Mike MacDonald deserves Tewaaraton finalist spot

The Tewaaraton Award is often referred to as the Heisman Trophy of lacrosse, and is “given annually to the most outstanding American college lacrosse player.” This past week, senior attackman Mike MacDonald was named Co-Ivy League Player of the Year with Brown attackman Dylan Molloy. MacDonald won the award over four other Ivy League players (including Molloy), who were all named Tewaaraton Finalists. MacDonald was not.

After a one-goal loss to Yale in the Ivy League Championship and not receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the Princeton men’s lacrosse season has come to an end. And while it was not the ending that that they wanted, it certainly does not diminish MacDonald’s record-shattering season. MacDonald finished the season with 48 goals, tied for 13th all-time in the Ivy, and 30 assists through 15 games, good for 78 points. MacDonald broke the single-season point record with his show and has the second-most goals in a season in school history.

To put his stats into perspective, MacDonald finished fourth in points per game for all of Division I lacrosse and fifth in goals per game. He broke countless school records. For example, he is the only Princeton player to ever have at least 40 goals and 20 assists, and his statistics compare favorably to past Princeton stars and Tewaaraton finalists Tom Schreiber '14 and Ryan Boyle '04. Finalists, not nominees. When put in perspective, many began asking why MacDonald was not nominated.

One could argue that MacDonald had an easier schedule than some of his ACC counterparts who were nominated. That is true to a degree. Or you could argue that his stats are inflated by playing attack and Princeton’s up-tempo offensive style. That is possible, as only Brown played faster offensively than Princeton. But even with these concessions, let’s take a look at MacDonald’s statistics compared just to the Ivy League attackmen who were nominated for the Tewaaraton to understand why they were nominated over him.

Dylan Molloy is the most understandable case. As the Co-Ivy League Player of the Year, he finished with 59 goals and 30 assists for 89 points, leading the league although he had 42 turnovers and shot just 30 percent in Brown’s transition-based up-tempo offense. Joining Molloy on the nominations list was Matt Donovan, Cornell’s senior attackman who finished with 38 goals and 23 assists for 61 points, with 36 turnovers and a shooting percentage of 33 percent. And finally, Yale’s senior captain Conrad Oberbeck also finished with 38 goals and 23 assists for 61 points, but had 37 turnovers while shooting 37 percent. Seeing all these statistics and knowing that MacDonald was left out, one must assume that he had far more turnovers or a lower shooting percentage than the other three. In fact, he was the best of all, with only 20 turnovers and shooting 40 percent.

I would argue that MacDonald had the best season of the four, and the league voted that MacDonald and Molloy both had the best seasons in the Ivy League. When looking at the statistics alone, clearly he put up better numbers than Oberbeck or Donovan, but more than that, MacDonald was always there when his team needed him. Nothing exemplifies this more than in his final game as a Tiger, when, down by two goals with a minute left against Yale, MacDonald netted the last goal of his career to give Princeton a fighting chance in the game. MacDonald absolutely was one of the most outstanding college lacrosse players this season, and it is shameful that the Tewaaraton committee did not give him a chance to be recognized for his season.