Tewaaraton Award 2024

[BigTurn]

I’m
Not smart enough to decipher how accurate goalie stats are in telling us who the hardest
Guy to score on is. Love to hear from players who shoot on these guys in games and who they think is best stopper. In a few times seeing entenman up close , he has a unique style. Does not stand tall. He crouches and his 6’4 frame gets in the shooters visual I thjnk and shots ( net) they expect to see or
Take , don’t look great to them. I think he forces a lot
Of missed
Shots or non- shots when guys would usually hit the cage. Will be fun watching
Him in the PLL.

A lot of people pointing to entennmans <50% in several games (fair criticism), but what makes him great is that he stands on his head when the lights are brightest, and makes some saves in big moments that he has absolutely no business stopping. Talking diving save v. Michigan, diving save v. Cuse, butt end save v. Duke, clean save v colsey btb. His highlights from this season alone are ridiculous.

I think this was true last year. He made some saves this year, but take a look at the close games..
Gtown- He was the worst goalie on the field
Cuse game- 2 goal win.. He was the worst goalie on the field
Cornell game OT win- 43% vs 44% by a kid who was benched.
those tight games, he was not at his best.

See first sentence. I acknowledged he had down games this year. Frankly don’t remember much of 1st gtown given how long ago it was, and how poorly they played my brain wants to forget it. But he stole a couple in each of the others.

ACC tournament and semis-championship this year… what goalie played better at any point this season against such stiff competition? No one

[coda]

I’m
Not smart enough to decipher how accurate goalie stats are in telling us who the hardest
Guy to score on is. Love to hear from players who shoot on these guys in games and who they think is best stopper. In a few times seeing entenman up close , he has a unique style. Does not stand tall. He crouches and his 6’4 frame gets in the shooters visual I thjnk and shots ( net) they expect to see or
Take , don’t look great to them. I think he forces a lot
Of missed
Shots or non- shots when guys would usually hit the cage. Will be fun watching
Him in the PLL.

A lot of people pointing to entennmans <50% in several games (fair criticism), but what makes him great is that he stands on his head when the lights are brightest, and makes some saves in big moments that he has absolutely no business stopping. Talking diving save v. Michigan, diving save v. Cuse, butt end save v. Duke, clean save v colsey btb. His highlights from this season alone are ridiculous.

I think this was true last year. He made some saves this year, but take a look at the close games..
Gtown- He was the worst goalie on the field
Cuse game- 2 goal win.. He was the worst goalie on the field
Cornell game OT win- 43% vs 44% by a kid who was benched.
those tight games, he was not at his best.

See first sentence. I acknowledged he had down games this year. Frankly don’t remember much of 1st gtown given how long ago it was, and how poorly they played my brain wants to forget it. But he stole a couple in each of the others.

ACC tournament and semis-championship this year… what goalie played better at any point this season against such stiff competition? No one

In games that were within 2 goals (including GT (4 games)), Liam was 44.9%, 3 games sub 44%... He was 65.5% in games ND won by 9 or more.
ND dominated the ACC tournament. He didnt face many good shots. Your argument is basically, he was awesome when his defense dominated. I would agree, but you can say that about most goalies.

[pcowlax]

I’m
Not smart enough to decipher how accurate goalie stats are in telling us who the hardest
Guy to score on is. Love to hear from players who shoot on these guys in games and who they think is best stopper. In a few times seeing entenman up close , he has a unique style. Does not stand tall. He crouches and his 6’4 frame gets in the shooters visual I thjnk and shots ( net) they expect to see or
Take , don’t look great to them. I think he forces a lot
Of missed
Shots or non- shots when guys would usually hit the cage. Will be fun watching
Him in the PLL.

A lot of people pointing to entennmans <50% in several games (fair criticism), but what makes him great is that he stands on his head when the lights are brightest, and makes some saves in big moments that he has absolutely no business stopping. Talking diving save v. Michigan, diving save v. Cuse, butt end save v. Duke, clean save v colsey btb. His highlights from this season alone are ridiculous.

