BOSTON – The University at Albany men's lacrosse team came away with multiple America East All-Conference honors, the league announced Wednesday afternoon. Three major awards were taken by Great Danes, including Jake Piseno being named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, Ryan Doherty collecting Rookie of the Year honors, and Head Coach Scott Marr being named the conference's Coach of the Year for the seventh time during his tenure.
 
Four Great Danes were named to the America East First Team in Silas Richmond (attack), Graydon Hogg (midfield), Conner Fingar (short stick midfield) and Piseno (defense). Two were named to the Second Team in Wil Pepe (long stick midfield) and Regan Endres (faceoff). In addition to Doherty, freshmen attack Jackson Palumb and goalkeeper Landon Whitney were named to the All-Rookie Team. Rounding out the awards haul for UAlbany was Hogg once again, representing the Great Danes on the conference's All-Academic Team.
 
Head Coach Scott Marr – America East Coach of the Year
Head Coach Scott Marr was named the conference's Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his illustrious career, having also collected the award in 2002, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018. Marr, along with Associate Head Coach Merrick Thomson, Assistant Coach John Maloney, and Coaching Assistant Steven Kunz, guided the Great Danes to a 7-7 overall record. In conference play, UAlbany went 6-1 to finish alone at the top of the standings, earning the #1 seed and hosting rights in the America East Championship – set to begin tomorrow, May 2.
 
Jake Piseno – Defensive Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team
Piseno finished the regular season as one of the best defensive players in college lacrosse. He sits second nationally with 36 caused turnovers, averaging 2.57 per game. He's accumulated 14 points this season, burying 10 goals with the long pole – making national highlights on an almost weekly basis. Piseno has totaled 65 ground balls throughout the year, leading all conference players other than the league's faceoff specialists. He has twice been named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.
 
In mid-April, Piseno was selected as one of 25 individuals in men's college lacrosse as a Tewaaraton Award Nominee. The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse players in the United States. Piseno earned All-America Honorable Mention accolades from Inside Lacrosse, USA Lacrosse Magazine, and the USILA entering the 2024 season. Over the summer, he earned All-World and Best Defender honors at the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship in San Diego while competing for the Haudenosaunee Nationals. In 2023, he was also named the America East Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Ryan Doherty – Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie Team
Doherty was second among all America East freshmen in goals (26), assists (11), and points (37). In his first season with the Great Danes, he finished second on the team in goals and points as well, adding 22 ground balls and three caused turnovers. He was twice named the conference's Rookie of the Week after strong performances against #3 Virginia and Vermont and against Binghamton. His best performance of the year came in a March 30 matchup with UMBC in which he dropped a season-high five points, scoring four goals and adding an assist. He scored three or more goals in four games this season.
 
Graydon Hogg – All-Conference First Team, All-Academic Team
Hogg started all 14 games for the Purple and Gold this season. He finished second on the team in assists (12) and third in both goals (22) and points (34). He was a two-time America East Offensive Player of the Week after posting a season-high five goals against Hobart and a season-high seven points against Binghamton, again finding the back of the net five times. His fifth season at UAlbany, Hogg scored his 100^th career goal in a game against Yale on April 19.
 
Also a standout in the classroom, Hogg was named to the America East All-Academic Team after compiling a 3.41 undergraduate GPA and a 3.53 graduate GPA.
 
Silas Richmond – All-Conference First Team
Richmond, in his second season at UAlbany, paced the entire conference with 51 points. He averaged 3.64 per game, netting a team-high 33 goals and dishing out 18 assists. His 33 goals were the third most in the conference. Richmond scored at least one goal in all but one game this season, tallying a high of seven goals against #3 Virginia on March 19. He recorded at least five points on four separate occasions.
 
Conner Fingar – All-Conference First Team
Fingar was a staple for the Great Danes at the midfield this season. He totaled 25 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers, scoring three goals and adding three assists for six points. His best game of the season came in a March 16 matchup with UMass Lowell where he scored a goal and dished out an assist for two points while picking up a season-high eight ground balls.
 
Regan Endres – All-Conference Second Team
Endres was dominant for the Great Danes at the X in 2024. The senior won 213-359 attempts for a .593 percentage, second best in the conference. In addition, his 213 wins at the X were more than any other player in the conference. In conference only action, Endres was the best faceoff specialist in the America East. He compiled a .618 winning percentage, .040 higher than the second-best. Endres picked up an average of 8.36 ground balls per game to pace the Great Dane and finish second among America East players. He scored three goals on the season, adding one caused turnover, and was a two-time America East Faceoff Specialist of the Week.
 
Wil Pepe – All-Conference Second Team
Pepe was one of the strongest long stick midfielders in the conference this season. He racked up 22 ground balls and forced eight caused turnovers with the long pole, scoring a goal against UMass Lowell. One of Pepe's best games of the season came in a March 23 matchup with Vermont where he picked up six ground balls in the win.
 
Landon Whitney – All-Rookie Team
Whitney started in all 14 games for the Great Danes as a true freshman in 2024. He compiled an 11.54 GAA, making 145 saves for a .477 save percentage. He was the only goalkeeper in the conference with six America East wins to his name. In conference-only action, Whitney led the entire league with a 10.50 GAA. He totaled over 820 minutes in net throughout the year, earning America East Rookie of the Week honors on February 19.
 
Jackson Palumb – All-Rookie Team
Palumb finished fourth on the team with 14 goals and sixth on the team with 18 points. He added 10 ground balls and one caused turnover to his stat line. He scored a season-high three goals at Drexel on February 24 and twice more totaled three points (two goals, one assist) in games against UMBC and Bryant. He was named the America East Rookie of the Week after both of his performances against the Retrievers and the Bulldogs. Against UMBC, he scored the game-tying goal with under two minutes left before scoring once more with just five seconds on the clock to seal the win for the Great Danes.
 
UAlbany enters the 2024 America East Championship as the conference's #1 seed, securing hosting rights at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. The Great Danes will face #4 Merrimack on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m., with #2 Vermont taking on #3 UMBC in a 4:00 p.m. matchup beforehand. The winners of each game will meet in the league's championship game on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
 
Thursday's Semifinal matchups will air on ESPN+ with Saturday's Championship airing on ESPNU.
 
Tickets for Thursday's Semifinal matchup can be purchased here. Students who attend the game will get in free with a valid UAlbany ID.
 
Stay up to date with UAlbany men's lacrosse by following the team on X (@UAlbanyMLax) and Instagram (@ualbanymlax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.