CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Despite playing just one season in the Patriot League, former Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse stars Joe Fletcher and Justin Ward made huge marks on the conference record books and were two of 25 players named to the Patriot League 25th Anniversary Team.
The duo led Loyola to a sweep of Patriot League opponents in 2014 as the Greyhounds went 8-0 during the regular-season and then won two Patriot League Championships games by a combined 15 goals.
Ward was named the League’s Offensive Player of the Year, and Fletcher earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. The former earned All-America Second Team recognition, while the latter was named a first team All-American for the second year in a row.
Fletcher set a Patriot League record for weekly awards after being named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week five times during the season. He went on to earn the William C. Schmeisser Award as the nation’s top defender in 2014 and was just the second defensive player to be a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award.
He was the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2013-2014 and then became just the sixth lacrosse player and second Patriot League student-athlete ever to earn the NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award that recognizes the best student-athletes in all sports and all divisions. Earlier this month, Fletcher was named Major League Lacrosse’s Warrior Defensive Player of the Year, and he led the New York Lizards to the MLL title.
Ward set the Patriot League single-season record for assists with 53 in his only campaign in the conference. The mark also shattered Loyola’s Division I record and helped him ascend to No. 2 all-time at the school in assists (120). He tied Loyola’s Division I single-season record for points with 71, and his 3.12 assists per game were second in Division I in 2014.
His career assist total finished at 120, breaking the school Division I mark by 36. He eclipsed the total of 84 that Jim Blanding recorded from 1989-92. He joined Fletcher, and their fellow tri-captain Pat Laconi, as a USILA Scholar All-American after recording two or more assists in 16 of Loyola’s 17 games. He tallied three or more for a 12-game stretch, as well during the year.
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Oliver Marti: Starting an NLL Team in Albany and Investing in the PLL and Epoch Lacrosse (Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast #130)
byPro Lacrosse Talk
On this episode of the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast, Hutton Jackson and Adam Moore are joined by three-time All-American at Brown University, investor in the PLL, and the newest NLL owner Oliver Marti. He discusses moving the New England Black Wolves franchise to Albany, New York, why the city of Albany was chosen and share his thoughts on the team’s potential new identity. He also discusses his time playing for Dom Starsia at Brown University, playing for the New York Saints in the MILL, starting the Connecticut Box Lacrosse League, investing in the Premier Lacrosse League and equipment manufacturer Epoch Lacrosse, and his opinion on the current state of pro lacrosse.
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Pro Lacrosse Talk is the flagship lacrosse podcast of the Lacrosse Playground network covering all three professional lacrosse leagues (NLL, PLL, Athletes Unlimited). Each week throughout the season we’ll recap the games, provide analysis on the teams and feature exclusive postgame and off-the-field interviews with professional lacrosse players, coaches and executives. If you’re a fan of lacrosse podcasts like the Unbuckled Chinstrap, The Inside Feed, Lacrosse Classified or The Crease Dive, then give us a listen.