Men's Lacrosse Individual Awards and All-Conference Teams Announced
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Lenoir-Rhyne's Victor Powell was selected as the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate Rob Pensabene was selected as the Conference's Specialist of the Year. Newberry's Scott Reed was named the Offensive Player of the Year while Wingate's Sean Clark was named the Freshman of the Year. Limestone's Brendan Storrier was named the Coach of the Year, the SAC Office announced today.
Powell, a senior from Chesapeake Beach, Md., wrote his name in the LR record books by becoming the program's all-time leader in career caused turnovers this season. Powell leads a stifling Lenoir-Rhyne defense that allows opponents to score just 6.21 goals per game, the best scoring defense in the nation. Powell's 26 caused turnovers give him 114 for his career and he added 34 ground balls to his ledger this season. Powell, a two-time All-American, has been a main reason why every LR opponent has been held to 10 goals or less this year.
Pensabene, a senior from Mount Laurel, N.J., is also a main reason for the Bears defensive success. In his second year with LR, Pensabene ranks first in the SAC and second in the nation with a .639 save percentage. Pensabene leads the nation in goals-against average at 6.27, almost a full goal better than the second-place finisher. Pensabene has allowed just 65 goals on the year in his 13 games played and owns a 12-1 record in goal.
Reed, a graduate student from Whitby, Ontario, Canada, has helped Newberry to its best season in program history. The Wolves have been ranked in the top 10 in the USILA national poll most of the season and Reed's 68 goals are a big reason why. He leads the nation with those 68 goals scored and his 89 points are also tops in Division II. He started the season with seven goals and five assists against Lynn and never looked back. Reed has recorded at least five points in 10 games this year.
Clark, a freshman from Victoria, British Columbia, has stepped into a big role for a Wingate team that has been ranked in top 10 in the nation all season. Clark has totaled 39 goals and 12 assists for 51 points. He has had three games where he scored five goals, once against Mercyhurst who is coming off a trip to the National Championship game in 2023. Clark closed out the regular season with a season-high eight points in a win over Coker. The 39 goals rank third in the league and his seven man-up goals are the sixth-most.
Storrier earns SAC Coach of the Year honors after leading Limestone to a perfect 15-0 regular season. The Saints went 9-0 in SAC play and earned the first outright SAC regular season championship since joining the league. Limestone has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for the last six weeks and haven't been lower than No. 3 all season. In his third season at Limestone, Storrier needs just two wins to reach 50 with the Saints and owns an .857 winning percentage since taking over in 2022.
Joining Reed on first team attack is Wingate's Willie Grieco and Limestone's Zachary Terry. On the All-SAC First Team at midfield is Newberry's Baker Westmoreland and Curtis Bukta and Limestone's Austin Lamoureux. Joining Powell at defender is Wingate's Peyton Farley and Newberry's Jack Travassos. The final four members of the first team are Joe Karnich of Wingate at long pole, Lenoir-Rhyne's Colten McCracken as Short-Stick Defensive midfielder, Limestone's Tim Ladner as Faceoff Specialist and Pensabene in goal.
The 2024 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Semifinals will take place April 24 with Lenoir-Rhyne hosting Wingate and Limestone hosting Newberry. The SAC Championship will be on Sunday, April 28 at 4 p.m.
2024 SAC Men's Lacrosse All-Conference
All-SAC First Team
A – Scott Reed, Newberry
A – Willie Grieco, Wingate
A – Zachary Terry, Limestone
MF – Baker Westmoreland, Newberry
MF – Austin Lamoureux, Limestone
MF – Curtis Bukta, Newberry
D – Victor Powell, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Peyton Farley, Wingate
D – Jack Travassos, Newberry
LP – Joe Karnich, Wingate
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Colten McCracken, Lenoir-Rhyne
Face-off Spec. – Tim Ladner, Limestone
GK – Rob Pensabene, Lenoir-Rhyne
All-SAC Second Team
A – Danny Riley, Wingate
A – Evan Voss, Lenoir-Rhyne
A – Carter Brand, Limestone
MF – Michael McGarry, Limestone
MF – Kyle Spence, Wingate
MF – Jaxon Grant, Wingate
D – Nate Ashley, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Jaiden Terry, Limestone
D – Joey Masson, Lenoir-Rhyne
LP – Brock Strong, Newberry
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Trent Connolly, Wingate
Face-off Spec. – Aiden Dixon, Anderson
GK – Thomas Sullivan, Wingate
All-SAC Third Team
A – Jason Thomfohrde, Limestone
A – Sean Clark, Wingate
A – Zach Thompson, Newberry
MF – Caison Dillon, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Ryan Duncan, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Jonathan Bender, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Peyton Jefferson, Anderson
D – Nick Arnold, Wingate
D – Dylan Witt, Limestone
LP – Payton Leonard, Catawba
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Jason Madden, Limestone
Face-off Spec. – Matthew Mancini, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Ryan Erler, Newberry
Offensive Player of the Year
Scott Reed, Newberry
Defensive Player of the Year
Victor Powell, Lenoir-Rhyne
Specialist of the Year
Rob Pensabene, Lenoir-Rhyne
Freshman of the Year
Sean Clark, Wingate
Coach of the Year
Brendan Storrier, Limestone
Statistical Champions
Team Man-Up Offense – Newberry, .716
Team Man-Down Defense – Limestone, .750
Team Ground Balls per Game – Limestone, 48.73
Team Scoring Offense – Limestone, 18.73
Team Scoring Defense – Lenoir-Rhyne, 6.21
Team Scoring Margin – Limestone, 9.80
Team Faceoff Win Percentage – Anderson, .640
Faceoff Win Percentage – Tim Ladner, Limestone, .671
Ground Balls per Game – Tim Ladner, Limestone, 10.23
Assists per Game – Willie Grieco, Wingate, 3.80
Shots Percentage – Scott Reed, Newberry, .642
Goals-Against Average – Rob Pensabene, 6.27
Save Percentage – Rob Pensabene, Lenoir-Rhyne, .639
Goals per Game – Scott Reed, Newberry, 4.53
Caused Turnovers per Game – Michael Jensen, Coker, 3.93
Points per Game – Scott Reed, 5.93
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