Bridgewater, NJ -- As the Northeast Conference (NEC) welcomed back men’s lacrosse this spring, no player made a bigger impact than Robert Morris graduate student Bo Columbus (Fergus, Ontario/Avon Old Farms), a dominant force at the X and now the 2025 NEC Player of the Year.

After lighting up the scoreboard all season, RMU teammate David Burr (Glassboro, NJ/St. Augustine) joined Columbus on the list of major award winners, being crowned NEC Offensive Player of the Year.

Le Moyne secured a pair of major awards, with sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Winger (Glenview, IL/Glenbrook South) named NEC Defensive Player of the Year, and his head coach Dan Sheehan, in his 28th season with the Dolphins, garnering the NEC Coach of the Year award, as voted on by his peers.

The NEC Rookie of the Year accolade went to high-scoring Detroit Mercy redshirt freshman attacker Marcus Thundercloud (Cedarburg, WI/University School of Milwaukee).

Possession was the name of the game for Columbus, who initiated the Colonials’ top-ranked scoring offense in league play from the X. Leading the NEC and ranking fifth in the NCAA with a .636 faceoff percentage, Columbus’ success rate soared to .701 in conference matchups. His best performance came in RMU’s 17-8 win over Mercyhurst on March 29, where he went 20-of-22 at the X, with his .909 win percentage tied for ninth on the NCAA single-game list and his 20 faceoff wins tied for 12th in the nation.
 
The Fergus, Ontario native also paces the NEC and ranks seventh in the country with 7.79 ground balls per game. Columbus matched the RMU program record by collecting 18 ground balls against VMI on April 12, which tied for the highest single-game total in the nation this season and earned him a spot on the USILA Team of the Week. A two-time NEC Player of the Week, Columbus was instrumental in sparking the Colonials to a share of the program’s second NEC regular season title. He is now the fifth NEC Player of the Year honoree for RMU, joining two-time winner Trevor Moore (2010-11), Kiel Matisz (2012) and Tyson Gibson (2019).

Burr was an elite scoring threat for RMU all season long. The senior attackman has racked up 28 goals and leads the Colonials with 23 assists and 51 points. He ranks second in the NEC and 37th nationally with 1.67 assists per game, while also placing 40th in DI with 3.64 points per game. Burr produced five or more points in six games this season, including a season-high eight points in an April win over VMI. The Glassboro, NJ native elevated his production to a league-leading 4.71 points per game during conference play to help lead RMU to a 6-1 record and No. 2 seed in the NEC Tournament. Burr became the second Colonial to earn NEC Offensive Player of the Year honors, joining Kiel Matisz (2012).

After stepping into a starting role six games into the season, Winger quickly became a brick wall in net for the NEC regular season co-champions. The sophomore tops the NEC leaderboard in both save percentage (.629) and goals against average (7.87), and ranks fourth in saves per game (12.0). On the national scene, he sits second in save percentage, fifth in GAA and 21st in saves per game. Winger, a Glenview, IL native who took home three NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors this spring, recorded double-digit saves in all nine of his starts, three of which saw him tally 15 or more stops. He backstopped a stout Le Moyne defense that yields a league-low 8.86 goals per game, good for 11th in the nation.

Thundercloud’s explosive late-season surge helped springboard Detroit Mercy into the NEC Tournament. The Cedarburg, WI native claimed four of the final five NEC Rookie of the Week honors, scoring 19 of his 21 goals over the last six games. Thirteen of those came during the Titans’ 4-0 run to close out the regular season. His biggest moment came on April 5, when he buried the OT game-winner in a 10-9 victory over VMI. The NEC’s most prolific freshman scorer and point producer, Thundercloud led the league in goals during NEC play with 3.17 per game and ranked fourth overall with 2.63 per outing. The Cedarburg, WI native recorded four or more points in four-of-eight games.

