INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Friday morning that Maryville University graduate attacker Lucas Shafer has been named the 2019 GLVC Player of the Year in the sport of men’s lacrosse, while teammate Jayden Fraser was named GLVC Freshman of the Year. Rockhurst University junior Zach Bodeau was the unanimous GLVC Specialty Player of the Year, University of Montevallo sophomore Kyle Little was named GLVC Goalkeeper of the Year, and University of Indianapolis head coach Greg Stocks was voted by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year. All five honorees were selected by the league coaches and recognized for their efforts at an awards reception on the morning of the 2019 GLVC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament, which begins Friday evening in Indianapolis. A total of 42 student-athletes were recognized as All-Conference honorees. Additionally, seven student-athletes were named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees, while University of Alabama Huntsville and Shorter University tied as the team sportsmanship winner.
Shafer becomes the second-ever GLVC Player of the Year for the sport in its sophomore season of league sponsorship and the first Saint to win a men’s lacrosse major postseason honor. He started all 13 games played in 2019, tallied a league-high 35 assists, and was second in the loop in points per game (5.71) while third with 45 goals. The graduate student was also fourth in shots (126) and shots per game (9.00). He tallied a single-game, league-high 16 points and nine assists Feb. 10 against Wheeling Jesuit. In GLVC-only matches, the attacker scored 19 goals with 14 assists for 30 points. Shafer also won GLVC Offensive Player of the Week honors on March 11 and was the only standout unanimously voted to the All-GLVC First Team.
Bodeau has been unanimously named the GLVC Specialty Player of the Year in the sport’s second season of sponsorship, but this is the Hawks first season as a men’s lacrosse member. He played all 14 games during the 2019 campaign and tallied a league-best 126 ground balls and 9.00 per game in those contests to lead the GLVC. For GLVC-only contests, the junior’s 62 ground balls were the most recorded, as were his 10.33 per game. The face-off man had a Conference-best .796 percentage overall, winning 172 of 216 attempts at midfield this season. His percentage for GLVC games also ranks first at an impressive .866 (84-of-97). Additionally, Bodeau twice earned GLVC Defensive Player of the Week laurels (Feb. 4 and Mar. 25) and was one of four Hawks on the All-GLVC First Team.
For the second-straight season, Little has earned GLVC Goalkeeper of the Year honors in the sport’s second campaign of Conference sponsorship. He was a GLVC Player of the Week on April 1 and is one of just three sophomores named to the All-GLVC First Team. The netminder started all 14 games with a 5-8 record in just over 810 minutes of action, making 205 saves for a .534 save percentage. He also recorded a 13.22 goals against average and faced 641 shots. His save percentage ranks fourth while his 14.57 saves per game clocks in at third in the loop. The West Milford, NJ, native started all six GLVC matches, making 86 saves for a .538 save percentage and allowing 74 goals for a 13.26 goals against average. The 14.33 saves per Conference game was third-best in the loop and his save percentage ranked fourth among goalies playing five or more games.
Fraser has been selected as the sport’s second-ever GLVC Freshman of the year, helping Maryville to two major postseason honorees in 2019. On Feb. 18, he was named GLVC Offensive Player of the Week and is one of eight freshmen named All-GLVC, as he earned second-team distinction. In GLVC-only games, the attacker ranks tied for third in assists (11) and assists per game (1.83), while his 25 points and 4.17 points per game were sixth best. He added 14 goals in six league matches, which was tied for eighth in the loop along with his 2.33 goals per game. Among all 14 games played, Fraser scored 40 goals (fifth) with 28 assists (third) for 68 points (fourth) and had 2.00 assists per game (third), and 4.86 points per game (fourth) to rank among the top-five in the Conference. He also earned top-10 status with his 2.86 goals per game (sixth) and 95 shots and 6.79 shots per game.
Stocks earns his first GLVC Men’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year accolade, as chosen by his six Conference coaching peers. The fourth-year skipper led his 2019 squad to a 12-1 overall record and a perfect 6-0 ledger in league action, winning the last seven matches of the schedule to help the Greyhounds claim the regular season Conference title and top seed in the postseason event. The team enjoyed success over four ranked opponents this year, beating No. 3 Seton Hill (10-9, OT) on Feb. 16, No. 8 Mercyhurst (11-8) on March 2, No. 14 and future league member Lindenwood (11-6) on March 23, and No. 13 Rockhurst (12-11, OT) on April 19. The last of which secured hosting rights for this weekend’s championship tournament and a shot at defending their league title on home turf, as the squad won the inaugural event last season in Indianapolis. Stocks’ sixth-ranked Greyhounds led the loop in goals against average at 8.16 through 360:08, allowing just 49 goals in GLVC matches. Moreover, UIndy ranks third in the South Region and had two players earn GLVC weekly honors this season, including All-GLVC first-team pick Parker Kump – a two-time Offensive Player of the Week (Mar. 18 and Apr. 1) – and second-team honoree Jordan McKenzie – a Defensive Player of the Week on Mar. 4. In addition to Kump and McKenzie, Stocks mentored nine others to All-GLVC distinction with a total of five on the First and Second Teams, and one on the Honorable Mention squad.
