August 2, 2024 –
The next in a series for the Big Five athletic teams looking back at the bright, shining stars of the 2023-24 season.
We will name a team of the year and student athlete of the year for each school. In addition, we will list an honor roll of teams and student athletes. Team recognition will be noted by a championship, postseason advancement, and / or a significant achievement. To be named as a player one should have a national award or honor, a league accolade, significant achievement, or a team record.
Let’s take a look back at the past season on Hawk Hill, Hennessey Field, the Hagan Arena, and on the rivers for Saint Joseph’s University.
Teams of the Year
Field Hockey
The team won the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the third consecutive season. During the regular season the Hawks went undefeated, then swept La Salle and UMass for another trip to the NCAA Tournament. Saint Joseph’s fell to fifth ranked Virginia 2 – 1 on the opening round. The Saint Joe’s team finished the season ranked #13 in the final National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I Coaches Poll. The Hawks achieved a national ranking in every poll during the season. Manu Ghigliotti was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year and was an All-American and Region First Team selectee. Lily Santi was the Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament and named to the All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team. Katy Benton and Sol Borensztein made the second team All-Region. The Hawks scored 62 goals in 21 games while giving up 23 en route to their 16 – 5 record against a challenging schedule. The team shutout the opposition 8 times.
Men’s Lacrosse
The Hawks won the Atlantic 10 Regular season championship going undefeated in conference play. Saint Joseph’s added the conference tournament title to their record and went to the NCAA Championships. Saint Joe’s posted a 12 – 4 overall record and won all 5 league games. In the tournament Saint Joseph’s downed Massachusetts 11 – 9 and Richmond 17 – 13 in the final at Richmond. The season would end, and a 12-game winning streak, in the opening round of the NCAA falling 17 – 11 at 6th seeded Virginia. Coach Taylor Wray was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. Levi Verch won the league Defensive Player of the Year award. He led SJU with 29 caused turnovers and 80 ground balls. Jesse Jason was the conference Rookie of the Year. He scored 21 goals and assisted 11 times for 32 points. Matt Bohmer was another first team selection who led the team in goals with 37. He scored 50 points. Patrick Clemens and Alex Keener rounded out the five Hawks first team members. Clemens had 43 ground balls and caused 19 turnovers while Keener rounded up 29 off the ground and was responsible for 18 opponent turnovers. Bohmer, Keener, Verch, Carter Page and Levi Anderson were named to the All-Tournament team. The Most Outstanding Player went to Anderson who had 7 goals and 2 assists in the title game. Page added a career-high 6 goals. Anderson was the season leading scorer for SJU with 57 points on 33 goals and 24 assists. In postseason awards Verch earned three All-American Honorable Mention honors. Anderson was on the USILA Honorable Mention list. He ended his career on Hawk Hill as the all-time leading scorer in program history with 222 points. His 140 career goals and 82 assists are in third place in the SJU record books. The success achieved by this squad was a true team effort.
Student Athlete of the Year
Jorden Concordia, Women’s Lacrosse, Goalie
Concordia capped her season by being nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The award celebrates the achievements in women’s intercollegiate athletics honors those who have distinguished themselves in athletics, academics, service and leadership. She was named the Atlantic 10 Goalkeeper of the Year and was a First Team All-League honoree. Concordia became the first Hawk to be on the 2024 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, made Honorable Mention on the USA Lacrosse All-America team, and was Second Team on the IWLCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region. The goalkeeper made 199 saves posting a .529 save percentage and allowed 10.03 goals per game, all career-bests. She also collected 43 ground balls. The save percentage was third best in the country. She was the recipient of the Class of 1950 Award at Saint Joseph’s.
Team Honor Roll
Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball team made history in December by winning the inaugural Big Five Classic over Temple. The team won all their city series games to start the season. Saint Joe’s gave Kentucky a tussle before losing in overtime in Lexington. The Hawks went on a run winning 7 of their next 8 games. After an up and down regular season they went to Brooklyn for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. SJU beat GMU, then took down #1 seeded Richmond 66 – 61 led by Erik Reynolds II who scored 30 points. The league tournament run ended in the quarterfinals. Reynolds made the All-Tournament team. The season ended in the NIT Opening round with a loss at eventual tournament champion Seton Hall. Coach Billy Lange was named as one of twenty finalists for the Skip Prosser Award which honors those who achieve success on the basketball court and displays moral integrity on and off it. Five Hawks averaged scoring in double figures. The team averaged 10 three-point field goals per game. The final record stood at 21 – 14.
