IMLCA Division III All-Region Teams
FORESTDALE, Mass. – The Ursinus College men's lacrosse team racked up another set of postseason awards Tuesday, when the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) released its inaugural Division III All-Region and All-America teams.
Junior defensive midfielder Matthew Cioeta and senior goalkeeper Brian Neff were placed on the Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team, while sophomore midfielder Gerard Brown, senior faceoff specialist James Fairchild, and junior defenseman Zach Jones earned honorable mention all-region recognition.
All five student-athletes played integral roles in helping the Bears finish 14-3 overall and 7-1 in Centennial Conference play and advance to the CC championship game for the second straight season.
A first team All-CC and second team USILA All-America selection in 2016, Neff is the only three-time All-American in the history of the men's lacrosse program. This year's CC Defensive Player of the Year, Neff is also the only Bear to collect three first team all-conference laurels for his career. After ranking 16th in Division III in goals-against average (7.25) as a senior, Neff is sixth in conference history with 709 saves and third in victories with 45. He is Ursinus' all-time leader in saves, GAA, and save percentage (.604). Additionally, Neff was one of only five CC players to attain Academic All-Centennial status, which highlights juniors and seniors on the all-conference roster with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.40.
A first team All-CC honoree this past season, Cioeta finished second on the team in caused turnovers (13) and tied for second in ground balls (50), also chipping in 10 goals and 10 assists.
Brown took a star turn as a sophomore, rolling up a school-record 37 assists in addition to 15 goals en route to honorable mention All-American standing. One of only two Ursinus players to garner All-America honors as a sophomore, Brown already has 54 assists to his ledger, the third-most in CC history for a player in his first two seasons.
Fairchild led the CC by a wide margin with a program-record 198 faceoff wins. With seven in the CC title game against Gettysburg, he surpassed Shawn Caven for the all-time Ursinus mark with 455. Fairchild set another school record with a conference-best 82 ground balls and also dished out the first two assists of his career on the way to a first team All-CC nod.
An honorable mention All-American as a junior, Jones was a key cog on a defense that ranked 24th in the nation in scoring defense (7.35). He registered 19 ground balls and nine caused turnovers in 19 starts for the Bears.