New York, N.Y.- .- The BIG EAST Conference announced the men's lacrosse major award winners and all-conference team on Wednesday, May 1^st prior to the start of the BIG EAST Championship.

Villanova's Connor Kirst was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the year, head coach Mike Corrado and his staff earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

Senior TJ Comizio, redshirt sophomore Patrick Kennedy, sophomores Keegan Khan and Corey McManus, along with freshmen Matt Campbell and Will Vitton were all named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

Eight honorees are the most the Wildcats have had on a BIG EAST Regular Season award ballot. 

Kirst was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, his first major conference regular season award, and also earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team.  Against conference competitors this season, Kirst netted nine goals and dished out seven assists for a total of 16 points.  In the Wildcats BIG EAST opener against Marquette, Kirst finished with five points on two goals and three assists and also had the game winning assist at Denver.  Overall Kirst leads the teams with 46 points on 29 goals and 17 assists including two overtime game winning goals.  He is the third Wildcat to earn Midfielder of the Year honors joining Jack Curran (2016) and Paul Webber (2010).

Head Coach Mike Corrado was selected as the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the third time, he previously earned the honor in 2013 and 2010. Corrado guided the Wildcats to a 3-2 conference mark, including a 12-11 win over the Denver Pioneers.  The award marks the fourth conference Coach of the Year honor for Corrado since 2009 when he was named the CAA Coach of the Year and BIG EAST Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons.

Comizio has earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team for the second consecutive season.  The SSDM currently ranks third all-time in Villanova history in caused turnovers with 60.  This season the senior has 23 along with a team high 58 ground balls.  In conference play Comizio dished out four assists along with caused eight turnovers and collected 16 ground balls.

Kennedy earns his first postseason accolade this season being named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.  The redshirt junior has 25 ground balls this season along with 16 caused turnovers.  In conference play the defenseman collected nine ground balls and caused four turnovers.

This is the second season that Khan has earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.  The attackman led the Wildcats offense against conference competition with 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists.  In back-to-back games against Marquette and Denver, the sophomore picked up five points, while finishing with four against St. John's and Providence, and three against Georgetown.

McManus, who was named BIG EAST Attack Player of the Week twice this season earns his first postseason accolade on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.  The sophomore netted a conference high 20 goals against BIG EAST teams, this includes a career high seven against Marquette.  He also leads the team in goals this season with 33. 

A pair of rookies in Campbell and Vitton were named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.  This is the first in program history that two freshmen have earned BIG EAST postseason honors. 

Campbell this season in conference play picked up 14 points on eight goals and six assists.  Overall the midfielder has 39 points this season with 27 goals and 12 assists.  During the Wildcats wins against Hofstra and Delaware the freshman netted six goals, earning back-to-back BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week honors.

Vitton against BIG EAST teams this season has seen just over 298 minutes between the posts and boasts a 10.47 goals against average along with a .603 save percentage and 79 total saves.  During the Wildcats win at Denver, the rookie had a career high 19 saves including one with just seconds remaining to secure the 12-11 victory.

Georgetown's Daniel Bucaro earned BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year while Marquette's Noah Richard was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.  Providence's Tate Boyce picked up Goalkeeper of the Year while Denver FOS Brett Boos is Freshman of the Year.

2019 Men's Lacrosse All-BIG EAST Teams and Regular Season Awards
 
Attack Player of the Year
Daniel Bucaro, Georgetown, Sr., A^
 
Midfielder of the Year
Connor Kirst, Villanova, Jr., M
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Noah Richard, Marquette, Sr., LSM ^
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Tate Boyce, Providence, Sr., G ^
 
Freshman of the Year
Brett Boos, Denver, Fr., FOS ^
 
Coaching Staff of the Year
Villanova
(Michael Corrado, Head Coach)
 
All-BIG EAST First Team
Tate Boyce, Providence, Sr., GK ^
Daniel Bucaro, Georgetown, Sr., A ^
Jake Carraway, Georgetown, Jr., A ^
Ethan Walker, Denver, Jr., A ^
Connor Kirst, Villanova, Jr., M ^
Lucas Wittenberg, Georgetown, Sr., M
Tanner Thomson, Marquette, So., M
Gibson Smith, Georgetown, So., D ^
Dylan Gaines, Denver, Sr., D ^
Nick Grill, Marquette, Jr., D
Noah Richard, Marquette, Sr., LSM ^
Danny Logan, Denver, Jr., SSDM
Brett Boos, Denver, Fr., FOS ^
 
All-BIG EAST Second Team @
(listed alphabetically)
Matt Campbell, Villanova, Fr., M
T.J. Comizio, Villanova, Sr., SSDM
Nick Hatzipetrakos, Providence, Sr., A
Tim Hinrichs, Providence, Jr., M
Colton Jackson, Denver, Sr., M
Keegan Khan, Villanova, So., A
Patrick Kennedy, Villanova, RS-So., D
Corey McManus, Villanova, So., A
Joe Madsen, St. John's, Jr., A
Mike Madsen, St. John's, Jr., M
Aidan Marron, St. John's, Sr., D
Matt Neufeldt, Denver, RS-Sr., LSM
Colin Squires, Denver, Jr., D
Will Vitton, Villanova, Fr., GK
John Wagner, Marquette, Sr., A
 
^ - denotes unanimous selection­­­­
@ - due to a tie in voting, there are 15 players on the all-conference second team