Lax Alumni Receive Post Season Honors

This year was a great showing for Tabor boys lacrosse in the NCAA. Four alumni from the program were recipients for post season honors in the Liberty League, America East, Atlantic 10, and Big East Conferences. Cooper Manzi ’22 was the Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Aidan O’Neil ’22 was the Atlantic 10 Offensive Rookie of the Year, Patrick Daly ’18 was named Second Team All Big East, and Matt Shaffer ’18 earned 2nd Team All-America East as a goalie.

Cooper Manzi '22 was an instant impact at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). In his freshman season he scored at least two points in every game. At the season’s completion, Manzi was 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). Throughout the season, he was awarded Rookie of the Week five times.

Manzi made an impact all throughout the athletics arena at Tabor. The Wrentham, Mass., native was a four year lacrosse player, football player, and wrestler at the School by the Sea. He earned ISL Honorable Mention in all three sports. During his senior year, Manzi captained the lacrosse team.

Aidan O’Neil '22 had a stellar career while at Tabor. The Centerville, Mass., native had 113 points scored his senior year, rewriting both the ISL and Tabor record books. He also garnered the Ned Herter ISL Player of the Year Award and was named both 1st Team All New England along with U.S. All American. In O’Neil and Manzi's senior season at Tabor, the boys lacrosse program had the most regular season wins in the ISL. O'Neil ended his high school career with 343 points.

O'Neil hit the ground running at University of Richmond, starting and scoring at least a point in every game as a freshman. He ended the regular season with 22 goals and 12 assists while being named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week 3 times. O’Neil most impressive feat was leading all A-10 freshman in points scored (34). That put him 12th overall in the A-10 for all players. Richmond won their conference and is currently 11-4 facing the University of Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.  

Current Tabor Head Boy’s Lacrosse coach Connor Gordon’ 12 had the opportunity to coach both Manzi and O'Neil at Tabor. Coach Gordon’s remarks when hearing about O'Neil were, “This is no surprise at all. During my time working with Aidan, he refused to be outworked by anyone. He was always the first to practice and last to leave. It shows with how successful he has been at both Tabor and Richmond. We are very proud of him and look forward to following the rest of his career.”

He had high praise for Manzi as well saying, “When working with Cooper it is evident how high his lacrosse IQ is. He always puts himself in the right position, and when a defense give him an inch, he takes it. He’s a goal scorer with a knack for the net. He always found a way to make things happen, and it is no surprise to see him do it at the next level as well. We are very proud of him and look forward to following the rest of his career.”

Patrick Daly ’18 was a three time letter winner in both lacrosse and hockey at Tabor. During his Tabor career year, Daly received numerous awards including Team MVP, 1st Team All ISL, and Eastern New England Lacrosse All Area. He finished his career with 223 points at Tabor.

At Villanova University, Daly has been named to weekly All Big East honors multiple times, including Attack Player of the Week. This season he has scored 40 goals, ranking him third in the Big East and 20th in the country. Eleven times this season Patrick had a hat trick, scoring at least 3 goals. He has amassed 124 goals scored, making him fifth all time in school history. Villanova ended the season 10-5, losing to Denver in the Big East Tournament.

Matt Shaffer ’18 was ISL Honorable Mention as a senior at Tabor. This year at the University of Vermont, Shaffer was named 2nd Team All America East as a goalie. His 7.83 goals against average and .583 save percentage led the conference. On four separate occasions, Shaffer was named America East Defensive Player of the Week.