I think this was true last year. He made some saves this year, but take a look at the close games..
Gtown- He was the worst goalie on the field
Cuse game- 2 goal win.. He was the worst goalie on the field
Cornell game OT win- 43% vs 44% by a kid who was benched.
those tight games, he was not at his best.

See first sentence. I acknowledged he had down games this year. Frankly don’t remember much of 1st gtown given how long ago it was, and how poorly they played my brain wants to forget it. But he stole a couple in each of the others.

ACC tournament and semis-championship this year… what goalie played better at any point this season against such stiff competition? No one

Valid arguments on both sides. In my opinion, he was the best goalie in the country this year. However, he had nothing close to any sort of historic season and the fact that there are non-crazy arguments that he wasn't the best goalie this year is clear reasoning why he should not have been the first goalie ever to win the Tewey. Save percentage certainly is not everything but his was nothing special when looking at candidates across years for best goalie in the country. As far as other elements that go into assessing goalie quality beyond save percentage, nothing historic there either. Some goalies' percentage may suffer if they are seeing a ton of rubber (not the case here). Some goalies' percentage may suffer if they don't have a strong D and facing a lot of slam dunk and point blank shots (certainly not the case here). Some goalies may be looked at to be the leader of the team with intangibles beyond save percentage. Ent was certainly a good leader and had great intangibles but ND had 25 seniors/grad students!!! There may literally never have been a team in lax history with less need for one guy to provide leadership. They barely needed a coach. His clearing was very good but again, nothing historic. And winning 2 championships doesn't matter for the Tewey (or shouldn't), it is for this year only and if he had only started this year, I would have been surprised if anyone even said he should have even been a finalist. Excellent goalie, very deserving Kelly award winner, not the guy to be the first goalie to win the Tewey.

[BigTurn]

I’m
Not smart enough to decipher how accurate goalie stats are in telling us who the hardest
Guy to score on is. Love to hear from players who shoot on these guys in games and who they think is best stopper. In a few times seeing entenman up close , he has a unique style. Does not stand tall. He crouches and his 6’4 frame gets in the shooters visual I thjnk and shots ( net) they expect to see or
Take , don’t look great to them. I think he forces a lot
Of missed
Shots or non- shots when guys would usually hit the cage. Will be fun watching
Him in the PLL.

A lot of people pointing to entennmans <50% in several games (fair criticism), but what makes him great is that he stands on his head when the lights are brightest, and makes some saves in big moments that he has absolutely no business stopping. Talking diving save v. Michigan, diving save v. Cuse, butt end save v. Duke, clean save v colsey btb. His highlights from this season alone are ridiculous.

I think this was true last year. He made some saves this year, but take a look at the close games..
Gtown- He was the worst goalie on the field
Cuse game- 2 goal win.. He was the worst goalie on the field
Cornell game OT win- 43% vs 44% by a kid who was benched.
those tight games, he was not at his best.

See first sentence. I acknowledged he had down games this year. Frankly don’t remember much of 1st gtown given how long ago it was, and how poorly they played my brain wants to forget it. But he stole a couple in each of the others.

ACC tournament and semis-championship this year… what goalie played better at any point this season against such stiff competition? No one

In games that were within 2 goals (including GT (4 games)), Liam was 44.9%, 3 games sub 44%... He was 65.5% in games ND won by 9 or more.
ND dominated the ACC tournament. He didnt face many good shots. Your argument is basically, he was awesome when his defense dominated. I would agree, but you can say that about most goalies.

You’re acting like just because ND won big he did not make a lot of saves, or steal goals. I already referenced several ridiculous saves he made in both of those ACC tourney games ND won by 9 and 10 goals. I already acknowledged he had poor games. I simply think his ceiling is higher than any one else in the country. That’s not to say there aren’t several other very good goalies who played as well as he did. Perhaps if they were on ND and won two championships we’d be talking about them like this instead.

For what it’s worth, he was not my pick for tewey.

