Team, the All-Rookie Team and the All-Academic Team. Saint Joseph’s and Richmond led the way with five All-Conference selections each, while SJU registered three All-Rookie honorees. The Hawks also had four All-Academic selections, tops in the league.
The 2024 Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse Championship begins with two Thursday matches between No. 4 UMass and No. 1 Saint Joseph’s in the first semifinal at 3:00 pm ET and No. 3 High Point and No. 2 Richmond in the second semifinal at 6:00 pm ET. The championship final will be played Saturday at 1:00 pm ET. All three matches of the A-10 championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.
2024 Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse Awards
Offensive Player of the Year
Dalton Young, Richmond (Attack)
Defensive of the Year
Levi Verch, Saint Joseph’s (Defense)
Midfielder of the Year
Lance Madonna, Richmond (Midfield) |
Co-Goalkeepers of the Year
Matt Knote, Massachusetts
Zach Vigue, Richmond
Rookie of the Year
Jesse Jason, Saint Joseph’s
Coach of the Year
Taylor Wray, Saint Joseph’s |
All-Conference First Team
Brayden Mayea, High Point (Attack)
Nick Rizzo, High Point (Midfield)
Adam Shea, Hobart (Face-off Specialist)
Matt Knote, Massachusetts (Co-Goalkeeper)
Jake Kapp, Richmond (Co-Long Stick Midfielder)
Lance Madonna, Richmond (Midfield)
Hunter Smith, Richmond (Defense)
Zach Vigue, Richmond (Co-Goalkeeper)
Dalton Young, Richmond (Attack)
Matt Bohmer, Saint Joseph’s (Attack)
Patrick Clemens, Saint Joseph’s (Defense)
Jesse Jason, Saint Joseph’s (Midfield)
Alex Keener, Saint Joseph’s (Co-Long Stick Midfielder)
Levi Verch, Saint Joseph’s (Defense)
All-Rookie Team
Ian Cann, High Point
Corey O’Connor, High Point
Chris Patterson, Hobart
Mike Valent, Hobart
Matthew Cargiulo, Massachusetts
Blaise New, Massachusetts
Gavin Creo, Richmond
Charlie Packard, Richmond
Jake Kucinski, St. Bonaventure
Danny Gaalaas, Saint Joseph's
Jesse Jason, Saint Joseph's
Mark Watters, Saint Joseph's |
All-Conference Second Team
Zach Brenfleck, High Point (Defender)
Tommy Meehan, High Point (Midfield)
Corey O’Connor, High Point (Co-Long Stick Midfielder)
Jack VanOverbeke, High Point (Attack)
Chad Bach, Hobart (Midfield)
Shane O’Leary, Massachusetts (Midfield)
Jack Fabean, Richmond (Defense)
Levi Anderson, Saint Joseph’s (Attack)
Tommy Gross, Saint Joseph’s (Goalkeeper)
Carter Page, Saint Joseph’s (Attack)
Liam Quinn, Saint Joseph’s (Defense)
Gavin Tygh, Saint Joseph’s (Face-off Specialist)
All-Academic Team
Nicky Gullace, Hobart
Adam Shea, Hobart
Owen Quinn, Massachusetts
Matt Knote, Massachusetts
Jack Fabean, Richmond
Jake Kapp, Richmond
Dalton Young, Richmond
Ryan Olan, St. Bonaventure
Matt Bohmer, Saint Joseph's
Patrick Clemens, Saint Joseph's
Liam Quinn, Saint Joseph's
Levi Verch, Saint Joseph's |