Marrone and Johnson Voted First-Team All-Empire 8 Conference
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Men’s Lacrosse had three student-athletes earn All-Empire 8 Conference honors.
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Men's Lacrosse had three student-athletes earn All-Empire 8 Conference honors. Accolades, based upon voting conducted by the league's head coaches, were announced by the E8 office earlier today.
Senior defender Joe Johnson (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) and midfielder Anthony Marrone (Monroe, NJ/Monroe Township), a graduate student, made the first-team.
Johnson, who received an honorable mention for the 2024 USILA All-American Team, caused 32 turnovers, and gathered 86 groundballs, the second-highest total in a season by an RSC player. The marks ranked second and fourth-best in the Conference at the time of voting. The co-captain, the first Gator ever to earn first-team All-E8 honors a season ago, added more offense to his game this spring, tallying 26 points on 23 goals and three assists.
"One of the hardest working players I have ever coached, Joe plays the most taxing position in lacrosse, LSM, and rarely misses a rep. He has also been known to run sprints after games late at night because he wants to condition his body to never be tired. Joe absolutely loves his teammates and wants the best for each and every one of them," said Head Coach Erich Skelly.
He finished his spring with program career records of 112 caused turnovers and 1.84 caused turnovers per-game. The senior, who occupies the top-three spots in the RSC record book for caused turnovers in a season, ranks second all-time with 254 groundballs. He averaged a school record 4.16 groundballs per-game and has three of the top-five marks for groundballs in a season by a Gator.
"Joe was unanimously voted by his teammates to lead the team as a captain this spring," continued Skelly. "His dedication to the program over the last four years will leave a lasting impact on the development of a champion's mindset."
Johnson, selected for the USILA D3 Team of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 16, scored four goals in a game twice, secured eight groundballs three times, and caused multiple opponent turnovers in in 12 of the 17 contests.
Marrone closed his spring leading the E8 with 58 goals and 3.41 goals per-game and ranked second in the Conference with 64 points. The 58 goals and 3.41 goals per-game are both single season program records, while the 64 points is the second-most in a season by a Gator.
"Anthony earning all-conference honors for the first time is well deserved, "said Skelly. "He had a special season scoring 64 points, 58 of them being goals, and finished second in the conference in total points. Getting 58 goals from the midfield is amazing!"
Marrone, the program career leader with 116 goals, registered five or more points in eight games, and netted multiple goals in 13 contests. The co-captain, who ranks second among Gators with 135 career points, scored eight goals, the second-most in a game by an RSC player, in the E8 win at Keuka on April 12.
"Anthony was unstoppable all year for us on offense, and also played a ton of defense and took faceoff wings," continued Skelly. "He plays extremely tough and is not afraid to run through traffic to get to the goal. AJ took it to heart when I told the team they need to love scoring goals more than the defenders love stopping them. I am very proud of the season he was able to have this year."
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024-25 E8 Men's Lacrosse Sportsmen of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen. Midfielder Jake McElwee (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty), a grad student, represented RSC (5-12/2-7 E8) on the squad.
The co-captain finished second on the team in scoring with 43 points on 25 goals and a team-high 18 assists. He became just the sixth Gator to surpass 100 career points, tallying 107 points, with 57 goals and 50 assists, the second-most all-time in school career records.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: The spring marked the first with Erich Skelly at the helm of the Gators…He arrived at RSC from Albright College in late January…Johnson received an honorable mention for USILA All-American team and earned first-team All-Empire 8 Conference accolades in 2024, program firsts in both awards…Johnson was selected for the USILA Division III Team of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 16…He registered six goals, 19 groundballs and six caused turnovers in a 3-0 week…The senior made the USILA D3 Team of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 13...He totaled nine points on eight goals and one assist, nine groundballs and five caused turnovers across two games…Johnson became the first Gator to caused 100 career turnovers at SUNY Geneseo on April 5… Attacker Bailey Martin (Syracuse, NY/Onondaga Central), a grad student, Martin capped the season as the program's career leader with 156 points…He surpassed both the 150 career points and 100 career goals marks in the victory at Saint Joseph University - