DIVISION 1 MEN
Ben Reeves
Yale University | Senior | Attack
In 2018, Yale became the first program from New England to win the Division 1 men’s lacrosse national championship, and Ben Reeves, the captain, was a major reason for the team’s success.
The midfielder led the team in goals (62), assists (53) and points (115). He finished second in the nation in goals per game (3.10), seventh in assists per game (2.65) and second in points per game (5.75). He also became Yale’s all-time leader in goals (174), assists (142) and points (316).
Reeves was rewarded heavily for all of his success. The list of accolades included first-team All-Ivy, Ivy League Player of the Year, NEILA All-New England Team, NEILA Player of the Year, ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, first-team USILA All-America and USILA Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award for being the nation’s most outstanding player.
Reeves also was selected as the Tewaaraton Award winner, the sport’s most prestigious award.
Need more proof of the year Reeves had? Not only was he selected with the fifth pick in the Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft, but he also was named to the MLL All-Star team before playing a single game in the league.
DIVISION 1 WOMEN
Sam Apuzzo
Boston College | Junior | Attack
The 2018 season was a record-breaking one for Sam Apuzzo. She posted career bests in points (129), goals (88), assists (41) and draw controls (163); all but the assists total led the ACC (she also led the conference in game-winning goals, with nine).
Her totals for goals, points and draw controls broke Boston College single-season records, while tying the BC single-season record for assists. She also broke the Boston College single-game draw control record when she won 17 against Louisville in the ACC tournament as well as the single-game goals record when she scored nine against Navy.
Her efforts helped lead Boston College to an undefeated regular season and the team’s second consecutive trip to the NCAA championship game. She was named ACC Attacker of the Year, All-ACC first team and IWLCA Northeast Regional first team. To cap it off, Apuzzo also became the first player from Boston College and the first female from a school in New England to win the Tewaaraton Award.
Apuzzo finished her junior season as the program career-leader in draw controls, second in goals and points (she is only 36 points behind the current leader, Covie Stanwick), and third in assists.
DIVISION 2 MEN
Charlie Bertrand
Merrimack College | Sophomore | Attack
The Merrimack men’s lacrosse team won its first national championship in 2018. Charlie Bertrand scored four goals (tying for the most on the team) in Merrimack’s 23-6 victory over St. Leo. Goals came in bunches all season for Bertrand. He led the team in goals (62) and ranked fifth nationally in goals per game (3.44), while tallying a careerhigh 79 points. He scored three or more goals in 12 of his 18 games while earning at least two points in each game, including four games with at least seven points.
Bertrand earned first-team All-America, All-Region and All-Conference honors. He also was the recipient of the Lt. Col. J.I. Turnbull Award as the nation’s top attackman and the co-winner of the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player award, which is for the nation’s most valuable player.
Bertrand got the job done off the field as well as he did on the field as he was selected to the Google Cloud Academic All-America team.
DIVISION 2 WOMEN
Mackenzie Reh
University of New Haven | Junior | Midfielder
In her first two seasons, including as a starter in her sophomore campaign, Mackenzie Reh scored a combined 26 goals and tallied a total of 10 assists. The 2018 season was her breakout year, however.
As a junior, Reh nearly tripled her goal-scoring tally, leading the Chargers’ offense with 72 goals and 98 points. Her 98 points were second in the Northest-10 while her 72 goals were seventh in the nation. She scored at least one goal in all 18 contests.
Reh was named the NE-10 Midfielder of the Year and earned first-team All-Conference honors and for the first time, Reh was selected to the IWCLA All-America first team. She is the first conference major award winner and firstteam All-America selection since Corinne Fisher in 2016.
In addition to her scoring prowess (she scored a career high seven goals in a game on three different occasions), Reh won 71 draw controls (third on the team), picked up 27 ground balls and caused six turnovers.
DIVISION 3 MEN
Carter Hawthorne
Wesleyan College | Junior | Attack
There were a lot of talented Division 3 players from New England schools, but Carter Hawthorne stood out among them all.
The junior led Wesleyan in assists (66) and points (92), finishing the season as the program’s all-time leader in assists and fourth in points. His 66 assists were a single-season program record and a careerbest. His broke the Wesleyan career assists record in Wesleyan’s 16-12 second-round win over Cortland in the NCAA tournament, tallying four assists.
He scored two goals and added one assist to help Wesleyan defeat Salisbury, 8-6, and win the program’s first national championship in its first appearance in the title game. In five NCAA tournament games, Hawthorne scored six goals and added 11 assists.
For his efforts, Hawthorne received several accolades, including third-team USILA Division 3 All-America, All-NESCAC, IMCLA Division 3 All-Northeast Region second team, Google Cloud Academic All-District Men’s At Large first team and Elite 90 award, presented by the NCAA honoring the individual from the national championship game with the highest GPA (3.841).
DIVISION 3 WOMEN
Zoe Ferguson
Trinity College | Senior | Goalie
Since walking onto campus, Zoe Ferguson started nearly 92 percent of the games she’s played in her four-year career, including 62 of 64 games between her sophomore and senior seasons. In her final season, Ferguson was at the top of the mountain.
The three-year captain was named the IWLCA Division 3 National Goaltender of the Year, becoming just the second Bantam to be so honored, the first being Michelle Smith in 2007. She led the NESCAC in saves (189) and save percentage (.532), and she was third in the conference in goals against average (8.59).
In addition to being named the top goaltender in the nation, Ferguson was named first-team All-America, NESCAC All-Conference first team, and the IWCLA Division All-Berkshire Region first team.
Ferguson played in all three of Trinity’s NCAA tournament games. She played 35 minutes in the team’s second-round game, shutting out Springfield while she was between the pipes. In the regional final, Trinity lost to Salisbury, 9-8, but Ferguson made 13 saves.
