Spiders Well-Represented in Inaugural Atlantic 10 Men’s Lacrosse Awards; Three Earn Player of the Year Honors

Newport News, Va. – Nine members of the University of Richmond Men's Lacrosse team were honored in the Atlantic 10 Men's Lacrosse end-of-year awards, released Thursday. The inaugural awards are highlighted by the Spiders taking home three of four possible Player of the Year spots.

Dalton Young was named Offensive Player of the Year, while Lance Madonna was tabbed Midfield Player of the Year and Aidan O'Neil grabbed Rookie of the Year honors.

Along with Young and Madonna, Jake Saunders earned a Fist Team All-Atlantic 10 nod and Tommy Stull and Zach Vigue were named to the Second Team.

The future is bright for the Spiders as O'Neil, Jack Pilling, Joe Sheridan and Hunter Smith captured All-Rookie Team Honors, giving Richmond the most names of any other school on the list.

In total, Richmond tied Saint Joseph's for the most All-Atlantic 10 selections with nine. Young, a business administration major, was also named to the All-Academic Team for his work both on the field and in the classroom.

A-10 Major Awards

Dalton Young | Sr. | Attack | Chantilly, Va. | Offensive Player of the Year
Young ranks second in the Atlantic 10 with 58 points during the regular season. He leads the A-10 with 35 assists averaging 2.69 a game, a number that ranks seventh nationally. His 23 goals are tied for eighth-most in the conference this year along with teammate Lance Madonna. He also scooped 22 ground balls and caused three turnovers. Young's 2023 season was a continuation of the success he's had up to this point, as he's racked up a 38-game point streak with 92 goals and 64 assists for 156 points over the duration of his streak that began March 13, 2021. Young's goal scoring streak is also one of the longest nationally, having tallied 47 goals over the last 22 games. He has not had a scoreless game since March 26, 2022 and has started in 43 of 46 games during his career.

Lance Madonna | Jr. | Midfield | East Syracuse, N.Y. | Midfielder of the Year
Lance Madonna scored 23 goals and dished out 10 assists during the regular season, and his 1.77 goals per game are tied for eighth in the Atlantic 10. Madonna ranks seventh in the conference in goals per game with 1.83 and his six man-up goals are the third-most in the A-10 this year. Madonna sits at 10th in the conference in shot percentage (0.328) and 11th in points per game (2.58). He also scored three game-winning goals for the Spiders during the 2023 regular season.

Aidan O'Neil | Fr. | Attack | Centerville, Mass. | Rookie of the Year
Aidan O'Neil has started and scored in all 13 games, picking up 22 goals and 12 assists during his freshman campaign and was named A-10 Rookie of the Week three times this year. O'Neil leads all Atlantic 10 freshmen with 34 points while ranking 12th in the conference with 2.42 points per game. He recorded multi-point games on nine occasions this year, picked up 14 ground balls and caused a turnover.

All-Atlantic 10 First Team

Dalton Young | Sr. | Attack | Chantilly, Va.

Lance Madonna | Jr. | Midfield | East Syracuse, N.Y.

Jake Saunders | Gr. | Defense | Oakville, Ontario
Jake Saunders ranks fifth in the nation and second in the conference with 2.33 caused turnovers per game while ranking seventh in the conference with 3.83 ground balls per game. Saunders' leadership on defense led Richmond to the third-best scoring defense in the conference, allowing just 147 goals on the year. This year, Saunders led the Spiders with 29 caused turnovers and 49 ground balls, the most of any non-face off specialist.

All-Atlantic 10 Second Team

Tommy Stull | So. | Long Stick Midfield | Niantic, Conn.
A threat anywhere on the field, Tommy Stull ranks third in the conference in caused turnovers per game with 1.00. This season, he has 12 caused turnovers and the second-most ground balls by a non-face off specialist on the Spiders team with 26. Stull also added a pair of goals on the year and lined up at the dot for six face off attempts.

Zach Vigue | R-So. | Goalie | Apex, N.C.
Zach Vigue's .511 save percentage from the regular season ranks second in the Atlantic 10 this year and his 10.46 saves per game rank third. Vigue has started all 13 games so far where he's manned the cage for 700:41, making 136 saves and allowed 130 goals. He tied a career high with 19 saves against Georgetown and has scooped nine ground balls and added a caused turnover this season.

All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team

Aidan O'Neil | Fr. | Attack | Centerville, Mass.

Jack Pilling | Fr. | Midfield | Upper Dublin, Pa.
Jack Pilling spent his freshman season locking down opposing offenses out of the defensive midfield. The first 13 games of Pilling's career saw him collect 12 ground balls and caused nine turnovers – the fifth-most of any Spider and the most of any freshman on the team.

Joe Sheridan| Fr. | Midfield | West Chester, Pa.
Joe Sheridan's 19 points are the second-most on any freshman in the conference, trailing only teammate Aidan O'Neil. Sheridan scored the first goal of Richmond's season against Maryland, and has since picked up 16 goals and three assists. He's also added 12 ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers as well.

Hunter Smith | Fr. | Defense | Rochester, N.Y.
Like Saunders, Smith helped bolster Richmond's back line to earn the third-best scoring defense in the conference, allowing just 147 goals on the year. Smith helped Richmond rank second in the conference with 9.77 caused turnovers per game and third in ground balls per game with 31.69. Smith scored Richmond's first goal by a long pole of the season at Virginia and has picked up 16 ground balls and 6 caused turnovers.

The Spiders host the inaugural Atlantic 10 Men's Lacrosse Championship at Robins Stadium May 4^th and 6^th. Richmond, who posted a 9-4 (4-1) regular season record, has earned the No. 2 seed in the championships and will take on No. 3 UMass at 8:00 tonight.

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