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FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Salisbury junior Josh Melton & York senior Billy Sasso earned CAC Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week awards for March 25, 2019.

Offensive Player of the Week

Josh Melton | Salisbury | Jr. | A

Centennial, Colo. | Grandview

Josh Melton turned a new career-best performance in Salisbury's 18-3 victory over SUNY Geneseo. Melton surpassed his previous career-high of 10 points totaling 11 netting five goals and tying his career-high six assists. Melton had a hand in four of the six first quarter tallied for the maroon and gold but would play an even bigger role in the second frame as he totaled five total points and had a hand in every single second quarter goal for the Sea Gulls. Melton posted two goals and three assists in the second frame as part of a 5-0 run to five the Gulls an 11-1 lead at the break. His 50 points and 22 assists are both team-best's while those numbers rank second and third in the conference respectively. This marks the second straight week Melton has received this honor.

Defensive Player of the Week

Billy Sasso | York (Pa.) | Sr. | FO

Freehold, N.J. | Freehold Township

York senior Billy Sasso had a huge night at the X as the Spartans downed #5 Cabrini in a top-ten showdown on Friday night in York. Sasso won 18-of-21 face offs as the Spartans earned the 11-7 win over the Cavaliers. Sasso won 7-of-8 first half face offs as the Spartans raced out to a 6-0 halftime lead. Sasso also had eight ground balls in the win. The 18 face off wins ties him for third on the single-game Spartan list. (Note for nomination: Sasso was held out of the Saturday game against Bryn Athyn for rest). 

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL (3/25):

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT: Dylan Rice, So., A, Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee; Max Wayne, So., D, Ashburn, Va./Rock Ridge

FROSTBURG STATE: Matt Ward, So., M, Reading, Pa./Exeter Township

MARY WASHINGTON: Chris White, Sr., A, Fairfax, Va./Robinson

SALISBURY: Drew Borkowicz, Jr., D, Bel Air, Md.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA: Zach Danneman, So., A, Acworth, Ga./Harrison

ST. MARY'S: Ray LaPlaca, Sr., M, Owings, Md.; Tommy Rinder, So., D, Annapolis, Md.

YORK: Thomas Pfeiffer, Sr., A, Forest Hill, Md./Bel Air; Jack Michael, Fr., GK, Lake Orion, Mich./Brother Rice

NOTES AROUND THE CONFERENCE

St. Mary's Tommy Rinder led the Seahawks on the defensive end with a team-best seven ground balls. In addition, Rinder forced three caused turnovers in a week where the Seahawks finished 1-1...Christopher Newport's Max Wayne forced 14 turnovers and snatched 13 ground balls during Christopher Newport's three games last week. On Tuesday against Virginia Wesleyan, he established a new career-high with seven caused turnovers, which also equaled the third-highest single-game total in program history. Continuing his run, he forced four more turnovers against No. 12 Stevens on March 21 before adding three caused miscues against Southern Virginia on Saturday. The sophomore has now forced at least three turnovers in 10 straight games, which stands as the longest run in CNU history. He also took over the NCAA lead with 43 caused turnovers this season...Salisbury's Drew Borkowicz helped anchor a strong defensive effort against the Knights of SUN Geneseo on Saturday, March 23 as the Sea Gulls held the Knights to three goals. It marked the third straight game that the maroon and gold have held an opponent to six goals or fewer for the first time since last season when it held Frostburg State, St. Mary's (Md.) and Christopher Newport to two, four, and three goals respectively from April 21st to May 1st. Borkowicz totaled five groundballs while also tallying a caused turnover as part of a team effort that saw the Sea Gulls scoop up 50 groundballs and cause 13 of Geneseo's 29 turnovers...Frostburg pushed its winning streak to six games last week with two more wins and first-year Matthew Ward contributed eight points ... He opened the week with three goals and one assist in a win over McDaniel and he capped the week with a two-goal, two-assist effort in a win at Widener...St. Mary's Ray LaPlaca led the Seahawks on the offensive end this week with a team-best six points. LaPlaca recorded four points off of three goals and one assist in a 12-7 victory over Marymount on Mar. 20. LaPlaca went on to score two goals in a 10-7 loss to Muhlenberg on Mar. 23...York's Thomas Pfeiffer led the #6 Spartans to a pair of wins including an 11-7 victory over #5 Cabrini on Friday night. In the win over the Cavaliers, Pfeiffer had three goals and four assists for seven points. He also had a ground ball as he scored his three goals on just three shots. In the Saturday win over Bryn Athyn, Pfeiffer had a big first quarter as he notched a goal and three assists in just 15 minutes of play for the evening. Pfeiffer also had two ground balls and a caused turnover. He scored his one goal on just one shot. Pfeiffer also became the program leader in assists with his second helper of the night. Pfeiffer passed former Spartan standout Tyler Hutson for tops on the assist list. Pfeiffer now has 82 career assists. For the week, Pfeiffer finished with 11 points on four goals and seven assists with three ground balls and a caused turnover. He scored on all four shots that he took for the week...CNU's Dylan Rice led the Captains with 13 points during the week, including 11 goals. His finest performance came on Tuesday when he collected six points, including four goals, during a win over Virginia Wesleyan. He also added four goals in the squad's triumph over Southern Virginia on Saturday after striking three times during a top-20 showdown with No. 12 Stevens on Thursday. Along with his offensive efforts, he also matched his career-high with five ground balls against the nationally-ranked Ducks. With his performance during the week, Rice has now registered eight consecutive hat-tricks while scoring at least once in 19 straight appearances. That run stands as a new program record, topping Will Geise?s previous mark of 17 straight games with a goal from February 15 through April 22, 2017...Mary Washington's Chris White scored seven goals and added one assist for eight points this week, scoring three goals in a loss to Roanoke before posting four goals and one assist in a win over St. Vincent. He added four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers...Southern Virginia's Zach Danneman continued his dominance this season earning fifteen total points on 11 goals and four assists in the win over Hendrix College and CAC opener loss at No. 14 Chris. Newport. He added 16 ground balls for the week while shooting 50 percent and 72.7 perecent on goal. Danneman currently sits sixth in the country in goals per game and is 15th in points per game. Both currently lead CAC. 

2019 CAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK