HICKORY, N.C. -- The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse Team placed a team record 11 players on the South Atlantic Conference's All-Conference Team as announced by the league this morning. The Bears had four First-Teamers, three Second-Teamers and four Third-Team selections. The Bears shattered the previous record of All-Conference selections which was nine in 2018. 

Toron Eccleston, Riley Seay, Victor Powell and Colten McCracken represented LR on the First Team All-Conference. Eccleston repeats as a First Team All-Conference attackmen as he also earned the distinction in 2022. The Calgary native leads LR in goals (46) and points (66) and has added 25 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. Eccleston set a personal best with seven goals against Anderson on April 12.  Seay was named First Team at midfield after his first year at LR after transferring in from Loyola. Seay finished with 28 goals and 12 assists and had the game-winning goal in overtime to lead LR past Limestone. Powell earns his third All-Conference selection and second straight First Team honor despite missing a handful of games with injury. Powell had 20 caused turnovers on the year and added 23 ground balls and was named SAC Defensive Player of the Week once. Rounding out the First Team is McCracken as short stick defensive midfield, his first yearly award from the league. McCracken had three goals and five assists on the year and 28 ground balls to go with eight caused turnovers. 

On the second team, LR had Myles Moffat, Tommy Aguilar and Nate Ashley. Moffat earns his fourth all-league honor and finished second on the squad in goals (35) and assists (63). Moffat became the program's all-time leader in assists in a win over Florida Tech and ranks second all-time in points and goals. Aguilar earns his second straight all-league selection at midfield after a 2023 campaign that saw him score 15 goals and hand out seven assists. Rounding out the second team is Ashley who has earned back-to-back Defensive Player of the Week honors to close out the regular season and finished as the team leader in caused turnovers with 25 to go with 17 ground balls. 

The third team consisted of Will Canata, Bryce Reece, Joey Masson and John Paulus. Reece, Paulus and Canata earn their second All-Conference accolades and Masson earns his first. Reece finished with 15 goals and 10 assists and Canata joined the 100-point club this year with 21 goals and nine assists. Paulus won 148 of 232 face offs on the year and had a team-high 79 ground balls. Masson continued his standout defensive play with11 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls. 

The Bear swill now look forward to taking on Newberry in the SAC Semifinals on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

2023 SAC Men's Lacrosse All-Conference 
 
All-SAC First Team
A – Willie Grieco, Wingate
A – Danny Riley, Wingate
A – Toron Eccleston, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Mike McGarry, Limestone
MF – Riley Seay, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Baker Westmoreland, Newberry
D – Peyton Farley, Wingate
D – Victor Powell, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Peyton Jefferson, Anderson
LP – Joe Karnich, Wingate
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Colten McCracken, Lenoir-Rhyne
Face-off Spec. – James Kotcamp, Wingate
GK – Johnny Caponi, Wingate
 
All-SAC Second Team
A – Zachary Terry, Limestone
A – Scott Reed, Newberry
A – Myles Moffat, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Chris Erneston, Limestone
MF – Tommy Aguilar, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Curtis Bukta, Newberry
D – Jack Travassos, Newberry
D – Nick Arnold, Wingate
D – Nate Ashley, Lenoir-Rhyne
LP – Nathan Allan, Coker
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Trent Connolly, Wingate
Face-off Spec. – Tim Ladner, Limestone
GK – Ryan Erler, Newberry
 
All-SAC Third Team
A – Radyn Badraun, Anderson
A – Carter Brand, Limestone
A – James Osorio, Newberry
MF – Garrett Hawkins, Anderson
MF – Will Canata, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Bryce Reece, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Jordan Sullivan, Lincoln Memorial
D – David Squires, Newberry
D – Joey Masson, Lenoir-Rhyne
LP – Brock Strong, Newberry
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Jason Madden, Limestone
Face-off Spec. – John Paulus, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Hunter Klosterman, Anderson
 
Offensive Player of the Year
Willie Grieco, Wingate
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Peyton Farley, Wingate
 
Specialist of the Year
Johnny Caponi, Wingate
 
Freshman of the Year
Radyn Badraun, Anderson
Coach of the Year
Tim Boyle, Wingate
 
Statistical Champions
Team Man-Up Offense – Newberry, .567
Team Man-Down Defense – Limestone, .772
Team Ground Balls per Game – Limestone, 45.33
Team Scoring Offense – Limestone, 17.33
Team Scoring Defense – Lenoir-Rhyne, 7.67
Team Scoring Margin – Lenoir-Rhyne, 9.47
Team Faceoff Win Percentage – Limestone, .611
Faceoff Win Percentage – Tim Ladner, Limestone, .647
Ground Balls per Game – Tim Ladner, Limestone, 10.07
Assists per Game – Willie Grieco, Wingate – 3.54
Shots Percentage – Briley Maxwell, Newberry, .510
Goals-Against Average – John Caponi, Wingate, 9.44
Save Percentage – John Caponi, Wingate, .569
Goals per Game – Zachary Terry, Limestone, 4.33
Caused Turnovers per Game – Michael Jensen, Coker, 3.20
Points per Game – Willie Grieco, Wingate – 6.23