Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/1/23 – From Press Release
Lehigh men’s lacrosse’s Scott Cole and Mike Sisselberger (Southern Lehigh) earned major awards from the Patriot League while five Mountain Hawks were named to the all-league teams, announced Monday afternoon.
Cole was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and is Lehigh’s first recipient since 2015. Sisselberger was named the Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year for the third straight season. Cole and Sisselberger were joined on the first team by first-year Richard Checo. Seniors Christian Mule’ and John Sidorski both landed on the second team.
Cole, who was also named the Offensive Player of the Week earlier on Monday, has scored 69 points this season. He’s put up 45 points and dished out 24 assists. Cole currently leads the Patriot League in points per game (5.31) and goals per game (3.46). Cole is also third in the nation in points per game. Cole was named to the first team last season, as a midfielder. He had six goals and one assist in the win over Loyola on Friday to finish with a career high-tying seven points.
Sisselberger is now a three-time Faceoff Specialist of the Year. He leads the nation in both faceoff winning percentage and ground balls per game. Sisselberger has won 66% of his faceoffs this season and is grabbing 11.54 ground balls per game. On Friday against Loyola, Sisselberger won the 700th faceoff of his career and also became the Patriot League’s all-time leader in ground balls. Sisselberger has also scored two goals this season and recorded an assist.
Checo earned first team all-league honors after an incredible rookie season. The Oakton, Va. native leads the nation in caused turnovers per game (3.69). He’s up to 48 caused turnovers on the season for Lehigh, which is a school single season record. Checo has also picked up 57 ground balls and dished out three assists in 13 games. He’s had 12 games where he’s recorded multiple caused turnovers. Checo was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Monday.
Mule’ earned the first all-league honors of his career and is cementing himself as one of the most productive players in program history. Mule’ scored his 100th goal earlier this year against Georgetown. He now has 109 goals and 66 assists for his career. Mule’ has scored 65 points this season, which is 21 more than his previous career high. Mule’ has 12 multiple point games this season and ranks second in the Patriot League in points per game (5.00) and assists per game (2.77).
Sidorski, who missed all of last season with an injury, earned second team all-league honors. Sidorski has had six straight multiple point games. The East Islip, N.Y., native has recorded 31 points this season (9G, 22A). Sidorski has also picked up 18 ground balls in 13 games this season. This is Sidroski’s second all-league honor of his career. He was a first-team All-Patriot League member in 2021.
2023 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Scott Cole, Lehigh, Jr., A
Defensive Player of the Year – AJ Pilate, Army West Point, So., D
Faceoff Specialist of the Year – Mike Sisselberger (Southern Lehigh), Lehigh, 5th, FO
Goalkeeper of the Year – Knox Dent, Army West Point, Sr., GK
Rookie of the Year – Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, Fr., M
The William Lawson Coach of the Year – Joe Alberici, Army West Point
2023 Patriot League Men’s Lacrosse All-Patriot League Teams
Student-athletes are listed by position, then alphabetically by school
First Team
Reese Burek, Army West Point, Jr., A
Vince D’Alto, Boston University, Sr., A
Louis Perfetto, Boston University, Sr., A
Scott Cole, Lehigh, Jr., A
Jacob Morin, Army West Point, Jr., M
Evan Plunkett, Army West Point, Fr., M
Adam Poitras, Loyola Maryland, Sr., M
Max Hewitt, Navy, Jr., M
AJ Pilate, Army West Point, So., D
Patrick Morrison, Boston University, Sr., D
Richard Checo, Lehigh, Fr., D
Jackson Bonitz, Navy, Jr., D
Mike Sisselberger (Southern Lehigh), Sr., FO
Roy Meyer, Boston University, Sr., LSM
Payton Rezanka, Loyola Maryland, Gr., SSDM
Knox Dent, Army West Point, Sr., GK
Second Team*
Timmy Ley, Boston University, Sr., A
Dutch Furlong, Bucknell, Jr., A
Peter Lehman (Council Rock North), Lafayette, So., A
Christian Mule, Lehigh, Sr., A
Tommy Bourque, Boston University, Jr., M
Thomas Niedringhaus, Boston University, Sr., M
Will Hopkins, Bucknell, Fr., M
John Sidorski, Lehigh, Sr., M
Hank Bethel, Bucknell, Sr., D
Andrew Stanzel, Bucknell, Sr., D
Donny Gayhardt (Malvern Prep), Colgate, Sr., D
Sean Rushton (Malvern Prep), Lafayette, Sr., D
Matt Hughes, Loyola Maryland, Gr., D
Will Coletti, Army West Point, So., FO
Christian Fournier, Army West Point, So., LSM
Jackson Peters, Navy, Jr., SSDM
Pat Ryan, Navy, Sr., GK