Junior midfielder Tim Edwards and junior defender Adam Donner were both honored with first-team All-MAAC accolades on Wednesday night at the conference's annual banquet.
One of the nation's top all-around midfielders, Edwards places in the top 30 in three different NCAA categories, leading the Griffs with a .635 faceoff percentage (125-of-197), 41 points, 27 assists and 80 ground balls. The Jamesville, New York native ranks first in the MAAC and sixth nationally in faceoff percentage, 15th in assists per game and 27th in ground balls per game. Edwards is the only top-line midfielder in the country to serve as his team's main face-off weapon and is also the only player to take 40 percent of his team's faceoffs and record at least 15 points during the season.
Edwards is just the second Canisius midfielder to earn first-team All-MAAC accolades on two occasions, joining Adam Jones – who earned the honor three times from 2008 to 2010. Edwards, who was also named to the All-MAAC Second Team in 2012 and collected the conference's Rookie of the Year, currently ranks 16th in school history with 112 career points and eighth with 65 career assists.
Donner becomes the third Griff defender to earn first-team all-conference honors, joining Dan Coates (2011) and Ryan O'Hagan (2012). A second-team All-MAAC selection a season ago, Donner leads the Griffs with 12 caused turnovers to go along with 25 ground balls. The North Tonawanda, New York native has anchored the league's top-ranked scoring defense at 9.14 goals per game.
In addition to the two all-conference performers, freshman midfielders Jeff Edwards and Lewis Vaccaro were all named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Edwards netted eight goals and ranked second on the team with 11 assists for 19 points during his rookie campaign. A defensive midfielder, Vaccaro tallied two goals, eight ground balls and two caused turnovers in his freshman season for the Blue and Gold.
In addition, a total of 10 Griffs were also recognized for their work away from the field. Donner, Edwards and seniors DJ Giacobbo and Dylan Knopfke, juniors Sam Connors, Cody Gould and Austin Romantic and sophomores Ryan Bahn, Brendan Barren and Jeff Wilson were all recognized on the MAAC All-Academic Team.
Canisius finished the regular season tied for second in the MAAC standings. The Griffs take on top-seeded Siena on Thursday at 4 p.m. on the campus of Marist College.