UIndy highlights the All-Conference teams with a league-best 11 selections, while the Greyhounds and Rockhurst tied for the most first-team honorees with five apiece. The Hawks followed with nine total honors, while Maryville picked up seven selections and Young Harris College earned six. Montevallo was recognized with five team members, while University of Alabama Huntsville and Shorter University had two each. Joining Shafer as a first-team pick from Maryville was sophomore defender Jake Socia; Bodeau is joined by four Rockhurst teammates, including sophomore attacker Sam Lindahl, junior midfielder Drake O’Neill, junior defender Connor Bateman, and senior long-stick midfielder Connor Hill; and Little was the only Falcon on the First Team. The five first-team standouts from UIndy include senior attacker Parker Kump, senior midfielders Matt Johnson and Shawn Kimble, junior defender Jack Belobrajdic, and senior goalkeeper Jarod Kimble. Alabama Huntsville senior long-stick midfielder Colton Nall rounds out the 14-team contingent.
The league also recognized UAH and Shorter as its GLVC Men’s Lacrosse James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipient, as well as seven GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Individual nominees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
A complete list of All-GLVC performers and major postseason award winners can be found below.
2019 MEN’S LACROSSE ALL-GLVC TEAMS & POSTSEASON HONORS
GLVC Player of the Year: Lucas Shafer, Gr., Attacker, Maryville
GLVC Specialty Player of the Year: Zach Bodeau, Jr., Rockhurst (unanimous)
GLVC Goalkeeper of the Year: Kyle Little, So., Montevallo
GLVC Freshman of the Year: Jayden Fraser, Attacker, Maryville
GLVC Coach of the Year: Greg Stocks, Indianapolis
FIRST TEAM
Colton Nall, Sr., LSM, UAH
Parker Kump, Sr., ATT, UINDY
Matt Johnson, Sr., MID, UINDY
Shawn Kimble, Sr., MID, UINDY
Jack Belobrajdic, Jr., DEF, UINDY
Jarod Kimble, Sr., GK, UINDY
Lucas Shafer, Gr., ATT, MU #
Jake Socia, So., DEF, MU
Kyle Little, So., GK, MONT
Sam Lindahl, So., ATT, RU
Drake O'Neill, Jr., MID, RU
Connor Bateman, Jr., DEF, RU
Zach Bodeau, Jr., SP, RU
Connor Hill, Sr., LSM, RU
#Unanimous Selection
*Extra Members Due to Tie |
SECOND TEAM
Luke LeVette, Jr., ATT, UAH
Drew Billig, Fr., ATT, UINDY
Jordan McKenzie, Jr., DEF, UINDY
Robbie Berardi, Jr., SP, UINDY
Erich Wiitala, Fr., LSM, UINDY
Josh Jackson, Fr., DEF, UINDY
Jayden Fraser, Fr., ATT, MU
Thomas Vaesen, So., ATT, MONT
Kordell Primus, Fr., MID, MONT
Dylan Witt, Fr., DEF, MONT
Nick Schveninger, Sr., MID, RU
Garrett Blake, Sr., MID, YHC
Daniel Zimny, Jr., MID, YHC
Bobby Kidd III, Jr., DEF, YHC
Mason King, Sr., GK, YHC
*Extra Members Due to Tie |
HONORABLE MENTION
Brian Robb, Fr., MID, UINDY
Tyler Wenck, So., MID, MU
Tim McCarthy, So., DEF, MU
Jordan Shumate, Jr., LSM, MU
Liam Coyle, Fr., GK, MU
Blake Bellinger, So., MID, RU
Blake Branscombe, Jr., DEF, RU
Sal Valdivia, So., SP, RU
Luke Stephens, Fr., SP, MONT
Jordan Coates, Gr., MID, SHORT
Richard Ticer, Jr., GK, SHORT
Cody Bielec, So., ATT, YHC
Alex Venturino, So., DEF, YHC
|
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Tiernan Hart, UAH
Matt Johnson, UINDY
Jack Boyer, MU
Kyle Little, MONT
Sean Dotson, RU
Artie Gardner, SHORT
Bruce Silk, YHC
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Alabama Huntsville & Shorter