TROY, N.Y. – After another week of wins for the nationally ranked Union College men's lacrosse team, junior
Dan Donahue and first-year
John Sula have been named the Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively, the conference released on Monday afternoon.
While Donahue is used to winning the award by now (this is his second straight honor and ninth of his career), Sula is recognized by the conference office for the first time. He is Union's first Rookie of the Week honoree since Donahue in 2021 and only the third to be honored from the program since 2016.
Donahue only played one game last week but made it count, stopping 11 shots and matching his career-low by allowing only four goals in a 12-4 win over Williams College on Wednesday. After making three saves in the first half, he stopped four shots in both the third and fourth quarters to prevent a Williams comeback. The junior did not play in Saturday's 21-8 win over Emerson College.
Sula continued his solid start to the 2023 season for Union, grabbing six ground balls with three caused turnovers in the two Union victories. He led all players with three caused turnovers and picked up four ground balls as the Union defense stymied Williams in Wednesday's win, and then picked up two more ground balls in limited action during the blowout win over Emerson.
Both Donahue and Sula have contributed to a Union defensive unit that ranks 13th in Division III by averaging a conference-best 6.40 goals per game this season. Donahue is 4-0 with a 6.00 goals against average and .707 save percentage in four outings, ranking third in D-III in save percentage and 11th in goals against average. Playing in front of him is Sula, who ranks second on the squad in both ground balls (16) and caused turnovers (five) through five contests.
Union, which fell to sixth in this week's USILA Division III national poll despite the two victories, will return to action on March 21, when the team heads to Austin, Texas to battle with current USILA #11 Middlebury College.
