(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) announced the yearly postseason honors for Men's Lacrosse on Wednesday morning and several Concordia Cardinals were honored.
The list was highlighted with the program's first Defensive Player of the Year in Sam Saje as well as Head Coach Ty McGuire taking home his second straight WHAC Coach of the Year.
Overall the six All-Conference First Team honors are the most in program history in one season, with nine total honorees on the two conference teams combined which also marked the most in program history.
CONFERENCE AWARDS
Cardinal faceoff specialist, Sam Saje, earns the program's first Defensive Player of the Year after winning 72.9% which is one of the highest marks in the country. Saje led the NAIA in ground balls with 148.
FIRST TEAM
SAM SAJE | SR | MACOMB, MICHIGAN
Saje is making his second appearance on the WHAC First Team All-Conference after being named their last season. Saje won 197 faceoffs this season which was second most in the WHAC and fourth in the NAIA.
HUNTER MCCARTY | SR | LAKE ORION, MICHIGAN
This is McCarty's second appearance on the First Team, making it back in 2021 as well, he was also named a Second Team member last season. This year, McCarty has accumulated 30 goals (11th in WHAC), 19 assists (7th in WHAC), and 49 points (10th in WHAC).
TRAVIS WRIGHT | JR | TROY, MICHIGAN
Making his first appearance on the First Team is Travis Wright who recorded the fifth-most goals on the team this season with 24. He was tied for 18th in the WHAC in points this season as he recorded 40. Wright was a Second Team honoree last season.
ZACHARY DIXON | SO | FENTON, MICHIGAN
Dixon, who makes his first All-Conference team appearance, led the team in caused turnovers with 20 on the year, which was the sixth most in the WHAC this season. Dixon also picked up 21 ground balls on the year as well with a goal and an assist.
NOAH SORENSON | SR | HOLLAND, MICHIGAN
Sorenson is making his second straight First Team appearance this season and his third overall on a WHAC All-Conference team. Sorenson tallied the third most caused turnovers this season with 11 as he would also go on to score eight goals and five assists.
SAM BOWLING | SR | CANTON, MICHIGAN
The senior goaltender for the Cardinals is making his first appearance on an All-Conference team after recording the lowest goals allowed per game at 8.03. Bowling saved 56.8% as he accumulated 126 saves.
SECOND TEAM
IVAN PROGAR | GR | BRIGHTON, MICHIGAN
The grad transfer appears on the Second Team after tying McCarty for the third most goals on the team with 30, which is 11th in the WHAC. Progar also scored a team-high seven man-up goals this season which was fourth most in the WHAC.
JEFF HARRISON | SR | DEARBORN, MICHIGAN
The senior was one of the top defenders on the team this season as he recorded 16 caused turnovers this season. Additionally, Harrison picked up 20 ground balls and tallied one assist. This is his first appearance on a WHAC All-Conference team.
CAMERON DIXON | JR | FENTON, MICHIGAN
Dixon was yet another anchor on the Cardinal defense who is making his first appearance on a WHAC All-Conference team. Dixon caused six turnovers on the year and picked up 14 ground balls. The defense as a whole allowed the fourth least goals per game in the NAIA this season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Head Coach Ty McGuire is in his 6th season leading the Cardinals on the field. McGuire, who is 44-30 in his six years, has led the Cardinals to back-to-back 8-0 records as well as Regular Season Champions in two straight years.
CHAMPION OF CHARACTER
Gavin Scally was recognized as the team's WHAC Champion of Character. The sophomore was honored for his commitment to the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership.
ALL-ACADEMIC
The WHAC announced their All-Academic teams, which involve being a sophomore in Academic standing and having a cumulative GPA of 3.25. The nine Cardinals honored were Sam Bowling, Patrick Broderick, Cameron Dixon, Michael Hart, Luke Hovarter, Richard Johnson, Hunter McCarty, Ross Preston, and Gavin Scally.
