Mackesy, Vardaro Named First-Team All-Ivy; Eight Tigers Honored In All

IVY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT TICKETS

Coulter Mackesy has joined an elite group of Princeton attackmen, while Alexander Vardaro has been recognized for what he's been for his entire career, which is one of the best middies in the Ivy League.

Mackesy, by unanimous vote, and Vardaro were named first-team All-Ivy League in a vote of the league's seven head coaches as they led a group of eight Princeton players who earned All-Ivy honors. Of the eight players honored, six received their first Ivy recognition.

Defenseman Pace Billings, shortstick defensive midfielder Beau Pederson, defenseman Ben Finlay, goalie Michael Gianforcaro and longstick midfielder Cathal Roberts were all named second-team All-Ivy League, and midfielder Christian Ronda was named honorable mention.

Mackesy leads Princeton with 45 goals and 65 points, making him the second player in program history with at least 45 goals and 20 assists in a season, along with Mike MacDonald in 2015. Mackesy also ranks second in Division I in points per game and fourth in goals per game. He is now the 13th Princeton sophomore attackman to be a first-team All-Ivy selection, joining such former Tiger greats as MacDonald, Michael Sowers, Ryan Boyle, Jesse Hubbard, Jon Hess and Sean Hartofilis.

Vardaro, an honorable mention All-Ivy pick last year, is second on the team with 21 goals and 41 points, and he and Mackesy are tied for the team lead in assists with 20. He went over the 100 career point mark earlier this season, and he now has 112 career points (70 goals, 42 assists).

Billings played longstick midfield and close defense a year ago, when he was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team. He has eight caused turnovers and 13 ground balls this season as a close defenseman, and he earned All-Ivy honors despite missing three games due to an injury in midseason.

Pederson is a second-team selection for the second-straight year. A physical on-ball defender, he has two goals, one assist, nine caused turnovers and 21 ground balls.

Finlay, a senior, is the only player on the team who has started every game of his career, and his senior year has seen him score one goal, with five caused turnovers and 19 ground balls. In addition to his second-team honor, he was also Princeton's Academic All-Ivy League selection.

Gianforcaro has started the last seven games after splitting time for the first five. His .579 save percentage is the best in the Ivy League and sixth-best in Division I, and he made at least 13 saves in each of his starts.

Roberts earned his first All-Ivy recognition after a season that has seen him lead the team in caused turnovers with 16, with 22 ground balls as well. Roberts has been an LSM and close defender in his career prior to this season, when he has played only LSM.

Ronda is Princeton's third-leading scorer this season, with 18 goals and nine assists.

Princeton plays Penn in the semifinal of the Ivy League tournament Friday night at 8:30 at Columbia's Lawrence Wien Stadium.

2023 ALL-IVY LEAGUE MEN'S LACROSSE

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CJ Kirst, Cornell (Jr., A – Bernardsville, N.J.)

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Emmett Paradine, Dartmouth (Fr., M – Hickory, N.C.)

COACH OF THE YEAR
Connor Buczek, Cornell

FIRST TEAM^
CJ Kirst, Cornell (Jr., A – Bernardsville, N.J.)*
Coulter Mackesy, Princeton (So., A – Bronxville, N.Y.)*
Matt Brandau, Yale (Sr., A – Timonium, Md.)
Hugh Kelleher, Cornell (Jr., M – Wantagh, N.Y.)
Sam Handley, Penn (Sr., M – Portland, Ore.)*
Alex Vardaro, Princeton (Sr. M – Woodmere, N.Y.)
Gavin Adler, Cornell (Sr., D – Hewlett, N.Y.)*
Brendan Lavelle, Penn (Jr., D – Rye, N.Y.)*
Michael Alexander, Yale (Jr., D – West Islip, N.Y.)
Chayse Ierlan, Cornell (Sr., G – Victor, N.Y.)*
Matt Gunty, Brown (Sr., FO – Bethesda, Md.)*
BJ Farrare, Penn (Jr., LSM – Owings Mills, Md.)
Jack Stuzin, Yale (Jr., LSM – Baltimore, Md.)
Piper Bond, Penn (Sr., SSM – Baltimore, Md.)

SECOND TEAM^
Devon McLane, Brown (Sr., A – Westfield, N.J.)
Sam King, Harvard (So., A – Baltimore, Md.)
Chris Lyons, Yale (Jr., A – Medford, N.J.)
Aidan McLane, Brown (So., M – Westfield, N.J.)
Matteo Corsi, Brown (So., M – Plymouth, Mich.)
Nate Davis, Dartmouth (Jr., M – Bronxville, N.Y.)
Owen Gaffney, Harvard (So., M – Los Angeles, Calif.)
Brad Sharp, Yale (Jr., M – Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.)
Jack Follows, Cornell (Jr., D – Oakville, Ontario)
Ben Finlay, Princeton (Sr., D – Oakton, Va.)
Pace Billings, Princeton (Jr., D – Denver, Colo.)
Michael Gianforcaro, Princeton (Jr., G – Lincoln University, Pa.)
Mitchell Myers, Dartmouth (Jr., FO – Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Cathal Roberts, Princeton (Sr., LSM – Dublin, Ireland)
Beau Pederson, Princeton (Jr., SSM – Park City, Utah)

HONORABLE MENTION
Billy Coyle, Cornell (Jr., A – Malvern, Pa.)
Leo Johnson, Yale (So., A – Greenwich, Conn.)
Andrew Perry, Harvard (So., M – Franklin, Mass.)
James Shipley, Penn (Sr., M – Weddington, N.C.)
Christian Ronda, Princeton (Sr., M – Greenwich, Conn.)
Thomas Bragg, Yale (Sr., M – Cazenovia, N.Y.)
Mark Witt, Brown (Jr., D – Andover, Mass.)
Collin Bergstrom, Harvard (So., D – Winchester, Mass.)
Peter Blake, Penn (Sr., D – Needham, Mass.)
Emmett Carroll, Penn (Jr., G – Rye, N.Y.)
Jack Cascadden, Cornell (Jr., FO – Garden City, N.Y.)
Chase Yager, Harvard (Sr., SSM – Virginia Beach, Va.)

*unanimous selection
*expanded team due to tie in voting

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