University of Richmond Athletics
Seven Spiders Earn All-SoCon Accolades
05/03/2016 | Men's Lacrosse
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Since the start of the season, the talk surrounding the University of Richmond men's lacrosse team has been about balance and the assortment of weapons the Spiders brought to the field.
That balanced team mentality was recognized on Tuesday when seven different Spiders were honored with All-Southern Conference accolades, led by junior Brendan Hynes and senior Alex Hatem, who were named to the first team.
Juniors Mitch Goldberg, Jean-Luc Chetner and Ryan Dennis, along with sophomore Austin Cates all earned second team accolades, while freshman Teddy Hatfield was named to the All-Freshman team.
Hynes earned his third straight all-conference accolade and second straight first team recognition. He leads the SoCon in caused turnovers (31) and ranks fourth in ground balls (57). This past weekend, his eight ground ball and four caused turnover game against Mercer earned him SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Hatem was outstanding down the stretch, scoring two goals in each of Richmond's final four games en route to a team-leading 19 goals on the year. The Syracuse, N.Y. native earned his second straight All-SoCon accolade after being named to the second team last season. He is one of only four players to play in all 47 games in program history.
Chetner has been stellar off the bench for the Spiders, leading the team with 14 assists in 10 games. He's had two games with three assists and four multi-assist performances. He's had at least one assist in each of Richmond's last four contests.
Dennis is part of Richmond's elite defense and currently ranks second on the team in caused turnovers with 24 and third in ground balls with 35. This is his second straight year on the All-SoCon second team.
Cates has been an outstanding in the defensive midfield role, being a key cog in Richmond's defense, which enters this weekend ranked third in the country. He is fifth on the team in ground balls with 25 and third in caused turnovers with 19.
Goldberg had his junior year shortened with a season-ending injury, but still is tied for the team lead in goals with 19 and second in points with 25. This is his third straight all-conference accolade. He is the program's all-time leader in points (107) and goals (80).
Hatfield has been outstanding in his debut season with the Spiders, setting a new freshman record with 14 assists this spring. Overall, he leads the team with 28 points, coming off 14 goals and 14 assists. He currently ranks fifth in the SoCon in assists per game.
Richmond will take on third-seeded High Point on Thursday evening in the SoCon semifinals, which is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Robins Stadium.