[coda]

I’m
Not smart enough to decipher how accurate goalie stats are in telling us who the hardest
Guy to score on is. Love to hear from players who shoot on these guys in games and who they think is best stopper. In a few times seeing entenman up close , he has a unique style. Does not stand tall. He crouches and his 6’4 frame gets in the shooters visual I thjnk and shots ( net) they expect to see or
Take , don’t look great to them. I think he forces a lot
Of missed
Shots or non- shots when guys would usually hit the cage. Will be fun watching
Him in the PLL.

A lot of people pointing to entennmans <50% in several games (fair criticism), but what makes him great is that he stands on his head when the lights are brightest, and makes some saves in big moments that he has absolutely no business stopping. Talking diving save v. Michigan, diving save v. Cuse, butt end save v. Duke, clean save v colsey btb. His highlights from this season alone are ridiculous.

I think this was true last year. He made some saves this year, but take a look at the close games..
Gtown- He was the worst goalie on the field
Cuse game- 2 goal win.. He was the worst goalie on the field
Cornell game OT win- 43% vs 44% by a kid who was benched.
those tight games, he was not at his best.

See first sentence. I acknowledged he had down games this year. Frankly don’t remember much of 1st gtown given how long ago it was, and how poorly they played my brain wants to forget it. But he stole a couple in each of the others.

ACC tournament and semis-championship this year… what goalie played better at any point this season against such stiff competition? No one

In games that were within 2 goals (including GT (4 games)), Liam was 44.9%, 3 games sub 44%... He was 65.5% in games ND won by 9 or more.
ND dominated the ACC tournament. He didnt face many good shots. Your argument is basically, he was awesome when his defense dominated. I would agree, but you can say that about most goalies.

You’re acting like just because ND won big he did not make a lot of saves, or steal goals. I already referenced several ridiculous saves he made in both of those ACC tourney games ND won by 9 and 10 goals. I already acknowledged he had poor games. I simply think his ceiling is higher than any one else in the country. That’s not to say there aren’t several other very good goalies who played as well as he did. Perhaps if they were on ND and won two championships we’d be talking about them like this instead.

For what it’s worth, he was not my pick for tewey.

You mentioned coming up big in big moments. I equate that to tight games. His overall percentage does not mean he didnt make any great saves. It does mean he was not great in those games. I am sure you remember the great saves, but forget the soft goals.

Perhaps if they were on ND and won two championships we’d be talking about them like this instead.

That is my point. IF you asked me to bet on the best defense in 2026 season today, I would bet on ND. They have established an identity as a great defensive team. IF we look at ACC only Stats. He was #2 in save percentage (behind Mark) and 4th in saves per game (he wasnt seeing a lot of shots). I mentioned Fracyon and Carroll.. Both guys had a higher save percentage, than Liam. Keep in mind Carroll saw 26.7 shots on goal per game and saved 59.4% of the shots.. Fracyon saw 22.9 shots. Entenmann saw 20.12 shots. I only looked at the top 50 goalies by save percentage. Carroll saw more shots on goal per game, than any other goalie on the list and saved the highest percentage. That is amazing to me, because that is basically the definition of defense by goalie. Liam has had the better career, but that is why I think Carroll had the best season of any goalie.

[laxfan1313]

You get an F in communication skills, Cornell educated and all.
You said on this website, not the Tewaaraton thread.

The website is fanlax.com. You curse on numerous threads on the website and made racist comments on a thread on this website not about lacrosse. My communication skills are accurate.

[DMac]

Subjective, yes, but can't agree with the if ever there were a year part, I just don't see any year in which a GK can be considered the best lacrosse player in the game for the reasons stated above. You've not presented much (any) of a case there.

The last thing I want to do on May 31st is debate you. Have a great summer!

Was respectful, simply asked a reasonable question looking for your input as to how a player in such a specialized position who doesn't play in so much of the game can be considered the best player in the game. Pretty much figured you'd turn into an aszwhole (spare me, I know how to spell that...and recognize one) going in as you never disappoint in that respect. Oh, and it wouldn't have mattered if it were May 31st, December 24th, or Veteran's Day.
You have yourself a good summer too.

Why are you the only one on this website who curses?

You need to wander outside the Cornell grounds and you'll find many a cursers on this website.

