Weber, Lynch & Briggs Earn All-ECAC Honors
DANBURY, CT – Three Alfred University men's lacrosse (9-7, 5-2 Empire 8) players were chosen as
All-ECAC All-Star selections following the 2018 season where the Saxons advanced to the Empire 8 Championship tournament for the first time in program history.
AU was represented by sophomore captain
Shane Weber (Hull, MA/Hull) on the All-ECAC First team while senior captain
Jake Lynch (Whitney Point, NY/Whitney Point) and sophomore
Garrette Briggs (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) were named All-ECAC Second Team and All-ECAC Honorable Mention, respectively. These designations come one week after the trio were named to the All-Empire 8 Conference First Team.
Weber is being recognized after leading a defensive unit that finished sixth in the nation in caused turnovers per game (12.53) with 39 caused turnovers. He also finished second on the team in ground balls (81) while scoring five goals and dishing out two assists as a long stick. He wrapped up 2018 atop the Empire 8 in caused turnovers while finishing fifth in ground balls per game (5.06). He also finished the regular season ranked 27
th in NCAA Division III in caused turnovers per game (2.53). Weber was featured in the Boston Globe earlier this year (
full release) after being named a captain by Head Coach
Jason Lockner.
Lynch was named to the All-ECAC Second Team after Lynch extending his school record in career goals (197), tied his previous record of goals in a game (9 vs. Utica) and fell only four points short of tying
Joe Alberici's ('91) career points record (275). He closed out the year as the top scorer for the Saxons, finding the back of the net 44 times and dishing out a team-high 16 assists. In 62 career games at AU he accumulated 197 goals, 74 assists, 271 points while scoring on 63.1% of the shots he put on goal. He also added 90 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers as an attackman.
Briggs earned his All-ECAC Honorable Mention designation after finishing the season 204-of-291 (.701) at the faceoff "x" and leading the conference in ground balls per game (8.00). Among his dominance, Briggs won over 20 faceoffs in four games in 2018, including a game where he broke the Empire 8 record for faceoffs won in a game (25) in a dominant 25-of-30 faceoff win performance versus Utica. Following the regular season, he ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in faceoff winning percentage (.711) while leading AU in ground balls (112), scoring two goals (on four shots on goal) and dishing out four assists.
AU finished 9-7 overall and 5-2 in Empire 8 play, advancing to the Empire 8 Championship Tournament for the first time in program history in 2018. The Saxons will await word from the USILA regarding All-America honorees next week. Lynch has been recognized twice on the USILA All-America team as an honorable mention. Thirty AU men's lacrosse players have earned All-America status in program history, dating back to 1985.