Men’s Lacrosse: Six Hoos earn All-ACC honors

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Six Virginia men’s lacrosse players — Xander Dickson, Connor Shellenberger, Thomas McConvey, Cole Kastner, Cade Saustad and Petey LaSalla — have been named All-ACC selections, the conference office announced on Tuesday.

Notre Dame and UVA are the only two programs in the league with at least six all-conference selections.

Dickson leads the ACC and is currently third in the nation in goals per game (4.00). With 56 goals in 14 regular season games played, Dickson is currently tied for first on UVA’s single season goals list with Doug Knight, who set the program record in 1996. He is also second in the ACC and fourth nationally in points per game (5.29). The award is Dickson’s first career honor.

Shellenberger is currently second in the nation in assists per game (3.31) and tenth in points per game (4.77). Shellenberger tallied his career high of 10 points twice this season, against Harvard (3g, 7a) and Towson (4g, 6a). In the Cavaliers’ 15-10 win at then-No. 1 Notre Dame, Shellenberger ripped two goals and five assists. In addition to teammate Payton Cormier, Shellenberger is one of 25 Tewaaraton Award nominees nationwide. Tuesday’s announcement marks Shellenberger’s third career All-ACC honor.

With 26 goals and 20 assists in his first season at UVA, McConvey currently sits at No. 5 on UVA’s single season points list by a midfielder. McConvey needs just four more assists to set the Virginia single-season midfielder record. His 46 points are the most by a Cavalier in the midfield since Dox Aitken’s 52 in 2019. Having registered at least one point in every game of his career, McConvey is currently riding a 66-game point streak, the longest active point streak by any player in the nation.

Kastner, who was the 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, garners his second career All-ACC honor. He is currently second on the team in caused turnovers (15) and has collected 31 ground balls, including a career-high six against then-No. 2 Duke (April 15). He was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week on March 28 after holding Notre Dame attackman and All-ACC selection Pat Kavanagh to just two goals in the Cavaliers’ road win over the top-ranked Fighting Irish. Kastner was also named a Tewaaraton Award Watch List selection earlier this season.

Saustad currently leads the ACC and is seventh in the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.14). His 30 caused turnovers this year is a career best in a single season. Saustad was named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 28 after he and the Cavaliers’ defense held then-No. 9 Ohio State to just six goals. Saustad has posted a career-high four caused turnovers on three occasions this season. Tuesday’s announcement marks Saustad’s first career All-ACC honor.

LaSalla garners his third career All-ACC distinction in as many seasons after finishing second in the league in faceoff wins (222), faceoff win percentage (.559) and ground balls per game (8.00). He has finished above .500 at the faceoff X in 12 of UVA’s 14 games so far this season. For the second time in his career, he has tallied at least 10 goals on the season. LaSalla set a career best with 15 ground balls against then-No. 4 Duke on March 31. With his first faceoff attempt of the second half in UVA’s win at Lafayette (April 25), LaSalla became the NCAA Division-I leader in career faceoff attempts. Currently, LaSalla is 1,003-1,693 (.592) for his career at the faceoff X, good for No. 5 in UVA history.

No. 2 Virginia (11-3) hosts Richmond (11-4) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for noon on ESPNU. Tickets and parking passes for Saturday’s first round contest are on sale now at UVAtix.com.

2023 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Season Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Brennan O’Neill, Jr., A, Duke
Defensive Player of the Year – Liam Entenmann, Sr., G, Notre Dame
Goalie of the Year – Liam Entenmann, Sr., Notre Dame
Freshman of the Year – Joey Spallina, A, Syracuse
Coach of the Year – John Danowski, Duke

2023 All-ACC Men’s Lacrosse Team
A – Brennan O’Neill, Duke
A – Dyson Williams, Duke
A – Chris Kavanagh, Notre Dame
A – Patrick Kavanagh, Notre Dame
A – Xander Dickson, Virginia 
A – Connor Shellenberger, Virginia 
M – Eric Dobson, Notre Dame
M – Cole Kirst, Syracuse
M – Thomas McConvey, Virginia 
D – Kenny Brower, Duke
D – Chris Fake, Notre Dame
D – Cole Kastner, Virginia 
D – Cade Saustad, Virginia 
G – Liam Entenmann, Notre Dame
LSM – Will Donovan, Notre Dame
SSDM – Ben Ramsey, Notre Dame
FO – Jake Naso, Duke
FO – Petey LaSalla, Virginia