May 9, 2008

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team had four players named to the East Coast Conference (ECC) Men's Lacrosse All-Conference Teams. Juniors Mike Thon, Matt Spahr, and Jason LaShomb were each named to the first team and sophomore Chris Eline was named to the second team.

Thon was named to the first team as a midfielder after leading the team with 25 goals. He added six assists and tied with teammate Mike Bartlett for the team lead with 31 points. Thon started all 13 games for the Lakers this year, scored two game-winning goals and ranked second on the team with 37 ground balls. He was also the team's top face-off specialist, taking 128 of the squad's 241 face-offs on the year. In two seasons after transferring from Bucknell, Thon has 52 goals and 72 points.

Spahr was named to the all-conference team for the third time after being named second team all-conference in each of his first two seasons. As a defender, Spahr was instrumental in helping the Lakers to the fifth-best goals against average in the country (6.69). He was one of the rare defensive players to receive an ECC Player of the Week award after shutting down C.W. Post's top scorer, Greg Cerar, to no points and two shots in the Lakers' 8-1 upset of the then-No. 4 Pioneers. Spahr led Mercyhurst with 15 caused turnovers and was third on the team with 35 ground balls.

LaShomb was named first team all-conference as a goalie for the second consecutive year. He was a second team All-American in 2007 and received the ECC Goalkeeper of the Week award twice this year and has now garnered it seven times in his career. He had a career-high 17 saves in Mercyhurst's 8-1 upset over then-No. 4 C.W. Post and ranks fourth in the country in goals against average and fifth in save percentage. Mercyhurst gave up 10 goals or more just twice this year with LaShomb between the pipes.

Eline was named second team all-conference as a long stick midfield. It is the first collegiate individual award he has received. He forced 13 turnovers on the second, second-most on the squad, and picked up 15 ground balls. Eline added a goal and an assist and took 19 face-offs on the year.

Mercyhurst completed the 2008 season with a record of 9-4 overall and tied for second in the ECC with a 4-2 league mark, closing the regular season ranked No. 7 in the country.

Complete All-Conference Release in PDF Format