Schwarz Receives GNAC Praise; Pavoni Earns Third Team Honors: Mayo Named Coach of the Year

WINTHROP, Mass – Monday afternoon, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference released their men's lacrosse season awards. Two AMCATS were named in the release with Junior Goalie Paul Schwarz (Staten Island, N.Y.) receiving First Team All-Conference honors as well as being named GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year. AMCATS leading scorer, Brandon Pavoni (Granby, Mass) was named to the Third Team while fifth year head coach, Nate Mayo, was named coach of the year after making the playoffs for the first time.

Schwarz was awarded GNAC Goalie of the Week three times during the year. A season which was capped off by the first playoff appearance of Paul's career. The easy to recognize net minder from New York allowed less goals this season than his previous two at Anna Maria, letting by 174, 12 less than his 2017 campaign. Schwarz made 359 saves on the year, good for a 67.4% save percentage which not only led the conference but all of Division III, II, and I goalkeepers. Because of these stellar numbers, Paul was a no brainer for First Team All-Conference and GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year.

On the other end of the field, sophomore attacker Brandon Pavoni scored 38 goals this season, six better than his freshman season. 67.2% of his shots were on target during the 2018 season and he added 12 assists to his stat line. Banged up at the end of the year with a leg injury, Pavoni fought through it to help his team in to the playoffs and earning himself Third Team honors.

Last but not least, head men's lacrosse coach Nate Mayo was voted coach of the year by his fellow coaches. In his first year at the helm in 2014 his team went 2-14 with the two wins coming in conference. The following season, his squad managed just one win and none in conference followed by the same exact record in 2016. In 2017 the team showed improvement but again missed the playoffs with just three wins and one in conference. Finally, in 2018, with a young team with a lot of talent, Mayo's team surpassed their highest season win total and matched the conference win total which was good enough to get in to the playoffs for the first time in his time as head coach. The steady improvement over the last three years and the things to come are why Coach Mayo was named GNAC Coach of the Year.