Last I checked, this is the Tewaaraton thread. And I don't confine myself to just the Big Red. You're the only one who curses and also makes racist comments. Think about it over the summer.

Goes to show you how far off the Cornell grounds you wander if I'm the only person you see/have seen cursing on this website.

[Farfromgeneva]

You get an F in communication skills, Cornell educated and all.
You said on this website, not the Tewaaraton thread.

The website is fanlax.com. You curse on numerous threads on the website and made racist comments on a thread on this website not about lacrosse. My communication skills are accurate.

Not sure on accuracy, noteworthy the time to evaluate, but in my experience not very fluent. And that’s an earned comment no diggity doubt.

[wgdsr]

I thought Entenmann deserved it. In a year when Ajax won the Enners that would have been poetic justice.

Entenmann is an outstanding GK, I don't believe that's even debatable. I struggle mightily, however, with crowning a GK the best player in all of college lacrosse inasmuch as there's just so much of the game that they don't participate in/are involved in. Respect your opinion but can you justify a GK being considered the best player in the game (not at his position or MVP of his team, but in the game). GKs have to have a separate award due to the uniqueness and specialization of the position, IMHO.
Don't feel any differently about a FOGO (I would if he stayed on the field and the GO were dropped from FOGO) either.

I agree. Better argument would be to ask if Entenmann is the best ND goalie ever. IF a guy like Baptiste could not win the Tewaarton, than I am not sure any non-goal scorer will ever win it again.

So explain why most of the recipients are members of a team that went deep in the playoffs.

The decision is subjective. If ever there was a year for a goalie to receive it, this was the year, a year when a defenseman won the Enners. Congrats to Kavanagh. To the victors go the spoils.

He had 6 games below 50% that is 35% of his games. Nobody would talk about a attackman that played 35% of his games below average. YOu have guy like Fracyon that finished just ahead of him in save percentage and had 3 bad games (19%), playing behind a less talented defense. I think PSU played defense by goalie. He saw a lot of good shots. Emmet Carroll led the nation in save percentage. He had 2 games below 50% (13%). His worst game was .478 save percentage in game 1. Again behind a less talented defense. Carroll would get my vote for the best goalie in 2024.

It's not a big deal, but numbers don't tell the whole story. A goalie does more than try to stop shots. He calls out picks and slides. He leads the clear. He barks out instructions. Entenmann is the "captain" of the defense of the national champion. That carries a lot of weight.

It should not. Does anyone believe that ND would not have won the NC with Carroll or Fracyon as their goalie. It is an individual award, not a team award. I do not understand the idea of conflating the 2.

So explain why most of the recipients are members of a team that went deep in the playoffs.

agreed on your points and then some. they're also directly involved in 30-40 shots a game, which is more than anyone else by a large margin. that's a play inside every 2 minutes. plus d coordinator, clears, every save that's corralled is a cto and stop. to say a goalie's not in a game like other players, especially ones that might get decent chunks of their production just by being nearest the goal is a little nutz. does notre dame win if shellenberger if brandau replace kavanaugh? it's entirely possible.

the fact that the award has gone to an att for ages now, after at least giving middies a look early, definitely gives the impression that it's not best player, but best attackman. the enners going to ajax this year is refreshing.

I know I didnt say the goalie was not involved in the game. All I asked is does anyone believe that ND would not have been a NC, if their goalie was Fracyon or Carrol. (which went unanswered)

my quote is "to say the goalie's not in the game like other players".... which was dmac's perspective. you "agreed"with a quote of his upstream, unclear if it was some or all of it, so if you don't then it wouldn't apply. i replied to 1313 and said i agreed with his "points", plural. which he had made in other replies as well in the thread. things can get lost or not clear on a board vs a conversation, but his overall points were what i was in unison with. and goalies to me have very in-line reaponsibilities, even if different than other players. the so-called best player could be a goalie, even this year depending on tastes.

i don't get the replacement theory, as kavanaugh just as likely could've been replaced by fill-in-top-attackman here and still won as well. it's a flawed strawman.

[coda]

I thought Entenmann deserved it. In a year when Ajax won the Enners that would have been poetic justice.

