University of Richmond Athletics
Pugh Earns Top Defensive Honor; Eight Spiders Earn All-SoCon Accolades
05/02/2017 | Men's Lacrosse
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A historic season for the University of Richmond men's lacrosse program got its first round of recognition on Tuesday when the Southern Conference handed out its All-Conference awards.
Senior goalie Benny Pugh became the second Spider in three years to earn SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors, while a record-tying eight Richmond student-athletes earned SoCon accolades.
Along with Pugh, sophomore attacker Teddy Hatfield, senior midfielder J.P. Forester, senior defensemen Brendan Hynes and Ryan Dennis and junior long stick midfielder Austin Cates all were named to the SoCon first team. The six first team members is the most in program history.
Senior faceoff specialist Peter Moran earned All-SoCon second team honors, while freshman Tyler Shoults was named to the All-Rookie team.
Pugh has put together the best season by any Spider in the four-year history of the program. He enters this weeks' SoCon Tournament leading the country in goals against average (5.87) and save percentage (.676), while also setting a program record with 165 saves this season.
In front of Pugh defensively, Hynes and Dennis combined for 70 caused turnovers, both ranking in the top-10 nationally in the category, while anchoring the lowest-scoring defense in the country all-season long, allowing just 6.07 goals per game. The Spiders were the only team in the country to allow nine goals or less in every game this year.
Cates was another vital part of that defensive unit, starting all 14 games for the Spiders, causing 13 turnovers, picking up 23 groundballs and dishing out four assists.
Offensively, Hatfield is putting together one of the best seasons in program history with 27 goals and 22 assists. He is one assist and one point away from tying the score record in both categories. The Summitt, N.J. native has scored a point in 20 straight games dating back to last season and has scored a point in 29 of his 30 career games.
Forester will go down as one of the most prolific goal scorers in the history of the program. His senior season included three hat tricks, two of which came in the final three games of the regular season. He has 21 goals, which ranks second on the team and currently is the program leader with 93 in his career.
Moran has been outstanding all spring long, helping the Spiders rank as the top faceoff team in the SoCon, winning .579 of the time. The Reston, Va. native has won a career-best 159 faceoffs this year and is one of just 17 players in NCAA history to win 100 or more faceoffs in four straight seasons.
Shoults burst onto the scene during SoCon playing scoring 10 of his 13 points in SoCon games, including a hat trick against Mercer and three assists against Bellarmine. He enters the SoCon Tournament having scored at least a point in four straight games.
Richmond begins play in the SoCon Tournament on Thursday night when it hosts third-seeded Furman. Game time at Robins Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.
