University of Richmond Athletics
Five Spiders Selected to Preseason All-Conference Team
01/27/2016 | Men's Lacrosse
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The reigning regular season Southern Conference Champion University of Richmond men's lacrosse team had a league-high five players selected on the preseason All-Conference poll, which was released on Wednesday afternoon.
The Spiders also garnered four first-place votes and 45 points, only one shy of High Point's 46, to finish second in the preseason coaches' poll. Juniors J.P. Forester, Mitch Goldberg, Brendan Hynes and Benny Pugh, joined senior Alex Hatem on the Preseason All-Conference team.
Hynes is the reigning defensive player of the year in the conference after leading the Spider defense to the fewest goals allowed in the SoCon. The Mahopac, N.Y. native totaled team highs in ground balls (56) and caused turnovers (24), while also scoring four goals and chipping in three assists. He was named the USILA National Defensive Player of the Week on April 15 becoming the first SoCon player to ever receive a national honor.
Forester led the Richmond offense last season with a team-high 30 goals and 20 assists en route to first team All-SoCon honors. He finished in the top five in the league in points, assists per game and goals scored.
Goldberg enters 2016 with quite a first two years under his belt. He's the program's all-time leading scorer and has scored a point in 23 consecutive matches entering this spring. Last year, he ranked second on the team in goals (29) and fourth in assists (10) en route to first team All-SoCon accolades.
Pugh had a breakout sophomore season in which he led the SoCon and ranked second nationally in goals against average (7.42) and save percentage (.590) after helping the Richmond defense to the fewest goals allowed in the SoCon. He earned first-team all-conference honors last season.
Hatem enters 2016 as one of the program's five seniors. Last season, he earned second team all-conference recognition after scoring 23 goals and tallying six assists from the midfield. He enters this spring having scored a goal in 13 consecutive matches.
The Spiders are set to host Navy and Hampton in exhibition matches this Saturday at Robins Stadium. First draw is set for 12 p.m. against Navy, with the Hampton match following immediately after the conclusion.
