This news ia couple days old by now, but deserves its own post:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The watch list for one of the most prestigious awards in collegiate lacrosse was announced today as Detroit sophomore Joel Matthews (St. Catharines, ON/Holy Cross) was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
The Tewaaraton Award annually recognizes the top men’s and women’s lacrosse player in the country in any collegiate Division.
Matthews becomes the first Titan to ever be selected to the watch list, which has 75 players representing 64 schools. He is also one of just four players from the MAAC on the watch list joining Bryan Neufeld of Siena, Connor Rice of Marist and VMI’s Stephen Robarge.
The explosive attacker currently leads the team in scoring with nine points on five goals and a team-high four assists through three games.
He was a second team All-MAAC performer in 2010 as a freshman before sitting out last season. He led the team with 37 goals and 48 points, finishing fifth in the MAAC in goals and sixth in total points. He was also 14th in the nation with 2.47 goals per game and 36th with 3.2 points per game.
He led all rookies in scoring as a freshman, while posting seven hat tricks. He is coming off a five-point effort in the win over Michigan where he tallied three assists and two goals.
The Tewaaraton Award was formally established in August of 2000 with the inaugural presentation taking place at The University Club of Washington DC in June of 2001. The Tewaaraton Trophy symbolizes lacrosse’s centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. Tradition dictates that each year the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy: the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and the Tuscarora. To honor the heritage of the sport, the Award presents two annual scholarships to students of American Indian decent. The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the nation’s top male and female collegiate lacrosse players and is endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and US Lacrosse.
Matthews certainly isn’t the highest-profile player on the list, but it’s nice to see the Titans getting some recognition. Matthews and Shayne Adams have the potential to put up big numbers once the schedule levels off a bit (Adams scored four goals against Michigan; Matthews had two goals and three assists), and hopefully that leads to a little more positive press.
And yes, it’s nice to have create a “Tewaaraton” tag for this here blog.