Men's Tewaaraton Stock Watch: Quiet Week from the Contenders

There is bound to be a pivotal weekend in determining the winner of this year’s Tewaaraton Award. It might be at the very end of the season, or perhaps the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

It will not be what happened on April 15.

Attackmen Pat Kavanagh (Notre Dame), CJ Kirst (Cornell), Brennan O’Neill (Duke) and Connor Shellenberger (Virginia) have seemed like logical contenders for college lacrosse’s top individual honor since the start of the season, and little has unfolded to change that thinking.

That quartet combined for three goals and five assists over the week, with Kavanagh having the built-in excuse that his team didn’t play. The other three didn’t necessarily play poorly, but none of them were dominant figures.

Little wonder, then, that there wasn’t a massive shakeup in this week’s rundown of the top player of the year candidates in the sport.

1. Pat Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame (17 G, 34 A)

With the Irish on an open date, Kavanagh’s profile remains the same as a week ago. And that is plenty good enough to remain at the top of the Tewaaraton Watch.

Remaining pre-NCAA tournament schedule: North Carolina (Saturday), at Virginia (April 30), at North Carolina (May 6)

2. Brennan O’Neill, A, Duke (38 G, 27 A)

Two weeks after torching Virginia for nine points, the junior had a solid two-goal, one-assist outing against a Cavalier defense that wanted no part of a repeat performance. O’Neill did all of his damage while the Blue Devils built a seven-goal lead in the first half; they held on for a 15-14 victory and a season sweep of Virginia.

Remaining pre-NCAA tournament schedule: Syracuse (April 29), vs. Merrimack in Bethpage, N.Y. (May 7)

3. CJ Kirst, A, Cornell (49 G, 13 A)

The junior was held without a goal for only the second time in his 30-game college career Saturday, posting two assists in an 11-10 victory over Army. Much credit to the Black Knights for making Kirst wait another week to join Mike French as the only players in Big Red history with at least two 50-goal seasons.

Remaining pre-NCAA tournament schedule: at Brown (Saturday), Princeton (April 29), Ivy League tournament (May 5-7)

4. Connor Shellenberger, A, Virginia (15 G, 36 A)

The redshirt junior returned from a leg injury that forced him to sit out a week earlier against North Carolina. Shellenberger had a goal (in transition) and two assists in Virginia’s 15-14 loss at Duke.

Remaining pre-NCAA tournament schedule: Syracuse (Saturday), at Lafayette (Tuesday), Notre Dame (April 30)

5. Matt Campbell, M, Villanova (32 G, 23 A)

It was an efficient Saturday for the graduate student, who scored four times on seven shots and tacked on an assist as the Wildcats rolled past Providence 20-8.

Remaining pre-NCAA tournament schedule: Marquette (Saturday), at Georgetown (April 28), Big East tournament (May 4-6)

NEXT FIVE: Matt Brandau, A, Yale; Payton Cormier, A, Virginia; Tye Kurtz, A, Delaware; Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton; Luke Wierman, FO, Maryland