COLCHESTER, Vt. - Five Saint Michael's College men's lacrosse players were named New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) All-New England on Wednesday, when head coach Alex Smith secured his second NEILA Coach of the Year accolade in three seasons.
 
Rising senior Taylor Wiercinski (Groton, Mass./Lawrence Academy) was named to the NEILA All-New England first team, while four teammates were second team honorees: May graduate Sean Murphy (Medway, Mass./Medway), rising senior Paul Mannke (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham), rising junior Nate Gulachenski (Southboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional), and rising sophomore Chris Davis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park).
 
Wiercinski, also a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-North Region honorable mention, was one of the most versatile long-stick midfielders in the country, not only notching 61 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers but scoring 10 goals and dishing an assist, keying the Purple Knights' 87.9% clearance rate. In an 11-10 win over No. 17 Southern New Hampshire University on March 21, the captain tallied 10 ground balls and two caused turnovers while also winning his only faceoff before adding four ground balls and two caused turnovers versus No. 6 Pace University on March 28 and at No. 19 Assumption University on April 4. After turning in two goals, three ground balls and three caused turnovers in a 13-9 win over No. 20 Bentley University on April 18, Wiercinski averaged 4.3 ground balls and 2.3 caused turnovers in three postseason games, tallying an assist, three ground balls and three caused turnovers at No. 11 Molloy University in an NCAA Championship quarterfinal on May 13.
 
Murphy, another USILA All-North Region honorable mention, had career highs in goals (29) and points (41) from the attack despite missing three games. He also tied a career high with 14 caused turnovers and scored at least one goal in 12 of his 13 games. Murphy potted four goals in consecutive games at No. 2 Saint Anselm College and No. 19 Assumption on April 1 and 4, respectively, and netted a hat trick during a 13-9 Senior Day victory over No. 20 Bentley on April 18. Murphy collected five goals and an assist in a 10-9 overtime loss at No. 16 Assumption in a Northeast 10 Conference Championship first-round game on April 25 before notching two goals and two assists in a 9-8 win at No. 3 Saint Anselm in an NCAA Championship first-round affair on May 10. During the NCAA quarterfinal loss at No. 11 Molloy three days later, Murphy scored three times, finishing his career with 91 points, including 90 over 40 games in his final three seasons.
 
Mannke, who landed a USA Lacrosse All-America honorable mention, turned in career highs in ground balls (39) and caused turnovers (30) from his spot on defense, placing fifth in program history in the latter category. Mannke scooped at least three ground balls in nine contests while causing multiple turnovers in nine games. He turned in some of his best games against nationally-ranked foes, totaling four ground balls and three caused turnovers at No. 1 Adelphi University on March 15, three ground balls and two caused turnovers versus No. 6 Pace on March 28, four ground balls and three caused turnovers at No. 2 Saint Anselm on April 1, and three ground balls and four caused turnovers at No. 19 Assumption on April 4. Mannke reached a career high with five forced giveaways at American International College on April 11.
 
After appearing for 1:55 in net as a rookie in 2025, Gulachenski backstopped the Purple Knights to a 17-5 win over D'Youville University by making nine saves on March 8 in his first college start before becoming the regular starter by virtue of making seven saves in relief to key an 11-10 comeback victory against No. 17 Southern New Hampshire on March 21. The netminder, who also earned a spot on the NE10 All-Conference third team, had a .592 save percentage and an 8.79 goals-against average, including averaging 14.3 saves during a three-game stretch against No. 6 Pace, No. 2 Saint Anselm and No. 19 Assumption that saw the Purple Knights lose by a combined four goals in his first three career complete games. Gulachenski registered a career-high 21 stops at No. 16 Assumption in an NE10 Championship first-round contest on April 25 before logging 15 more at No. 3 Saint Anselm in a 9-8 win in the first round of the NCAA Championship on May 10. He stopped 14 additional shots in a quarterfinal at No. 11 Molloy three days later. Gulachenski's GAA was good for 10th in program history.
 
Davis, the NE10 Co-Rookie of the Year, owned 29 goals, 15 assists and 29 ground balls from the attack, leading the team in assists and points (44) while tying for first in goals. He potted six hat tricks and scored in 13 of 16 games, including netting three goals to key an 11-10 comeback win over No. 17 Southern New Hampshire on March 21. Davis scored four goals with eight ground balls against Walsh University on Feb. 15 and scored five times versus D'Youville on March 8. During NE10 play, he lent a pair of assists at No. 2 Saint Anselm on April 1, scored twice at No. 19 Assumption on April 4, and potted five points versus Franklin Pierce University on April 14.
 
Smith guided the Purple Knights to the first NCAA Championship appearance in program history, advancing to the national quarterfinals, despite graduating the top scorer in program history, the program's record-breaking faceoff man, one of the program's winningest goalies, and a standout second scoring option. At 10-6, Saint Michael's suffered every loss to nationally-ranked foes, with four of those setbacks coming by two goals or less. The Purple and Gold came within a single victory of tying the school record, currently stands top-10 nationally in scoring defense, caused turnovers per game and ground balls per game, and was 19th in the most recent USILA national poll. The Purple Knights set school records this spring for ground balls (628), caused turnovers (195) and faceoff wins (216) while recording their highest faceoff winning percentage (59.5) since 2002.