Photo by: Eliza Nuestro
Murphy Named PL Faceoff Specialist of the Year; Seven Terriers Earn All-PL Honors
April 27, 2026 | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Sophomore Madden Murphy was named Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year and was one of seven Boston University men's lacrosse players to earn All-Patriot League honors, as announced on Monday.
Murphy is just the second Terrier to be named PL Faceoff Specialist of the Year, with Sam Talkow doing so in 2016. Murphy was one of a program-record and league-best five Terriers to earn First Team All-Patriot League accolades, joining junior midfielder Tyler Fox, senior defender Connor Kehm, sophomore midfielder Andrew Pape and sophomore attacker Timothy Shannehan. Junior defender Logan Styles and junior LSM Donald Varnerin were second-team selections.
Fox broke out as a star in the offensive midfield this season, playing in all 13 games and starting each of the last eight. He has set new career highs in goals (12), assists (9) and points (21) this year. He scored a career-high five goals this past Friday at Holy Cross en route to being named PL Offensive Player of the Week. His previous best game this season was a two-goal, two-assist effort in a 15-10 win over Navy on Feb. 28. Fox also scored in overtime at Lehigh on March 7 to complete a Terrier comeback.
Kehm, a Second Team All-PL choice last year, established himself as one of the premier close defenders in not just the league but the country this season. He matched last season's career high of 30 caused turnovers, joining three-time All-American Roy Meyer as the only other Terrier to have two seasons with 30+ caused turnovers. Kehm enters the postseason ranked sixth in the country and second in the Patriot League with 2.31 caused turnovers per game. He has also gathered 55 ground balls this season, which ranks first among BU defenders. Kehm became one of just four players since 2005 to have recorded 10+ ground balls and 5+ caused turnovers in the same game when he hit both those numbers in a Feb. 15 victory over Dartmouth.
Murphy finished the season second in the PL and 18th in the NCAA with a .589 faceoff win percentage and was tied for the league lead with 162 faceoff wins. He enters the postseason with a league-best 6.33 ground balls per game, a mark good for 17th in the country. Murphy won at least 10 faceoffs in nine of his 12 appearances, including a pair of 20-win efforts. One of those was a 20-for-27 outing at Lehigh in which he won the final two faceoffs of the game to help BU force overtime in the final seconds and score on the opening possession of overtime. He was 20-for-25 with 11 ground balls against Bucknell and went 17-of-28 with a career-high 13 ground balls against then-No. 3 Harvard.
Pape, a Second Team All-PL midfielder as a freshman, once again made an impact for the Terrier offense. He has scored 16 goals and added a career-best seven assists for a career-high 23 points in 13 starts. He recorded a hat trick in crucial PL wins over Navy and Lafayette this season and also had four points (2g, 2a) against then-No. 3 Harvard on March 24. Pape has collected at least one point in 12 of his 13 appearances, including six multi-point efforts.
Shannehan secured First Team All-PL accolades for the second straight year after establishing himself as the top attackman in the Patriot League. He enters the postseason as the nation's leader in points per game (5.46) and he is also fourth in the NCAA and first in the PL with 2.85 assists per game. No player in the Patriot League has more assists (37) or points (71) than Shannehan, who was the first player in the NCAA (and still remains the only PL player) to reach 30+ goals and 30+ assists this season. This is the second time in three years that the league's leader in points per game and assists per game was not named PL Offensive Player of the Year.
Styles started all 13 games for the Terriers at close defense this season, setting a career high with 26 caused turnovers and adding 15 ground balls. He twice recorded four caused turnovers in a single game, doing so in victories over then-No. 14 Army West Point and Lafayette, helping to hold the Leopards to just two goals in the process. Styles has tallied 14 caused turnovers in the last seven games and enters Tuesday ranked third in the PL and 15th in the country with 2.00 caused turnovers per game. He has also helped BU once again enter the playoffs as the top riding team in the country.
Varnerin was excellent in all areas of the field for the Terriers this season, totaling 30 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers and a career-high five goals. His best game of the year came in a 13-12 overtime triumph over Bucknell in which he recorded three caused turnovers, five ground balls and found the back of the net. He's also been excellent at securing the ball, only committing three turnovers on the year. He also helped BU finish the regular season first in the Patriot League and 19th in the NCAA with a faceoff win percentage of .560 thanks to his strong play on the wing.