Women’s Basketball
The Big Five Women’s Champion had an historic season winning a program record 28 games, and Coach Cindy Griffin was named the Big Five Coach of the Year. The Hawks went to the WBIT and won against Seton Hall, at California, then ended the season with a quarterfinal round loss at rival Villanova. It was the latest time these teams met on the court and the first time ever they played twice in a single season. The Hawks were seeded third in the Atlantic 10 but fell against Rhode Island in the quarterfinals. This team turned out to be true road warriors tied for most away wins in the country with 15. The team started the season winning its first eight games. In January the Hawks went on an 11-game winning streak. Saint Joe’s finished the season with a 28 – 6 mark. On offense SJU outscored the opposition by a 10.9 scoring margin. Four players averaged double figures in scoring. Talya Brugler and Laura Ziegler made the All-Big Five First Team while Mackenzie Smith who averaged 12.8 points per game was on the second team. Chloe Welch (10.7 points per game) made Honorable Mention in the city.
Saint Joseph’s swept both men’s and women’s Big Five games in the regular season.
Women’s Rowing
The Saint Joseph’s rowed in the 2024 Henley Regatta and competed unto the quarterfinal round of the Colgan Foundation Cup for Aspirational Academic 8+ Bracket. The Hawks were one of two boats from the United States to advance to the quarterfinals. To get to the starting line the Hawks qualified on time posting one of the top 16 times. In a single elimination race Saint Joe’s defeated the College of Dublin by over 10 seconds with a time of 5:11.27. Saint Joseph’s was defeated by London University. The team of Coxswain Kacie Kershaw, Riley McDade, Evie Holder, Farah Konschak, Molly Hoffman, Kayla Menshon, Hannah Ashcraft, Emma Staples, and Allison Ruck covered the distance in 5:12.85, less than 5 seconds behind the winning boat. This is the farthest the Hawks have advanced in the Henley Regatta.
Student Athletes Honor Roll
Manu Ghigliotti, Field Hockey, Forward
Ghigliotti was named a First-Team All-American by the NFCHA, the fourth player in school history to earn a first team honor and is the ninth Hawk to be on an All-America team. She earned and shared the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Award, while being named to the NFCHA All-Mid-Atlantic first team and All-A10 First Team. The forward led the team in scoring with 32 points on 12 goals and 8 assists. She also registered a team-high in shots (69) and shots on goal (41). Ghigliotti started in all 21 games for the Hawks this season.
Lily Santi, Field Hockey, Forward
Santi was the Most Outstanding Player in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament for the second time in league history. She also earned Conference and NFHCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team honors. Santi played in all 21 games, 18 as a starter. The forward scored a team-tying 18 goals with 2 coming in league tournament play. Santi has multiple goal games. Her 3 assists gave Santi a total of 27 points, second on the team.
Erik Reynolds II, Men’s Basketball, Guard
Reynolds II was an All-Tournament team selectee and was an All-Conference and Big Five First Team player. He led the team in scoring averaging 17.3 points per game and made three-point field goals at 112 this season tied for ninth place nationally in that statistic. Reynolds II was good on 112 of 295 free throws, tops on the team. He started in all 35 games and had a team-high 1214 total minutes.
Xzayvier Brown, Men’s Basketball, Guard
The freshman from Philadelphia became the Big Five and Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. Brown was also named a finalist for the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year award. He was the fourth Hawk to win the A10 Rookie of the Year award. Brown led the team in steals with 67. He was second in scoring, averaging 12.7 per game playing in all 35 games. Brown was also second in assists handing out 117. Brown was good on 46% of his shots (150 of 326), 40.4% of his three-point shots (69 – 171), and 79.6% of his free throws (74 of 93). His career-high scoring game was 29 points at Loyola of Chicago where Brown added 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Talya Brugler, Women’s Basketball, Forward
Brugler was an All-Big Five First Team player averaging a team-high 15.6 points per game. She was on the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team. Brugler sank 111 of 128 free throws (86.7%) to be the top free throw shooter in the Big Five. From the field Brugler was good on 54.1% of her shots (204 of 377), first in the league. Brugler started in all 34 games and scored in double figures in 28 games, 11 times hitting 20-plus points. Her season-high was 30 points at UMass. She is now 10th in school scoring history. Brugler handed out a team-best 85 assists and was the leader in offensive rebounds with 60 and added 25 blocked shots. Brugler was named to the Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List.
Laura Ziegler, Women’s Basketball, Forward
An All-Big Five and Atlantic 10 First Team performer. Ziegler was on the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team. The forward led SJU in rebounding with 291 caroms (49 on offense and 242 on defense). She averaged 14.3 points per game, second on the squad. Ziegler drained 48 of 141 three-point field goals. She blocked 27 shots. Ziegler, too, appeared on the Anne Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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