INDIANAPOLIS – No. 12 Lake Erie and Alderson Broaddus secured selections for Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Players of the Week accolades as announced on Monday afternoon.
 
The Storm have surged up the USILA National Poll for three consecutive weeks and again figure to climb after improving to 8-1 with wins out of the league schedule vs. UIndy and Maryville.
 
LEC has won six straight and now stand at 6-1 overall while leading the Great Midwest standings at 3-0. No. 4-ranked Seton Hill is keeping pace with seven consecutive victories and a key matchup with playoff hosting implications looms on April 14 in Greensburg, Pa.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Lucas Shafer
Lake Erie
Attack
Senior
Hamburg, NY (Hamburg HS)
 
Shafer averaged seven points per game for Lake Erie in wins vs. UIndy and Maryville to lead all players in the conference for the past week.
 
Shafer produced seven goals and nine assists at UIndy, a quality program that has been in and out of the USILA rankings for the current season.
 
The nine-point individual effort from Shafer is the second-best this season only behind teammate Edmond Renaud and his 12-point outburst against AB on March 17.
 
He continued his torrid pace against Maryville with five more goals on just seven shots. He played all possible 120 minutes on the field as the Storm outscored their opponents combined 26-9.
 
Shafer was credited with the game-winning goal against Maryville, a home matchup for LEC.
 
Shafer is now the overall league leader in goals scored per game (4.00) and is second in points per game at 5.43 (Seton Hill’s Jack Moran leads at 5.50).
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Joseph Varela
Alderson Broaddus
Goalkeeper
Junior
California, MD (Great Mills HS)
 
The Battlers have played a few contests on snowy surfaces this spring and Varela helped pioneer a defensive charge for AB’s first victory, a non-conference triumph against Wilmington (DE).
 
Varela faced 40 total shots against Wilmington in a tight 12-8 final as AB moved into the win column.
 
The junior netminder made 16 saves for the Battlers; he already owned the single-game high for the season around the league with 23 stops vs. Lake Erie on March 17.
 
Varela made eight saves alone in the final period as Wilmington unleashed 16 shots trying to rally down the stretch. The Battlers defense held strong as the offense came through with four goals to help clinch the final.
 
Varela now has 62 saves on the season while serving as the primary goalkeeper for AB in four games started.