COLCHESTER, Vt. - Saint Michael's College men's lacrosse rising senior long-stick midfielder Taylor Wiercinski (Groton, Mass./Lawrence Academy) was named a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America honorable mention on Thursday. Last Wednesday, classmate and defender Paul Mannke (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) landed a USA Lacrosse All-America honorable mention.
 
Wiercinski adds to an awards haul that saw the captain named a USILA All-North Region honorable mention on Tuesday and to the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) All-New England first team on Wednesday. He aided a squad that currently stands top-10 nationally in scoring defense, caused turnovers per game and ground balls per game. The Purple Knights set school records for ground balls (628), caused turnovers (195) and faceoff wins (216) while recording their highest faceoff winning percentage (59.5) since 2002.
 
Wiercinski not only notched 61 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers but scored 10 goals and dished 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, he 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.
 
The Purple Knights finished the season at 10-6, within one win of tying a school record, while standing 19th in the most recent USILA national poll. Saint Michael's earned its first NCAA Championship bid this spring, advancing as far as the national quarterfinal round.