The Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Association (IMLCA) has announced its 2026 Division III All-Region and All-America teams. For the second straight year, 19 Liberty League men’s lacrosse players earned All-Region honors, and among those honorees, five earned IMLCA All-America distinction.
Among the All-Region selections, six conference schools were represented. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the 2026 Liberty League Champions, headlined the list of honorees with six. St. Lawrence University had four honorees, while Ithaca College and Union College each had three. Skidmore College (2) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI, 1) rounded out the conference’s selections.
Nine earned a spot on the Region 2 first team, five were selected to the second team, and five were honorable mention selections. It was a Liberty League sweep for the Region 2 major awards (Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coaching Staff of the Year). RIT junior attack was named the Region 2 Offensive Player of the Year; it is the third straight year a Tiger earned the accolade. It was also the third straight year a Liberty League men’s lacrosse player was selected the Region 2 Player of the Year, with St. Lawrence University sophomore defenseman Drew Knight earning the 2026 honor. RIT was named Region 2 Coaching Staff of the Year.
The five Liberty League Men’s Lacrosse players who garnered All-America honors are from three league schools (3 from RIT, 1 from St. Lawrence, and 1 from Union). St. Lawrence’s Knight was the conference’s only First Team selection, while all three of RIT’s honorees (Acton, David Charney, Joe Holenstein) and Union’s representative (John Sula) were named to the Second Team.
IMLCA All-Region Awards – Region 2
Offensive Player of the Year – Erich Acton, Senior, Attack, RIT
Acton led the Tigers and the Liberty League in scoring this season with 95 points, totaling 61 goals and 34 assists over 24 games. He finished the year ranked third in the league in points per game (3.96), fourth in goals per game (2.54), and ninth in assists per game (1.42). Acton recorded at least one point in 23 of 24 games this season and scored multiple goals in 15 contests. He also scooped up 45 ground balls and caused nine turnovers. Acton helped the Tigers earn their 13th Liberty League title, and in five NCAA tournament games he tallied 22 points with 17 goals and five assists as RIT advanced to the national championship game.
Defensive Player of the Year – Drew Knight, Sophomore, Defender, St. Lawrence
Knight anchored the St. Lawrence defense that held opponents to 11.3 goals per game this season. He paced the Saints in ground balls (139) and caused turnovers (40), while also leading the league in caused turnovers. He was among the league’s top three in ground balls (2nd), ground balls per game (3rd, 7.36), and caused turnovers per game (2nd, 2.10). Offensively, he chipped in six goals and four assists for ten points. The Saints earned the second seed in the conference postseason for the third straight year and secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time since 2016, where they advanced to the third round.
Coaching Staff of the Year – RIT
Head Coach Jake Coon and his staff guided the Tigers to an 19-5 overall record and a 5-2 mark against conference opponents. RIT earned the third seed in the Liberty League Tournament and posted a pair of wins en route to claiming the program’s 13th Liberty League title. The Tigers secured the league’s at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the national championship game for the sixth time in program history. In NCAAs, they won four straight games before falling to Tufts in the final. RIT closed out the year averaging 15.17 goals per game, converting 25-of-69 of its man-up chances (36.2%). The Tigers finished the season ranked sixth in Division III in assists (237) and points (601) as well as 19th in assists per game (9.88). They were also among Division III’s top 10 in ground balls (3rd, 942) and clearing percentage (9th, .898).
IMLCA All-Region Teams - Liberty League Honorees (Region 2)
| IMLCA Region 2 - First Team |
A-Erich Acton, Jr., RIT
A-Daniel Mahoney, Jr., St. Lawrence
M-David Charney, Jr., RIT
M-Sean Smith, Sr., RPI
D-Drew Knight, So., St. Lawrence
D-Joe Holenstein, Jr., RIT
LSM-John Sula, Sr., Union
SSDM-Dan Anderson, Sr., St. Lawrence
G-Alex Zborowski, Sr., RIT |
| IMLCA Region 2 - Second Team |
A-Michael Aiello, So., Skidmore
M-Will Kleine, Jr., Ithaca
D-Jace Dockx, Sr., Ithaca
SSDM-Jack Lucey, Jr., Union
FO-Liam Alberti, So., Ithaca |
| IMLCA Region 2 - Honorable Mention |
A-Walker Popko, Sr., Union
M-David Koffler, Sr., Skidmore
M-Ted Wilson, Sr., St. Lawrence
D-Alexander Chairs, Sr., RIT
FO-Philip Minardo, FY, RIT |
IMLCA All-America Teams - Liberty League Honorees
| IMLCA All-America - First Team |
| D-Drew Knight, So., St. Lawrence |
| IMLCA All-America - Second Team |
A-Erich Acton, Jr., RIT
M-David Charney, Jr., RIT
D-Joe Holenstein, Jr., RIT
LSM-John Sula, Sr., Union |