The NEC Coach of the Year honor is the latest in a long line of career accolades for Sheehan, who led Le Moyne to a share of the NEC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament in the program’s debut season. Sporting a 9-5 overall mark, the Dolphins finished 6-1 in NEC play, capped by a dramatic 8-7 overtime win over Robert Morris in a winner-take-all regular season finale with tournament hosting rights on the line. Now in his 28th season at Le Moyne, Sheehan boasts a remarkable 378-72 career record and led the Dolphins to six NCAA DII national championships prior to Le Moyne’s reclassification. His win total ranks 10th all-time in NCAA lacrosse history. In their second year at the DI level, Sheehan’s Dolphins earned acclaim for their lockdown defense, leading the league with an 8.84 goals against average and holding six of seven NEC opponents to single digits. Prior to Le Moyne’s arrival in the NEC, Sheehan was a seven-time NE10 Coach of the Year and four-time DII National Coach of the Year.

In addition to the five major awards winners, the league unveiled its All-NEC first and second teams and All-Rookie squad, as determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.

AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS

Regular season co-champion Robert Morris landed a league-high nine student-athletes on All-NEC teams, followed by LIU with seven. The Colonials placed an NEC-best six players on the first team. Detroit Mercy and Le Moyne both earned four all-league selections, followed by VMI with three and one for Mercyhurst. 
 
A host of All-NEC honorees made a name for themselves on the national charts this season.

VMI senior attacker Luke Rusterucci (Peachtree City, GA/Starr’s Mill) was a sniper all season long on his way to first team All-NEC status. The three-time NEC Player of the Week paces the circuit in 5.29 points and 3.00 goals per game. Nationally, he ranks third in scoring, ninth in goals and tenth in assists with 2.29 per contest. In a historic campaign, the senior became the first Keydet to record over 100 career goals and assists, finishing his time in Lexington with 125 goals and 109 helpers.

On the attacking front, Burr was joined on the All-NEC first team by junior teammate Calum Brennan (Kingsville, Ontario/Kingsville District), a proven finisher who paced RMU with 37 goals and ranks fifth in the NEC and 31st nationally at 2.57 goals per game. RMU sophomore defender Owen Tapper (Whitby, Ontario/The Hill Academy) also took home first team All-NEC plaudits after wrapping the regular season fourth in the NEC and 31st in D1 with 1.53 caused turnovers per game. He also contributed 3.20 ground balls per game, good for ninth in the conference. Sophomore goaltender Nate Fechter (Dresher, PA/Upper Dublin), a three-time Defensive Player of the Week, claimed a spot on the All-NEC second team following a strong sophomore campaign. He heads into the postseason second in the NEC in GAA (9.95) and third in save percentage (.561), marks that place him 25th and 15th nationally, respectively.

Le Moyne faceoff specialist Sam Getty (Orchard Park, NY/Canisius) was tabbed to the second team following an exceptional year at the X. The senior checks in at fifth in the NEC and 38th in the nation in faceoff percentage (.522), while ranking sixth in the conference in ground balls per game (3.86). He was even more effective against conference foes, winning 58.0 percent of his draws in NEC play.
 
One of six LIU players named to the All-NEC second team, redshirt senior attacker Mark Regan (West Islip, NY/West Islip) ranks third in the NEC and 47th nationally with 1.46 assists per game. On the defensive end, Tyler Davide (Nesconset, NY/Sachem North) anchors the Sharks’ back line with 1.54 caused turnovers per contest, good for third in the conference and 35th in DI.
 
Detroit Mercy junior defender Kyle Grant (Grand Rapids, MI/East Grand Rapids) averaged a league-high 1.91 caused turnovers per game on his way to earning first team All-NEC status. That mark places him 10th nationally. He also sits 10th in the NEC with 3.09 ground ball per game.

In its first year in D1, Mercyhurst junior midfielder Ryan Mahoney (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) took home first team All-Conference honors. Mahoney recorded 35 points on the year with 22 goals and 13 assists to rank second on the team in all three categories.

The All-Rookie team saw Detroit Mercy boast a league-high four honorees, highlighted by Thundercloud, the NEC Rookie of the Year. Freshman specialist Canton Lanham (Louisville, KY/Trinity) completed his first collegiate season ranked seventh in the league in faceoff percentage (.511) and ninth in ground balls per game (3.29).

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#8). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#87). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.