Entenmann is an outstanding GK, I don't believe that's even debatable. I struggle mightily, however, with crowning a GK the best player in all of college lacrosse inasmuch as there's just so much of the game that they don't participate in/are involved in. Respect your opinion but can you justify a GK being considered the best player in the game (not at his position or MVP of his team, but in the game). GKs have to have a separate award due to the uniqueness and specialization of the position, IMHO.
Don't feel any differently about a FOGO (I would if he stayed on the field and the GO were dropped from FOGO) either.

I agree. Better argument would be to ask if Entenmann is the best ND goalie ever. IF a guy like Baptiste could not win the Tewaarton, than I am not sure any non-goal scorer will ever win it again.

So explain why most of the recipients are members of a team that went deep in the playoffs.

The decision is subjective. If ever there was a year for a goalie to receive it, this was the year, a year when a defenseman won the Enners. Congrats to Kavanagh. To the victors go the spoils.

He had 6 games below 50% that is 35% of his games. Nobody would talk about a attackman that played 35% of his games below average. YOu have guy like Fracyon that finished just ahead of him in save percentage and had 3 bad games (19%), playing behind a less talented defense. I think PSU played defense by goalie. He saw a lot of good shots. Emmet Carroll led the nation in save percentage. He had 2 games below 50% (13%). His worst game was .478 save percentage in game 1. Again behind a less talented defense. Carroll would get my vote for the best goalie in 2024.

It's not a big deal, but numbers don't tell the whole story. A goalie does more than try to stop shots. He calls out picks and slides. He leads the clear. He barks out instructions. Entenmann is the "captain" of the defense of the national champion. That carries a lot of weight.

It should not. Does anyone believe that ND would not have won the NC with Carroll or Fracyon as their goalie. It is an individual award, not a team award. I do not understand the idea of conflating the 2.

So explain why most of the recipients are members of a team that went deep in the playoffs.

agreed on your points and then some. they're also directly involved in 30-40 shots a game, which is more than anyone else by a large margin. that's a play inside every 2 minutes. plus d coordinator, clears, every save that's corralled is a cto and stop. to say a goalie's not in a game like other players, especially ones that might get decent chunks of their production just by being nearest the goal is a little nutz. does notre dame win if shellenberger if brandau replace kavanaugh? it's entirely possible.

the fact that the award has gone to an att for ages now, after at least giving middies a look early, definitely gives the impression that it's not best player, but best attackman. the enners going to ajax this year is refreshing.

I know I didnt say the goalie was not involved in the game. All I asked is does anyone believe that ND would not have been a NC, if their goalie was Fracyon or Carrol. (which went unanswered)

my quote is "to say the goalie's not in the game like other players".... which was dmac's perspective. you "agreed"with a quote of his upstream, unclear if it was some or all of it, so if you don't then it wouldn't apply. i replied to 1313 and said i agreed with his "points", plural. which he had made in other replies as well in the thread. things can get lost or not clear on a board vs a conversation, but his overall points were what i was in unison with. and goalies to me have very in-line reaponsibilities, even if different than other players. the so-called best player could be a goalie, even this year depending on tastes.

i don't get the replacement theory, as kavanaugh just as likely could've been replaced by fill-in-top-attackman here and still won as well. it's a flawed strawman.

You seem to understand the replacement theory. Someone said Entenmann was a 2 time NC and that should count for the Tewaarton. It’s an individual award, not a team award. My point was there were multiple goalies, that would have been very likely to win a NC if they were afforded the same talent around them

[MDlaxfan76]

A terrific offensive player on the best team won...and that's not a surprise, for sure.

But it's not necessarily correct to say he was the best offensive player this year, nor necessarily the best player at any position throughout the season. Credible arguments can be made that Pat was neither. Certainly not obviously better.

Clearly the Tewey process has a bias towards offense, and clearly as well a bias to performance in the tournament, with a corresponding negative bias towards players on teams that don't make the tournament.

That's ok, and it's definitely not a surprise that these biases persist, it's really just the claim that the award is for the best player in a given season that is at issue.

