LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A quartet of Penn State men’s lacrosse student athletes have been recognized by the Unites States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) for their work on the field this season, granting each an All-America recognition. Senior Alex Ross headlined the list with his first team honors, followed by senior Jon King on the third team. Sophomores Reid Gills and Hunter Aquino rounded out the group with honorable mention tabs.
Ross, a defenseman from Davidsonville, Maryland native, captained one of the country’s top defensive units all season long. The Nittany Lions had the eighth-best scoring defense nationally, holding teams to just 9.06 goals per game. The squad also ranked top 10 nationally in caused turnovers, forcing an average of 9.44 per game.
King wrapped up the season as one of the nation’s best short-stick defensive midfielders. He ranked second among SSDMs in caused turnovers this year. He caused 18 throughout the year. He finished the year tied for third most groundballs on PSU, scooping 38.
Gills, who was a consensus All-American honorable mention, ranks 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten Conference in faceoff winning percentage. Gills won 61.2 percent of his pulls this year, the best mark by a Nittany Lion since Gerard Arceri in 2018, who went 68.1 percent from the dot. Gills and fellow faceoff many Colby Baldwin were one of two pairs nationally to win over 100 faceoffs each.
Aquino secured his only national honor this postseason after missing a number of regular season games to injury. While he failed to meet the minimum game requirement to appear in the NCAA database, his points per game number of 3.18 would rank fifth nationally.
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