IRVINE, Calif. – Five men's lacrosse players for Concordia University Irvine earned All-Conference honors after the program's first season as a member of both NCAA DII and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).
On the First Team All-RMAC list were a trio of Golden Eagles. Concordia playmaker
Nick Beeson joined All-American face-off specialist
Cade Poe and defender
Braden Schneider as First Team honorees.
Beeson returned as a graduate student and finished this regular season second on the squad with 91 points. He was also second for CUI in both goals (33) and assists (13).
Poe was dominant at the X just like he was at the club level in previous seasons. The Los Alamitos High School alum won nearly 70 percent of face-offs this season and has won at least 20 face-offs in a game on three different occasions.
Poe also led CUI in ground balls with over 130 while Schneider and fellow defenseman
Edward McCann IV combined for over 70 ground balls on the back end.
Coaches across the league agreed that junior goalie
Daniel Yang was also an important part of Concordia's success on defense. He and leading scorer
Chad McFadden were both Second Team All-RMAC selections.
Yang was between the pipes for five of Concordia's victories – including the first win of the NCAA DII era against Dominican.
Yang has collected over 110 saves this spring and posted a career-high 19 stops against top seeded Colorado Mesa earlier this February.
Meanwhile, McFadden led Concordia in goals (35) and assists (16) as well as points and shots. He also ranked fourth on the team in ground balls, helping Schneider and Poe set the tone.
Third Time Could Be The Charm
CUI faces Westminster in a rematch this Friday, April 26 at 3 p.m. PT (4 p.m. local MT) in the RMAC Conference Tournament.
CUI is the No. 3 seed while the Griffins are the No. 2 seed. Westminster topped Concordia in the first two meetings this spring 20-15 and 18-6.
CLICK HERE for Live Stats link to Friday's semifinal vs Westminster
Colorado Mesa is the host and will play No. 4 seed Adams State in the other semifinal match.
The winners advance to Saturday's RMAC Championship Game which will be at 4 p.m. PT (5 p.m. local MT)
CLICK HERE for the updated CUI men's lacrosse schedule
