SUNYAC Men's Lacrosse Annual Awards Released
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announces its 2021 men's lacrosse All-Conference and individual awards including Offensive Player of the Year, Co-Defensive Players of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year as voted on by the league coaches.
Offensive Player of the Year - Josh Huiatt, Potsdam
Huiatt, the senior midfielder, led the league with 38 points in conference divisional play (18 goals and 20 assists). He is second in the league with 55 points overall (29 goals, 26 assists) and he totaled 122 shots this season, the most in the conference. He also accumulated 35 ground balls and five caused turnovers this spring. He helped lead his team to a second place finish in the East division after regular season play. Huiatt (104-73-177) now ranks fourth in Potsdam's program history in points and sixth in goals. He is Potsdam's fourth SUNYAC Player of Year.
Co-Defensive Player of the Year - Marc Esposito, Cortland
Esposito was 4-1 against conference opponents this season. The senior goalie had 54 saves and held a 6.74 goals against average in the West division. Overall he is 10-3 with 135 saves and a 61.1 save percentage. Esposito was named the SUNYAC Goalie of the Week four times this season. The Red Dragons claimed their 27th overall men's lacrosse conference crown on Friday with an 11-8 win over Geneseo. Esposito was named to the All-Tournament team after totaling 22 saves and allowing just 11 goals in the semifinal and final games. Cortland will compete in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs on Saturday against UMass Boston.
Co-Defensive Player of the Year - Mark Pav, Geneseo
Pav was 5-0 and totaled 60 saves and averaged 6.91 goals against in conference divisional play this season. Overall the sophomore goalie tallied 119 saves and held a save percentage of 64 and a goals against average of 7.68. Pav was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team after accumulating 21 saves in tournament play.
Rookie of the Year - Trevor Bollinger, Geneseo
At defense, Bollinger had 16 ground balls, nine caused turnovers and registered one goal in conference competition. Overall, in nine games, he totaled 29 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers in his first season with the Knights.
Paul Rose Coaching Staff of the Year - Cortland
In 2021, head coach Steve Beville and assistant coaches Matt Cutia and Christian Hall led the Red Dragons to their 27th overall SUNYAC title. With the win, Cortland earned a berth into the NCAA Division III tournament making its 20th straight appearance and 36th overall. The Red Dragons are 10-3 overall going into the NCAA tournament. Cortland held its opponents to single-digit goals in nine of its 10 wins this season. Nine Red Dragons were named to the 2021 SUNYAC All-Conference team.
2021 Men's Lacrosse All-Conference Teams (PDF)
| First Team | ||||
| Name | School | Position | Year | Hometown / High School |
| Dante Yacovone | Cortland | Attack | Jr. | Homer, NY / Homer |
| Kevin Cook | Geneseo | Attack | Jr. | Northport, NY / Northport |
| Tim Fallo | Geneseo | Attack | Sr. | Mohegan Lake, NY / Lakeland |
| Zak Jones | Cortland | Offensive Midfielder | Sr. | East Quogue, NY / Westhampton Beach |
| Connor Griffin | Geneseo | Offensive Midfielder | Sr. | Lake Grove, NY / Sachem North |
| Josh Huiatt | Potsdam | Offensive Midfielder | Sr. | Lisbon, NY / Hugh C. Williams |
| Dominick Natale | Cortland | Defender | Jr. | Homer, NY / Homer |
| Zachary Barber | Geneseo | Defender | Jr. | Homer, NY / Homer |
| Trevor Bollinger | Geneseo | Defender | Fr. | Ithaca, NY / Ithaca |
| Tyler Bushnell | Geneseo | Long Stick | Sr. | Honeoyo Falls, NY / Honeoyo Falls-Lima |
| Liam Thompson | Geneseo | Short Stick | Jr. | King's Park, NY / King's Park |
| Brian Williams | Cortland | Face-Off Specialist | Sr. | Holtsville, NY / Sachem East |
| Marc Esposito | Cortland | Goalie | Jr. | West Babylon, NY / West Babylon |
| Mark Pav | Geneseo | Goalie | So. | South Setauket, NY / Ward Melville |
| Second Team | ||||
| Name | School | Position | Year | Hometown / High School |
| Pat Doyen | Cortland | Attack | Jr. | Miller Place, NY / Miller Place |
| James Pratt | Geneseo | Attack | Sr. | East Fishkill, NY / John Jay |
| Cam Talcott | Potsdam | Attack | Jr. | Potsdam, NY / Potsdam |
| Brandon Stiles | Cortland | Offensive Midfielder | Sr. | Mastic, NY / Eastport-South Manor |
| Sean Byrne | Geneseo | Offensive Midfielder | Jr. | Smithtown, NY / Smithtown West |
| Amos Grimm | Plattsburgh | Offensive Midfielder | So. | Latham, NY / Shaker |
| Michael Coletti | Brockport | Defender | Sr. | Mohegan Lake, NY / Lakeland |
| Ryan Stieve | Oneonta | Defender | Sr. | Huntington, NY / Huntington |
| Seamus Burns | Oswego | Defender | Sr. | West Sayville, NY / Sayville |
| Jacob Rivers | Cortland | Long Stick | Sr. | Homer, NY / Homer |
| Kyle Boden | Cortland | Short Stick | Jr. | Wading River, NY / Shoreham-Wading River |
| Ethan Stiles | Brockport | Face-Off Specialist | Sr. | Cortland, NY / Homer |
| Honorable Mention | ||||
| Name | School | Position | Year | Hometown / High School |
| Aidan Fitzgerald | Brockport | Long Stick | Jr. | Calverton, NY / Kellenberg Memorial |
| Jordan Berson | Oneonta | Goalie | Jr. | Old Bethpage, NY / JFK |
| Timothy Shanley | Oneonta | Face-Off Specialist | Jr. | West Hempstead, NY / West Hempstead |
| Shane Ladd | Oswego | Face-Off Specialist | Fr. | Binghamton, NY / Chenango Valley |
| Julian Pigliavento | Plattsburgh | Long Stick | So. | Niskayuna, NY / Niskayuna |
| Ethan Clark | Potsdam | Short Stick | Jr. | Seven Valleys, PA / Spring Grove |
The Coaching Staff of the Year is named after Paul Rose who coached the Geneseo men's lacrosse team for 10 seasons from 1971-80, compiling a record of 83-44 and leading the team to the ECAC Upstate Championship in 1974 and 1975. He went on to coach at Division I Colgate and at SUNY-Morrisville. Rose was inducted into the Geneseo Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and remained active in Geneseo's Men's Lacrosse Alumni activities. The Cortland ('67) Hall of Fame member passed away on March 27, 2010.
