TROY, N.Y. – The Liberty League has announced their year-end awards for men's lacrosse, as seven members of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team have been honored. The standout award goes to freshman
Cooper Manzi, who earns the league's rookie of the year honor. Sophomore
Joseph Perry was named to the Liberty League First Team, while
Luke Murphy,
Anthony Mazzella,
Caleb Oswari,
Devon Boyko, and
Angelo Venuto each earned Second Team selections.
For the fifth time since the inception of the Liberty League and second year in a row, RPI sports the league's Rookie of the Year in Manzi. The Wrentham, Mass. native made an immediate impact for the Engineers, finishing the year second on the team in goals (30), points (46), shots (102), and shots on goal (59). He was also among the top seven in assists with 16 (3rd), caused turnovers with 11 (4th), and ground balls with 24 (7th).
The five-time Rookie of the Week selection produced at least two points in all 16 games this season, including two games with four points and two games with five points. His breakout game came against DeSales on Feb. 25, as he score four times with an assist for five points in a 16-10 win. He collected five points again in a an 18-7 win at Vassar.
Last season's Liberty League Rookie of the Year and USILA All-America Honorable Mention, Perry once again lived up to the billing. Over 15 games, Perry averaged just 9.51 goals against which ranked fifth in the league. His .597 save percentage was second-best in the Liberty League, as well as his saves per game (13.13).
Perry held Clark to just two goals, while he held Union to just five earlier this season. In addition to his goalie stats, Perry added a highlight goal himself at DeSales – a full field heave that gave RPI their final goal of the game.
Murphy was a focal point of a strong offensive unit for the Engineers, as he scored or assisted on 31.3 percent of the teams goals this past season. He led the team in all three offensive categories with 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 points. He set new career-highs in both goals and assists, smashing his output from a year ago where he finished with 20 goals and 14 assists.
Finishing the season at 92 career points, Murphy's best game came on Feb. 22 in a win over Clark where he scored five goals and assisted on three for an eight point night at ECAV Stadium. Murphy scored in every game this season except one.
Mazzella earns his first All-League honor, as he appeared in all 16 games for the Engineers. He scored 19 goals and collected nine assists for 28 points this season. He tallied four man-up goals, all coming down the stretch of the season. He came on late, exploding for 12 goals in RPI's final five games of the season. In those five games, he totaled 19 points to helped lead the Engineers to a 4-1 record over those games.
He scored four goals at home against Clarkson on April 8 before putting up a new career-high six points with two goals and four assists in a 14-9 win against Ithaca in the regular season finale at ECAV Stadium.
Oswari earns his second All-League Second Team selection after earning the honor in 2022. The defender averaged 2.6 ground balls per game, and 1.5 caused turnovers per game. He only drew three penalties on the season, totaling just two minutes.
He held multiple top attackmen in the league to their worst games of the season - including the league's Offensive Player of the Year, Luke Pilcher – whom scored just one goal in RPI's matchup at RIT. His 41 total ground balls were second on the team to Venuto, RPI's faceoff specialist.
Along with Oswari, Boyko enjoyed a strong season on the back line in earning his first All-League selection of his career. A four-year starter for the Engineers, Boyko tallied a goal and assist this season, while compiling 18 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers.
He helped keep nationally-ranked Union to just five goals earlier this season – a season-low for the Dutchmen – while also holding St. Lawrence and Muhlenberg to their season-lowest scoring totals of the season.
Venuto earned his way to one of the top faceoff players in the league in 2023. Venuto was strong on the ball, with six games with a 65 percent or better faceoff percentage, and 12 where he finished 55 percent or better. He finished with 10 or more ground balls in nine games, putting up a 17 with a 25-for-28 faceoff mark against Hamilton. He was also a threat on offense, finishing with nine goals and five assists – with all nine goals coming straight off the faceoff.
Overall, Venuto finished the season 227-for-355 (63.9%) in the faceoff X, compiling 173 ground balls and a .432 shots on goal percentage.
The Engineers finished the season 9-7 overall with a 6-1 mark in Liberty League play. RPI earned the No. 2 seed in the Liberty League playoffs, but fell to No. 3 Union in the semifinals at ECAV Stadium by a 13-10 final score.