But huge kudos for a tremendous college career and going out as strongly as Pat did.
I'm sure the beer is cold...

[MDlaxfan76]

I thought Entenmann deserved it. In a year when Ajax won the Enners that would have been poetic justice.

Entenmann is an outstanding GK, I don't believe that's even debatable. I struggle mightily, however, with crowning a GK the best player in all of college lacrosse inasmuch as there's just so much of the game that they don't participate in/are involved in. Respect your opinion but can you justify a GK being considered the best player in the game (not at his position or MVP of his team, but in the game). GKs have to have a separate award due to the uniqueness and specialization of the position, IMHO.
Don't feel any differently about a FOGO (I would if he stayed on the field and the GO were dropped from FOGO) either.

I agree. Better argument would be to ask if Entenmann is the best ND goalie ever. IF a guy like Baptiste could not win the Tewaarton, than I am not sure any non-goal scorer will ever win it again.

So explain why most of the recipients are members of a team that went deep in the playoffs.

The decision is subjective. If ever there was a year for a goalie to receive it, this was the year, a year when a defenseman won the Enners. Congrats to Kavanagh. To the victors go the spoils.

He had 6 games below 50% that is 35% of his games. Nobody would talk about a attackman that played 35% of his games below average. YOu have guy like Fracyon that finished just ahead of him in save percentage and had 3 bad games (19%), playing behind a less talented defense. I think PSU played defense by goalie. He saw a lot of good shots. Emmet Carroll led the nation in save percentage. He had 2 games below 50% (13%). His worst game was .478 save percentage in game 1. Again behind a less talented defense. Carroll would get my vote for the best goalie in 2024.

It's not a big deal, but numbers don't tell the whole story. A goalie does more than try to stop shots. He calls out picks and slides. He leads the clear. He barks out instructions. Entenmann is the "captain" of the defense of the national champion. That carries a lot of weight.

It should not. Does anyone believe that ND would not have won the NC with Carroll or Fracyon as their goalie. It is an individual award, not a team award. I do not understand the idea of conflating the 2.

So explain why most of the recipients are members of a team that went deep in the playoffs.

agreed on your points and then some. they're also directly involved in 30-40 shots a game, which is more than anyone else by a large margin. that's a play inside every 2 minutes. plus d coordinator, clears, every save that's corralled is a cto and stop. to say a goalie's not in a game like other players, especially ones that might get decent chunks of their production just by being nearest the goal is a little nutz. does notre dame win if shellenberger if brandau replace kavanaugh? it's entirely possible.

the fact that the award has gone to an att for ages now, after at least giving middies a look early, definitely gives the impression that it's not best player, but best attackman. the enners going to ajax this year is refreshing.

I know I didnt say the goalie was not involved in the game. All I asked is does anyone believe that ND would not have been a NC, if their goalie was Fracyon or Carrol. (which went unanswered)

my quote is "to say the goalie's not in the game like other players".... which was dmac's perspective. you "agreed"with a quote of his upstream, unclear if it was some or all of it, so if you don't then it wouldn't apply. i replied to 1313 and said i agreed with his "points", plural. which he had made in other replies as well in the thread. things can get lost or not clear on a board vs a conversation, but his overall points were what i was in unison with. and goalies to me have very in-line reaponsibilities, even if different than other players. the so-called best player could be a goalie, even this year depending on tastes.

i don't get the replacement theory, as kavanaugh just as likely could've been replaced by fill-in-top-attackman here and still won as well. it's a flawed strawman.

Agreed, flawed straw man.

On the men's side, there have been 19 attack, 4 midfielders, since inception of the award. All attack since 2010.

By contrast, on the women's side, 10 attack, 11 midfield, one defense, one goalie.

Different committees?

[DMac]

They're much looser on the women's side with position designation.
They might call a player a middie but she very well might be an attacker
and vice versa. Have read some complaining about that so as to set up a
player for awards, accolades, etc.

[coda]

They're much looser on the women's side with position designation.
They might call a player a middie but she very well might be an attacker
and vice versa. Have read some complaining about that so as to set up a
player for awards, accolades, etc.

