Snider Named DU Men’s Lacrosse MVP

DU MEN’S LACROSSE NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Thursday, June 1, 2006

CONTACT: Erich Bacher (303) 871-2390

Snider Named DU Men’s Lacrosse MVP

Goodwin, Shepard, Patterson and Koll also earn team honors

DENVER – University of Denver senior midfielder Geoff Snider (Calgary, Alberta) was named team Most Valuable Player, it was announced by Great Western Lacrosse League Coach of the Year Jamie Munro. Senior Adam Goodwin (Columbus, Ohio) earned Offensive MVP honors, sophomore Rory Shepard (Riverside, Conn.) was Defensive MVP, junior Brad Patterson (Allentown, Pa.) was Most Improved Player and sophomore Brett Koll (Fort Collins, Colo.) earned the Team Spirit Award as DU capped its finest NCAA Division I season in school history.

Snider, who earned Third-Team USILA All-America and Scholar All-American honors earlier this week, led the nation and set NCAA records in ground balls per game (11.41) and total groundballs (194). He also finished second in face-off win percentage (.684) en route to his first All-America honor. Snider earned GWLL Player of the Week honors twice (March 1 and April 25) and was named to the Tewaaraton Watchlist. Snider was named MVP of the 2006 Pioneer Face-Off Classic for his play against Manhattan and then-No. 13 North Carolina. He earned his first Scholar All-America honor after earning a 3.58 GPA in finance/marketing.

Goodwin led the Pioneers in scoring by tallying career bests in points (34), goals (26), assists (8) and groundballs (25). He scored a career-high five goals in the Pioneers' 17-8 win over Quinnipiac on April 9 and earned GWLL Player of the Week honors April 12. He posted a 3.38 GPA in finance/real estate and earned USILA Scholar All-American honors.

Shepard, who guarded the opponent’s top player every game, led the team lead with 51 caused turnovers and finished second behind Snider with 58 groundballs. He helped DU limit its opponents to just 7.74 goals per game. Shepard added three goals and two assists for five points.

Patterson, who played 10 games as a long stick midfielder last year, captured his second consecutive Most Improved Player award. He appeared in all 17 games as both a close defenseman and long stick midfielder this season. Patterson collected a career-high 40 ground balls, finished second in caused turnovers and played on the man-down unit.

Koll captured the Team Spirit Award for the second consecutive season. The Fort Collins native tallied 20 points on 10 goals and 10 assists. He added 24 ground balls and tallied his first career hat trick in DU’s 11-8 win over Bucknell on April 16.

The Pioneers captured their first outright GWLL championship with a perfect 5-0 league mark. DU posted a 12-5 overall record and advanced to its first NCAA Tournament.