GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Duke’s Brennan O’Neill and Virginia’s Connor Shellenberger shared Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Duke’s Jake Naso and Virginia’s Petey LaSalla shared the Defensive Player of the Week award.
A junior attackman, O'Neill scored four goals on six shots and handed out three assists to lead the Blue Devils to a 14-13 overtime win over Denver Friday evening. With Duke trailing 13-12 with under two minutes to play, O'Neill scored the tying goal with 19 seconds left to send the game into overtime. The native of Bay Shore, New York, got the ball 22 seconds into overtime and fired home his fourth goal of the night to give Duke the victory. Overall, O'Neill scored or assisted Duke's final three goals in the game.
A junior attackman from Charlottesville, Virginia, Shellenberger recorded a career-high 10 points on three goals and seven assists in UVA’s 25-21 win over No. 18 Harvard on Saturday. His 10 points came in the first three quarters as UVA opted to pull its starters heading into the fourth quarter. Shellenberger’s seven assists are also a career best. His 10 points are tied for the most nationally by an individual in a single game in 2023 and most by an ACC player this season. His 10-point performance also marked the program’s 17th in its history.
Naso went 14-of-28 at the faceoff dot against one of the country's best, including winning an impressive 7-of-8 in the fourth quarter to help Duke upend Denver in overtime. A native of Holtsville, New York, Naso picked up 11 ground balls on his 14 wins, which included winning the final draw of regulation and drawing the penalty that led to the winning goal in overtime. The junior draw man was just 3-of-11 in the first half but came back in the second to win 11-of-17.
In a game that set the NCAA record for most combined faceoffs (49), graduate faceoff specialist Petey LaSalla dominated the center X, finishing 18-for-29 (.621) in Virginia’s win over No. 18 Harvard. The native of Miller Place, New York, also tallied a game-high 10 ground balls and ripped two goals off faceoff wins. LaSalla’s second goal of the evening proved to be the game-winning goal in one of the highest-scoring games in NCAA men’s lacrosse history.
All five ACC programs are ranked in the USILA top 20 this week, with Virginia rising to No. 1, followed by Notre Dame (2), Duke (10), North Carolina (16) and Syracuse (18).
2023 ACC Offensive Players of the Week
Feb. 7 – Brennan O’Neill, Jr., A, Duke
Feb. 14 – Joey Spallina, Fr., A, Syracuse
Feb. 21 – Brennan O’Neill, Jr., A, Duke; Connor Shellenberger, Jr., A, Virginia
2023 ACC Defensive Players of the Week
Feb. 7 – Will Mark, Sr., G, Syracuse
Feb. 14 – Grayson Sallade, Gr., SSDM, Virginia
Feb. 21 – Jake Naso, Jr., FO, Duke; Petey LaSalla, Gr., FO, Virginia