It does beg the question. Who do you think were the best players? Do you think there should be a position limit (say 2) for the finalist?

[CU88a]

Just sharing what the site Lacrosse Reference data mining finds:

Expected Goals
NCAA D1 Men

The Objective Tewaaraton

It's time for the LacrosseReference Awards! The player-of-the-year prize that cares about one thing and one thing only: cold-hard stats. It's an objective alternative to the Tewaaraton and we are going to rip through nominations, semi-finals and grand pronouncement here in the next 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 1: Separate every qualifying player into their respective position group
Step 2: Within each position group, identify the five best seasons by comparing each player against the average
Step 3: Award the Object Tewaaraton to the player that is the largest positive outlier
Going a bit deeper, the approach here is to use our trusty z-scores to rank everyone by how far away from the average they are. You would expect a player-of-the-year candidate to be a signficant outlier in one if not several categories. (Note: I am also including some team success metrics like Strength-of-Record because if your team is not successful, that should count against your candidacy.)

For example, when we just look at the goalies, here are the five best seasons, statistically:
Player Team Avg Z-Score

Liam Entenmann ND 1.39
Emmet Carroll PENN 1.08
Jack Fracyon PSU 0.99
Chayse Ierlan JHU 0.97
Michael Gianforcaro PRIN 0.94

Entenmann got a big lift from the team-related metrics; Notre Dame had a very impressive year this year. There were no categories where he was not above the average, but there really weren't any categories where he was dominant either. His best metric was, obviously, save percentage, where he finished the year 1.98 standard deviations above the average for qualifying goalies with a 61.1% opponent-adjusted save percentage.

How about the faceoff specialists? Within that group, these were the 5 best seasons:
Player Team Avg Z-Score

Mason Kohn SYR 1.55
Luke Wierman MD 1.38
Andrew McMeekin PRIN 1.33
Will Coletti ARMY 1.33
Will Lynch ND 1.09

Kohn got a modest boost from the team-related metrics; Syracuse was solid, but not great this year. There were no categories where he was not above the average. His best metric was overall productivity, where he finished the year 2.18 standard deviations above the average for qualifying faceoff specialists with a 0.28 per-game Devittes average.

For the defenders, it looks like this:
Player Team Avg Z-Score

Nikko DiPonio UTAH 1.46
Ben Wayer UVA 1.40
Richard Checo LEH 1.38
Will Donovan ND 1.22
Michael Bath PRIN 1.19

DiPonio got a modest boost from the team-related metrics; Utah was solid, but not great this year. There were no categories where he was not above the average, but this is a story of a singular area that dwarfed otherwise pedestrian numbers. His best metric was ground balls, where he finished the year 3.67 standard deviations above the average for qualifying defenders with 4.71 GBs per game. He didn't rate more than 1 standard deviation above the average for any other metric that I included.

When we shift focus to the midfielders, here's how the list shakes out:
Player Team Avg Z-Score

Stephen Zupicich NOVA 1.13
Jake PISENO ALB 1.08
Jake Stevens SYR 1.03
Jordan Faison ND 0.99
Matt Traynor PSU 0.97

Zupicich got a modest boost from the team-related metrics; Villanova was solid, but not great this year. He was not across-the-board dominant though. His best metric was creating turnovers, where he finished the year 5.78 standard deviations above the average for qualifying midfielders with 2.88 CTs/game. His season was less impressive in other areas, for example, a 2.88 per-game Devittes average that finished 1.50 standard deviations below the average. But even with that taken into account, he still earned the top spot among all midfielders

And last, but not least: the attackmen:
Player Team Avg Z-Score

CJ Kirst COR 1.94
Pat Kavanagh ND 1.94
Chris Kavanagh ND 1.81
Sam King HARV 1.32
Matt Brandau YALE 1.17

Kirst got a modest boost from the team-related metrics; Cornell was solid, but not great this year. There were no categories where he was not above the average. His best metric was creating turnovers, where he finished the year 4.59 standard deviations above the average for qualifying attackmen with 1.14 CTs/game.
I'm not going to cop out here and try and award a one-fifth share of the ultimate prize to the top player in each position group. Consider the above your semi-finalists. Then we can take the top scorer from each position group and fly them to wherever this digital award ceremony is being held. These are your finalists.

