SOMERSET, N.J. – Saint Joseph's 10th-year head coach Taylor Wray was voted the 2021 Northeast Conference Coach of the Year and junior face-off specialist Zach Cole was tabbed the Northeast Conference Player of the Year as the #18 Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse program claimed two of the five major awards and placed eight Hawks on the 2021 NEC All-Conference teams, it was announced on Friday afternoon.

Cole is joined on the 2021 NEC All-Conference First Team by sophomore attackman Matt Bohmer, junior midfielder Levi Anderson, and sophomore close defenseman Patrick Clemens.

Senior midfielder Evan Campbell, graduate student close defenseman Tyler Makar, and junior short stick defensive midfielder Adam Ritter earned spots on the 2021 NEC All-Conference Second Team while freshman attackman Carter Page landed on the 2021 NEC All-Rookie Team.

Voting occurred before the start of the postseason; all statistics referenced in this release are from the 11-game regular season.

Wray earns his fifth NEC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Hawks to an 8-3 overall record and undefeated 8-0 NEC record in regular-season competition en route to the program's fifth NEC regular-season title ('14, '15, '16, '18, '21). After starting the season 0-3 against non-conference opponents, Wray has his Hawks on a nine-game winning streak after taking down LIU in the NEC semifinals on Wednesday.

Cole went 186-for-263 from the X in the 2021 regular season, winning 70.7 percent of his opportunities to go with 122 ground balls. In conference play, Cole won at a clip of 71.7 percent (137-for-191) with 87 ground balls through eight games. In both overall and conference play, Cole averaged 17 face-off wins and 11 ground balls per contest. The junior standout out of Mount Laurel, N.J. scrapped for double-digit ground balls in eight of 11 games, hitting a season-high 14 ground balls in four contests, and went over 70.0 percent from the X five times.

The 2021 NEC Player of the Year won 13 or more of his face-off attempts in all 11 games this season, beginning with a non-conference showing of 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) with 11 ground balls at Towson, 22-for-32 (68.8 percent) with 14 ground balls at Delaware, and 14-for-22 (63.6 percent) with 10 ground balls at Army.

He then went a combined 30-for-46 (65.2 percent) with 20 ground balls in NEC road wins over Wagner and Sacred Heart to kick off conference play and followed up with a near-perfect showing in SJU's home-opening win over Merrimack, going 18-for-19 (94.7 percent) with 14 ground balls; the first face-off of the game went out of bounds in favor of the Warriors, but Cole would go on to win the remaining 18 face-off opportunities.

Cole went 20-for-31 (64.5 percent) with 14 ground balls against Mount St. Mary's and 14-for-28 (50.0 percent) with six ground balls at Hobart, winning the overtime face-off possession in both games. He then exploded at Bryant, where he went 20-for-22 (90.9 percent), going 15-for-15 to open the game and 5-for-5 to close the game, with 13 ground balls. He then went 22-of-29 (75.9 percent) with eight ground balls vs. LIU before turning in a 13-for-16 showing (81.3 percent) with 12 ground balls in the regular-season finale vs. Wagner.

Bohmer led the Hawks in points (33) and goals (27) through 11 games and dropped 26 points, including a team-high 21 goals, in NEC regular-season play; in conference games, Bohmer led the NEC in shots per game (9.75) and tied for second in goals per game (2.62). The sophomore attackman out of Charlotte, N.C. registered a point in every game, including a season-high five points (3g, 2a) at Sacred Heart and a season-high four goals at Delaware and Wagner. Bohmer added four points at Hobart, which included an assist and goal in the final 6:45 of regulation to force overtime, and against LIU (3g, 1a). He dropped a hat trick against Mount St. Mary's, which included the equalizer with six seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, and scored twice against Army, Merrimack, and Bryant.

Anderson led all SJU midfielders with 21 points and 16 goals (16 points and 13 goals in NEC play). The junior's big non-conference game came at Delaware, where the Calgary, Alberta native dropped four points on a hat trick and a helper. He opened conference play by coming off the bench at Wagner (1g), Sacred Heart (3g), and Merrimack (3g) before starting the final five games of the regular season, recording two goals vs. Mount St. Mary's, three goals (including the overtime game-winner) at Hobart, one goal and one assist at Bryant, and two goals vs. LIU.

Clemens led SJU in overall caused turnovers (13) and turnovers in NEC competition (nine) and led all defensive players in ground balls, scrapping for 27 in 11 games. The sophomore out of Springfield, Pa. registered five ground balls and four caused turnovers in SJU's three non-conference games to open the season before going for 10 ground balls and six caused turnovers in road wins over Wagner (2gb, 2ct) and Sacred Heart (3gb, 2ct) and home wins over Merrimack (3gb, 2ct) and Mount St. Mary's (2gb); against Sacred Heart, Clemens and his defensive unit held the Pioneers to just 1-of-7 in EMOs. Clemens then scrapped for a season-high four ground balls (alongside a caused turnover) at Hobart and, following one ground ball and one caused turnover at Bryant, went off for another four ground balls and one caused turnover against LIU, in which he held the NEC's leading scorer Richie LaCalandra to just one goal on the day. Clemens closed the regular season with two ground balls - and an assist - against Wagner, his second helper of the season against the Seahawks.

Campbell was a midfield general for the Crimson and Gray this spring, finishing the regular season with six goals and 11 assists in 10 starts. The senior out of Cherry Hill, N.J. put together a trio of explosive offensive performances at the height of NEC play, beginning with three points (and a season-high four ground balls) against Mount St. Mary's (1g, 2a) and four points at Hobart (1g, 3a). Campbell was the offensive story of the game at Bryant, when he dropped a game-high five points on three goals and two assists in the win; the senior added two ground balls in a dominant performance on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field for the Crimson and Gray.

Makar missed the first four games of the season due to injury but worked his way back, as the captain saw meaningful minutes against Sacred Heart and Merrimack before starting the final five games of the regular season. The graduate student out of Yorktown Heights, N.Y. posted two ground balls and a caused turnover at Bryant and followed up with two ground balls and three caused turnovers against LIU; in that first match-up against the Sharks, with the Hawks leading 14-13 with 44 seconds remaining in regulation and the ball in LIU's offensive end, Makar forced the Sharks to turn the ball over in route to the win. Makar then closed the regular season with two ground balls and two caused turnovers against Wagner.

Ritter joined the Hawks this season as a transfer from High Point and made an immediate impact on the Crimson and Gray's transition game, establishing himself as SJU's top defensive midfielder on the season. In all 11 regular-season games, the junior out of Conshohocken, Pa. was good for seven points (1g, 6a), 22 ground balls, and six caused turnovers. In his SJU debut, Ritter went for a goal, an assist, and three ground balls at Towson. He dished out an assist in four consecutive games, against Sacred Heart, Merrimack (plus three ground balls and two caused turnovers), Mount St. Mary's, and Hobart and scrapped for four ground balls at Bryant.

Page had a breakthrough game for the Crimson and Gray in the regular-season finale against Wagner, where the freshman attackman out of Peterborough, Ontario dropped a game-high five points on a game-high four goals and a helper.