April 25, 2005
For the second year in a row, junior A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.) has been listed among the 16 nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which will be awarded to the top player in college lacrosse on June 2. The Great Western Lacrosse League leader – and one of the top 10 in Division I – in both scoring and assists, he is one of six players to be among the nominees for the award in each of the last two seasons. Five finalists for the honor will be announced next month.
In the five-year history of the Tewaaraton Trophy, Notre Dame players have been named nominees on four occasions. In the inaugural year, 2001, senior attackmen Tom Glatzel and David Ulrich were in the group, and Walsh was listed in the final 15 in 2004. Glatzel is the lone Irish player to be named one of the five finalists.
Walsh, a preseason second-team All-American this season after being a third-team selection in 2004 and honorable mention as a rookie, is Notre Dame’s leading scorer for the third consecutive season, with 19 goals and 20 assists (39 points) in 10 games. Walsh is the top player for an offensive unit that came into last week ranking fifth in Division I in scoring (11.50 goals per game). Walsh currently leads the GWLL in scoring (3.90 points per game) and assists (2.00) and ranks 10th and eighth, respectively, in the national leaders. For the second year in a row, he is the only GWLL competitor to be a Tewaaraton nominee, making him one of the favorites to be tabbed the conference’s player of the year.
In addition to having multiple points in every game but one this season – including four-plus points in six of 10 contests – Walsh became the first Irish player ever to score six goals against a nationally-ranked team, on March 26 at #13 Hofstra. His final score came in the second overtime and handed Notre Dame a 9-8 triumph. Walsh was named the GWLL player of the week for that performance. He had six points (3 G, 3 A) in the season opener against #21 Penn State, which allowed him to be the second-fastest ND player ever to reach the 100-career-point plateau (in his 27th game).
Despite having more than one-quarter of his career remaining, Walsh is already prominently featured in most of Notre Dame’s career offensive statistical leaders. His assist average of 2.14 per game is on pace to break Ulrich’s record of 1.96, while Walsh also ranks second in points per game (3.81), fourth in assists (77), ninth in points (137) and goals per game (1.67), and tied for 13th in goals (60).
Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Walsh was the most-accomplished scorer in the history of Wantagh High School, which he helped to a New York state championship in 2001. He set the Nassau County record for career points (390) and notched school records in career goals (212), career assists (178), and points in a season (120). Walsh was named the Nassau County Player of the Year and was twice a first-team All-America selection after being honorable mention as a sophomore. He helped the United States to the gold medal in the Under-19 World Championship in 2003, scoring at least one point in every game and notching four goals and three assists in the title game against Canada.
The Tewaaraton Award Foundation, in conjunction with the University Club of Washington, D.C., formally established the “Tewaaraton Trophy” on August 29, 2000. Today, the Tewaaraton Trophy is recognized as the preeminent lacrosse award honoring the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States. The award will be presented at a banquet on June 2 at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.
The 16 nominees are comprised of nine attackmen, three midfielders, four defensemen, and no goaltenders. There are seven seniors, seven juniors, one sophomore (A Matt Danowski of Duke), and one freshman (M Zack Greer of Duke). All but one player – D Jeff Bigas of Salisbury State (Div. III) – is from Division I. In addition to Walsh, others to be nominees for the second straight year are North Carolina’s A Jed Prossner, Maryland’s A Joe Walters, A John Walker of Army, D Brodie Merrill of Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins’ M Kyle Harrison.
Notre Dame has played against two of the nominees this season. Prossner had just one goal and one assist, while committing four turnovers vs. the Irish on March 12, while Cornell junior M Joe Boulukos registered three goals and an assist against Notre Dame on March 5.
Walsh and the Irish (6-4, 2-2) will conclude their 2005 regular season on Friday, traveling to defending GWLL champion Ohio State (5-6, 2-1) for a 7 p.m. (EDT) contest.
See below the complete list of Tewaaraton Trophy nominees with their 2005 statistics, sorted by points per game.
Name School Pos. Yr. GP GPG APG PPG GBChris Cara Bucknell A Sr. 12 2.33 2.83 5.17 24John Walker Army A Jr. 13 2.31 2.15 4.46 53Sean Morris Massachusetts A Jr. 11 2.82 1.45 4.27 17Matt Danowski Duke A So. 13 2.15 1.92 4.08 25Zack Greer Duke M Fr. 13 3.23 0.77 4.00 32Pat Walsh Notre Dame A Jr. 10 1.90 2.00 3.90 17Joe Boulukos Cornell M Jr. 10 2.40 1.20 3.60 10Matt Ward Virginia A Jr. 11 2.73 0.82 3.55 34Jed Prossner North Carolina A Sr. 12 2.33 1.08 3.50 35Kyle Harrison Johns Hopkins M Sr. 10 1.70 1.60 3.30 37Brian Crockett Syracuse A Jr. 11 2.55 0.64 3.18 14Joe Walters Maryland A Jr. 11 2.18 0.91 3.09 18Rob Bateman Virginia D Sr. 11 0.09 0.64 0.73 36Brodie Merrill Georgetown D Sr. 11 0.36 0.27 0.64 77Mitch Hendler Navy D Sr. 10 0.10 0.00 0.10 14Jeff Bigas Salisbury State D Sr. 15 0.07 0.00 0.07 87