WASHINGTON — The Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse regular season champions and No. 10 team in the nation, the Richmond Spiders were well represented in the A-10 Men’s Lacrosse major awards. Richmond’s Aidan O’Neil, Hunter Smith, Max Merklinger, Zach Vigue and Dan Chemotti all received year end individual awards. Saint Joseph’s Levi Verch and Ben Dutton were also honored with major awards for their 2025 seasons. The awards were announced on Wednesday ahead of the A-10 Men’s Lacrosse Championship, which begins Thursday at Sweeney Field in Philadelphia. P.A.
The Atlantic 10 announced its five major awards in addition to the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams. The five major awards were voted on by the six A-10 head men’s lacrosse coaches. The All-Academic team was chosen by the schools' media relations directors.
O’Neil was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year while his senior teammate Max Merklinger was named Midfielder of the Year and Zach Vigue was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Richmond junior Hunter Smith and Saint Joseph’s senior Levi Verch split Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Verch’s freshman teammate Ben Dutton earned Rookie of the Year. The Spiders’ head coach Dan Chemotti, who led Richmond to a No. 10 USILA ranking and four wins against ranked opponents, was tabbed as the Coach of the Year.
O’Neil, a junior from Centerville, Mass., led Richmond with 18 assists and was second in goals (25) for the Spiders. He ranks in the top five in three offensive categories in the conference: fourth in assists per game (1.29), fifth in points per game (3.07) and fifth in shots per game (7.14). O’Neil made 13 starts in 14 games with 25 goals and 18 assists for a total of 43 points.
Merklinger, a senior from Mendham, N.J., scored 23 goals and had 15 assists for a total of 38 points. Merklinger was tenth in the conference in points per game (2.71). He made 13 starts in 14 appearances and recorded 15 ground balls.
A junior defender from Rochester, N.Y., Smith was fourth in the A-10 in caused turnovers per game with 1.36 and 19 total. Smith supported a defense that was ranked third nationally in caused turnovers per game and third in scoring defense per game (7.86).
Verch, who was voted Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, ranked eighth nationally in caused turnovers per game (1.93). The senior from Victoria, British Columbia made all 14 starts for the Hawks and assisted a Saint Joseph’s defense that ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense per game (8.29). Verch ranked second in the A-10 in ground balls per game (5.36) and caused turnovers per game.
Vigue, a two-time recipient of Goalkeeper of the Year, ranked first in the A-10 and fourth in Division I for goals-against-average (7.85). The graduate student from Apex, N.C. made 115 saves with a .520 save percentage in 14 games.
Dutton, a freshman attack from Denver, Colo., led the A-10 in goals (42) and goals per game (3.00). He ranked second in shots (111) and third in points (49), points per game (3.50) and shots per game (7.93). Dutton made all 14 starts and added 12 ground balls and six caused turnovers.
In Chemotti’s 11th season at the helm of Richmond, he guided the Spiders to a 5-0 record in the conference and the A-10 regular season title. The Spiders concluded the regular season with an 11-3 overall record and collected four wins over ranked opponents including No. 7 Virginia and No. 13 Georgetown. Richmond is ranked No. 10 in the latest USILA rankings and is the top-seed in the A-10 Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Under Chemotti, the Spiders posted their 11th winning season. A native of Syracuse, N. Y., he played for Duke and at the professional level.
12 players were chosen to the All-Conference First Team, All-Rookie Team and All-Academic team while 14 players were named to the Second Team. Richmond led the way with nine All-Conference selections, while High Point and St. Bonaventure each had three players named to the All-Rookie Team. SJU paced the way with three All-Academic honorees.
The 2025 Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse Championship is set with two semifinal matches on Thursday, May 1. No. 1 Richmond and No. 4 Massachusetts will meet in the first match at 11 a.m. No. 2 High Point will face No. 3 Saint Joseph’s at 2 p.m. in the second semifinal. The championship match is slated for Saturday, May 3, at 12 p.m. All three games will be aired on ESPN+.
All-Conference First Team
Luca Accardo, High Point (Face-Off Midfielder)
David Peterkin, Hobart (Midfielder)
Mitchell Dunham, Richmond (Defender)
Max Merklinger, Richmond (Midfielder)
Aidan O’Neil, Richmond (Attack)
Joe Sheridan, Richmond (Midfielder)
Hunter Smith, Richmond (Defender)
Tommy Stull, Richmond (Long Stick Midfielder)
Zach Vigue, Richmond (Goalkeeper)
Ben Dutton, Saint Joseph’s (Attack)
Richie LaCalandra, Saint Joseph’s (Attack)
Levi Verch, Saint Joseph’s (Defender)
All-Conference Second Team
Zack Brenfleck, High Point (Defender)
Owen Bunten, High Point (Attack)
Ryan Hynes, High Point (Midfielder)
Zack Overend, High Point (Goalkeeper)
Collin Rovere, High Point (Midfielder)
Mike Valent, Hobart (Face-Off Midfielder)
Trace Hogan, Massachusetts (Attack)
Kyle Swanson, Massachusetts (Defender)
Ryan Bradley, Saint Joseph’s (Long Stick Midfielder)
Christian Marchini, Saint Joseph’s (Midfielder)
Lucas Littlejohn, Richmond (Attack)
Lukas Olsson, Richmond (Midfielder)
Liam Quinn, Saint Joseph’s (Defender)
Mark Watters, Saint Joseph’s (Midfielder)
All-Rookie Team
Owen Bunten, High Point
Carson Robins, High Point
James Westbrooks, High Point
Daniel Cano, Hobart
Robbie Granara, Massaschusetts
Owen Salanger, Massachusetts
Daniel Picart, Richmond
Aaron Eberhard, St. Bonaventure
Isaac Farmer, St. Bonaventure
Lad Harper, St. Bonaventure
Ben Dutton, Saint Joseph’s
Michael Waite, Saint Joseph’s
All-Academic Team
Colin Cooke, High Point
Jack McAdams, High Point
John Jude Considine, Hobart
David Peterkin, Hobart
Aiden Drunsic, Massachusetts
Joe Sheridan, Richmond
Zach Vigue, Richmond
Patrick Shanahan, St. Bonaventure
Drew Kenney, St. Bonaventure
Griffin Mallory, Saint Joseph’s
Liam Quinn, Saint Joseph’s
Levi Verch, Saint Joseph’s