Murphy is just the second Terrier to be named PL Faceoff Specialist of the Year, with Sam Talkow doing so in 2016. Murphy was one of a program-record and league-best five Terriers to earn First Team All-Patriot League accolades, joining junior midfielder Tyler Fox, senior defender Connor Kehm, sophomore midfielder Andrew Pape and sophomore attacker Timothy Shannehan. Junior defender Logan Styles and junior LSM Donald Varnerin were second-team selections.
Fox broke out as a star in the offensive midfield this season, playing in all 13 games and starting each of the last eight. He has set new career highs in goals (12), assists (9) and points (21) this year. He scored a career-high five goals this past Friday at Holy Cross en route to being named PL Offensive Player of the Week. His previous best game this season was a two-goal, two-assist effort in a 15-10 win over Navy on Feb. 28. Fox also scored in overtime at Lehigh on March 7 to complete a Terrier comeback.
Kehm, a Second Team All-PL choice last year, established himself as one of the premier close defenders in not just the league but the country this season. He matched last season's career high of 30 caused turnovers, joining three-time All-American Roy Meyer as the only other Terrier to have two seasons with 30+ caused turnovers. Kehm enters the postseason ranked sixth in the country and second in the Patriot League with 2.31 caused turnovers per game. He has also gathered 55 ground balls this season, which ranks first among BU defenders. Kehm became one of just four players since 2005 to have recorded 10+ ground balls and 5+ caused turnovers in the same game when he hit both those numbers in a Feb. 15 victory over Dartmouth.
Murphy finished the season second in the PL and 18th in the NCAA with a .589 faceoff win percentage and was tied for the league lead with 162 faceoff wins. He enters the postseason with a league-best 6.33 ground balls per game, a mark good for 17th in the country. Murphy won at least 10 faceoffs in nine of his 12 appearances, including a pair of 20-win efforts. One of those was a 20-for-27 outing at Lehigh in which he won the final two faceoffs of the game to help BU force overtime in the final seconds and score on the opening possession of overtime. He was 20-for-25 with 11 ground balls against Bucknell and went 17-of-28 with a career-high 13 ground balls against then-No. 3 Harvard.
Pape, a Second Team All-PL midfielder as a freshman, once again made an impact for the Terrier offense. He has scored 16 goals and added a career-best seven assists for a career-high 23 points in 13 starts. He recorded a hat trick in crucial PL wins over Navy and Lafayette this season and also had four points (2g, 2a) against then-No. 3 Harvard on March 24. Pape has collected at least one point in 12 of his 13 appearances, including six multi-point efforts.
Shannehan secured First Team All-PL accolades for the second straight year after establishing himself as the top attackman in the Patriot League. He enters the postseason as the nation's leader in points per game (5.46) and he is also fourth in the NCAA and first in the PL with 2.85 assists per game. No player in the Patriot League has more assists (37) or points (71) than Shannehan, who was the first player in the NCAA (and still remains the only PL player) to reach 30+ goals and 30+ assists this season. This is the second time in three years that the league's leader in points per game and assists per game was not named PL Offensive Player of the Year.
Styles started all 13 games for the Terriers at close defense this season, setting a career high with 26 caused turnovers and adding 15 ground balls. He twice recorded four caused turnovers in a single game, doing so in victories over then-No. 14 Army West Point and Lafayette, helping to hold the Leopards to just two goals in the process. Styles has tallied 14 caused turnovers in the last seven games and enters Tuesday ranked third in the PL and 15th in the country with 2.00 caused turnovers per game. He has also helped BU once again enter the playoffs as the top riding team in the country.
Varnerin was excellent in all areas of the field for the Terriers this season, totaling 30 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers and a career-high five goals. His best game of the year came in a 13-12 overtime triumph over Bucknell in which he recorded three caused turnovers, five ground balls and found the back of the net. He's also been excellent at securing the ball, only committing three turnovers on the year. He also helped BU finish the regular season first in the Patriot League and 19th in the NCAA with a faceoff win percentage of .560 thanks to his strong play on the wing.
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LSM
/ Men's LacrosseHighlights: Men's Lacrosse vs. Lafayette (4/18/26)
Saturday, April 18
Highlights: MLAX vs. Bucknell (4/11/26)
Saturday, April 11
Highlights: Men's Lacrosse vs. Harvard (3/24/26)
Wednesday, March 25
Highlights: Men's Lacrosse vs. Army (3/14/26)
Saturday, March 14
