Orange's 11 All-Americans Leads Nation

BALTIMORE – A near-record number of Syracuse University men's lacrosse players earned All-America recognition from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) on Thursday, May 21. The Orange led the nation with 11 honorees, including nine out of 10 starters.

The haul proved to be the second-highest, one-year All-America total in program history and easily outdistanced fellow ACC member North Carolina (8) for the most of any school. Only the 1922 Orange had more, receiving 12 All-America certificates and winning a share of the USILA national championship.

Senior attackman Kevin Rice and redshirt junior defenseman Brandon Mullins led the way by being named to the first team.

Midfielder Nicky Galasso and faceoff specialist Ben Williams were voted to the second team, while attackman Dylan Donahue earned third-team plaudits.

Six Orange standouts received honorable mention laurels. They were: attackman Randy Staats, midfielders Hakeem Lecky and Henry Schoonmaker, LSM Peter Macartney, close defenseman Sean Young and goalie Bobby Wardwell.

A USILA Second Team All-American in 2014, Rice started all 16 games for the Orange this season and led the team in points (84) and assists (48) for the second year in a row. A Tewaaraton Award finalist as the national player of the year, Rice ranks third nationally in assists per game (3.0) and fourth in points per contest (5.25).

Like Rice, Mullins was elevated to the first team this season after earning second-team All-America honors last year. Mullins owns a streak of 32 consecutive starts and paced the Orange with 14 caused turnovers. He turned in perhaps his finest effort of the season in the ACC semifinals, holding Carolina star Jimmy Bitter scoreless to end Bitter's streak of 55 consecutive games with a point.

After battling injuries for most of his career, Galasso developed into the team's top offensive midfielder in his final season. The redshirt senior tied for second on the team with 36 goals and passed out nine assists to finish with 45 points. Galasso recorded eight hat tricks in 2015 and scored 21 goals in SU's last eight games.

Williams finished second on the Orange's single-season record list for most faceoffs won (256) and most ground balls (153). He ranks second nationally in faceoff winning percentage (.674) and leads the country in ground balls per game (9.56). The sophomore recorded at least 15 faceoff wins 10 times in 16 games.

Donahue paced the Orange in 2015 with 50 goals, marking the first 50-goal season for an SU player in more than two decades. He also contributed 21 assists to finish second on the squad in scoring with 71 points. Donahue scored at least three goals in 10 of the team's 16 games and leads the nation in extra-man goals (15).

Staats missed three games due to injury and still finished third on the Orange with 53 points (29 goals, 24 assists). He tallied at least one point in every game of his Orange career, including three six-point games this season.

Lecky and Schoonmaker teamed with Galasso to make up the Orange's starting midfield. Lecky recorded 17 goals and eight assists. He had five multi-goal games, including a season-high three scores in Syracuse's win over Cornell on Feb. 15. Schoonmaker tallied a career-best five goals against Albany on April 2 and finished the campaign with 17 goals and four assists.

Macartney, Young and Wardwell were stalwarts on the Syracuse defense and helped the Orange hold 10 of its 16 opponents to single-digit goals. Macartney was third on the team in ground balls (40). He also caused seven turnovers. Young collected 24 ground balls and forced 12 turnovers. Wardwell started every game in the cage. He made 143 saves, including a career-high 14 against North Carolina in the ACC semifinals and Johns Hopkins in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Syracuse finished the 2015 season with a 13-3 overall record and made its 35th NCAA appearance before bowing out in last weekend's quarterfinal round to Johns Hopkins, 16-15.

Syracuse University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Dylan Donahue

Nicky Galasso

Hakeem Lecky

Peter Macartney

Brandon Mullins

Kevin Rice

Henry Schoonmaker

Randy Staats

Bobby Wardwell

Ben Williams

Sean Young

Related Videos