For the first time since claiming the MAAC Championship in 2012, three members of the Canisius College men's lacrosse team earned all-conference honors, announced at the league's annual banquet on Wednesday. Junior midfielder Jeff Edwards was recognized with first-team All-MAAC accolades, while sophomore attackman Connor Kearnan and senior midfielder Nick Tuttle both collected second-team honors.
One of the nation's top scoring midfielders, Edwards leads Canisius with 37 points and 24 assists in 11 games as a junior. The Jamesville, New York native ranks fifth nationally among midfielders with 3.36 points per game, while also placing ninth among all players with 2.18 assists per game.
Edwards led all players in the MAAC in assists per game, while placing third in points. He averaged 4.00 points per game in conference games only to lead the MAAC in scoring, while posting at least three points in 9-of-11 contests this season. In 41 career games with the Griffs, Edwards has totaled 85 points from the midfield on 35 goals and 50 assists.
A two-time MAAC Offensive Player of the Week, Kearnan is second on the team with 36 points, scoring a Griffs-best 22 goals to go along with 14 assists. In his first season in the Canisius Blue and Gold, the sophomore transfer ranks fourth in the MAAC with 3.27 points per game, 2.00 goals per game and 1.27 assists per game. Kearnan has netted a team-best five hat tricks in 11 games this season, recording at least three points overall on eight occasions.
Tuttle is enjoying his best season in his final campaign with the Griffs. The senior has collected 23 points on 19 goals and four assists, surpassing his totals from his first three seasons combined. Overall, Tuttle leads all midfielders in the conference with 1.73 goals per game and has totaled 45 points, 37 goals and eight assists during his collegiate career.
In addition to the three Griffs being named to the all-conference team, defender Logan Monroe and defensive midfielder Michael Sanzone were named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Monroe is the first Canisius defender to start at least 10 games as a rookie since 2005, collecting 19 ground balls and ranking second on the team with six caused turnovers. Sanzone has matched his classmate with six caused turnovers – the most on the team by a short-stick player – and has also added seven ground balls for the Griffs.
A total of 14 Griffs – nearly half of the team's 31-man roster – were also recognized for their work away from the field by being named to the MAAC All-Academic Team. Edwards plus seniors Ryan Bahn, Brendan Barren, Mike Perrino and Mac Tomkinson, juniors Michael Mulvihill and Steve Wizniuk and sophomores Steven Coss, Cody Filson, Liam Ganzhorn, Eric Gold, Ryan McKee, Keith Pravato and Marcus Willock all collected the academic accolade.
The Griffs finished the 2016 regular season tied for the third in the MAAC standings and earned the four seed for the MAAC Tournament. Canisius begins its quest for its third conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament on Thursday at noon against top-seeded Quinnipiac.