Player Team Avg Z-Score

CJ Kirst COR 1.94
Mason Kohn SYR 1.55
Nikko DiPonio UTAH 1.46
Liam Entenmann ND 1.39
Stephen Zupicich NOVA 1.13


That means that, for the 2024 Division I Men's Lacrosse season, your Statistical Tewaaraton goes to CJ Kirst. Congratulations to all of our finalists.

Note: Here are the metrics that were considered for each position group:
Goalies: save percentage, save percentage, team opponent-adjusted defensive efficiency, team strength-of-record
Faceoff Specialists: faceoff win rate, team opponent-adjusted FO-win-to-offensive-possessino conversion rate, overall productivity, strength-of-record
Defenders: penalties committed per-game, creating turnovers, team opponent-adjusted defensive efficiency, ground balls, team strength-of-record
Midfielders: team strength of opposing defenses, team opponent-adjusted offensive efficiency, team opponent-adjusted defensive efficiency, overall productivity, creating turnovers, ground balls, team strength-of-record
Attackmen: team strength of opposing defenses, team opponent-adjusted offensive efficiency, overall productivity, creating turnovers, ground balls, team strength-of-record

[DMac]

They're much looser on the women's side with position designation.
They might call a player a middie but she very well might be an attacker
and vice versa. Have read some complaining about that so as to set up a
player for awards, accolades, etc.

It does beg the question. Who do you think were the best players? Do you think there should be a position limit (say 2) for the finalist?

I think the committee had it pretty much right with the finalists (from the players/teams I saw...whole lot I don't see though).
Don't see why there should be a limit re position.

[coda]

They're much looser on the women's side with position designation.
They might call a player a middie but she very well might be an attacker
and vice versa. Have read some complaining about that so as to set up a
player for awards, accolades, etc.

It does beg the question. Who do you think were the best players? Do you think there should be a position limit (say 2) for the finalist?

I think the committee had it pretty much right with the finalists (from the players/teams I saw...whole lot I don't see though).
Don't see why there should be a limit re position.

I think it would be an interesting way to vote. Instead of having 5 finalist. Have 2 att, 2 mid, 2 goalie, 2 def, and 2 Fogos. If that happened Wierman and Ajax would have gotten consideration for the Tewaarton. I dont really see the need for 4-5 attackman every year.

[Finster]

So far, Shellenberger has shown he was the best player in college with his PLL start.

A shame he didn’t get the Tewaaraton.

[BigTurn]

Haha knew this one was coming. Because one game of PLL performance is definitely super telling when it comes to recognizing performance over the entire college season. Laughable

[Chousnake]

The problem with these kinds of discussions is that it is virtually impossible to determine who the best player over a season or a career is in a team sport, particularly when the team sport has different positions. There are just too many variables that go into individual performance - teammates, opponents, game situations, weather, opportunity, coaching, position, usage etc. When you try to compare players across eras, the task becomes ridiculously impossible.

There is no way to objectively measure individual performance in a team sport and anybody who says "x" player is clearly the best player, or even the best player at his position, is full of it. And data analyzers such as Lax Reference and Pro Football Focus make a go of it, but it is impossible to evaluate whether their statistical analysis is valid. It is hard enough comparing attack to attack or goalie to goalie. When you start comparing goalies to attack to defense, it is impossible.

Everybody should preface their views with "I think" or "In my opinion" because any statement that does not include this is filled with bias and subjectivity. It's fun to argue this kind of thing, but there is no method or stat or criteria that any of us could use to say one player was clearly better than another.

I do think that lacrosse has a tremendous bias towards awarding individual accolades based on team performance. There are so many talented players in today's game and to downgrade a player because the team (made up of 18 or so players who see the field in a game) didn't perform as well as others is a miscarriage in my opinion. On the other hand, I think the overwhelming majority of players want to win and would sacrifice the individual award for team success (thankfully).