Men’s Lacrosse Earns Four Major Awards in CNE Postseason Accolade Haul

BEVERLY, Mass. – Building off a successful 2024 campaign, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team continued their historic 2025 season with recognition from the Conference of New England in the form of postseason awards, as announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon. Eight student-athletes, along with Leopards' Head Coach Dan Russo, earned accolades from the conference, marking the most postseason honors the Black & Gold have collected in any one season in program history.

Goalkeeper Tom Gardner and midfielder Dryden Fisher became the first-ever student-athletes in program history to be named the CNE's Goalkeeper of the Year and CNE's Co-Short Stick Midfielder of the Year, respectively. Midfielder Drew Bouley was named the CNE Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first Leopard to win the prestigious award since 2009. Russo was named the CNE Coach of the Year, the second coach in program history to do so and first since 1999.

Gardner, Fisher, Bouley, attackman Erik Vogt, and defender Kyle Leger each claimed respective spots on the All-CNE First Team, the Leopards' first First Team honorees since 2022. Midfielder Jake Rocchio was named to the All-CNE Second Team while attackman Brendan Kroll and faceoff specialist Connor Charron were each named to the All-CNE Third Team.

The postseason awards were voted on by the league's nine head coaches prior to the start of the conference tournament.

Gardner earned the nod as the league's top goalkeeper, posting a program-best 14 wins so far this season behind an 8.64 goals against average and a .615 save percentage, ranking second and first in the CNE, respectively. In addition to the senior's 233 total saves this season, he's also grabbed 57 ground balls and caused eight turnovers.

For his career, Gardner has registered 27 wins, the second-most in program history, holding a 9.34 goals against average (third lowest mark in program history) and a .595 save percentage. The West Windsor, N.J. native's honors this season come after grabbing All-CCC (formerly Commonwealth Coast Conference) Third Team honors last season.

Fisher was named the CNE Co-Short Stick Midfielder of the Year and claimed a spot on the All-CNE First team, totaling a career-high 50 ground balls and matching a career-high set a season ago with eight caused turnovers. The senior has also chipped in with six goals and an assist.

In a program-best 71 games played, Fisher has caused 25 turnovers and scooped up 152 ground balls. The Haverhill, Mass. native has also tallied 21 goals and five assists.

Bouley's Scholar-Athlete accolade and All-CNE First Team recognition comes on the heels of a career year on the field and a 3.968 grade point average in the classroom while working towards a master's degree in Civil Engineering. Last season, he graduated with his bachelor's degree holding a 3.653 grade point average. The senior has been a key catalyst to the Leopards' offense, registering 62 points. His 1.78 assists per game rank fourth in the CNE.

Bouley currently ranks fourth all-time in program history in career points (173) and ties for second all-time in game-winning goals (six). The Gloucester, Mass. native currently has 94 goals, 79 assists, and 103 ground balls to his name.

Russo was named the CNE Coach of the Year, leading the Leopards through a current program-best 14-win season after totaling 13 a season ago. The Black & Gold are set to make their first-ever appearance in the conference championship and currently rank first league-wide in penalty-kill percentage and man-up goals per game while being second in goals per game and points per game. Additionally, Wentworth has scored the most goals (219) and tallied the most assists (151) in any one season in program history this year. Russo currently has 98 wins in his career with 27 coming from the last two seasons.

Vogt earned All-CNE First Team recognition as one of the top attackmen in the league, having a career season with team-highs of 47 goals and 69 points. His 3.83 points per game ranks third in the conference while his 2.61 goals per game ranks fourth. The senior has also tallied career-bests in man-up goals (six) and caused turnovers (eight) and is currently tying a career best thus far with 31 ground balls.

For his career, Vogt has accounted for 69 goals and 55 assists thus far. The Warwick, N.Y. native has also registered 86 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers.

Leger was named an All-Conference First Team defender in a career season that's featured a team-high 24 caused turnovers and 44 ground balls thus far. The junior's 1.33 caused turnovers per game ranks eighth in the CNE.

In 47 games played in his career, Leger ranks fifth all-time with 59 caused turnovers and has scooped up a total of 107 ground balls.

Rocchio has been a key cog for the Leopards' defense this season, earning All-CNE Second Team honors after being named to the Third Team a season ago. Rocchio has caused 13 turnovers and collected a career-best 41 ground balls thus far this season. Additionally, the senior was named as the Leopards' rep on the CNE Community Service Team, earning the nod by serving as a very vocal and approachable team captain this season.

For his career, Rocchio ranks in the top-15 all-time in caused turnovers with 37 and also has 109 ground balls to his name. The senior has been one of the Leopards' most reliable fielders over the course of his career, playing in 63 contests thus far.

Kroll claimed All-CNE Third Team honors with another strong season that's included 31 goals and ten assists. His 41 points ranks in the top-five on the Black & Gold while his shooting percentage of 32 percent ranks second of Leopards appearing in all 18 games. The Wakefield, R.I. native has also notched a career-high with 19 ground balls.

In 37 games played thus far, Kroll has scored 66 goals and added 26 assists. The sophomore has added 33 ground balls and four caused turnovers to his career stat line.

For the second straight season, Charron claimed All-Conference Third Team honors as the Leopards go-to faceoff specialist, winning 180 faceoffs, good for the third-most in the CNE, thus far this season with a win percentage of .517. The graduate student's 92 ground balls this season ranks fifth in the league.

Charron recently became the program's all-time leader in total ground balls, currently sitting at 386, while also ranking first in ground balls per game with 5.59. Through 69 appearances, the Tewksbury, Mass. native has won 740 faceoffs and holds a .526 career win percentage. Last season, Charron notched the most ground balls in any one season in program history with 159.

Following their triumph in the CNE semifinals last night, the Leopards notched their winningest season in program history, currently holding a 14-4 overall mark, and head to Endicott on Saturday for the CNE Championship - their first-ever appearance in the title bout.

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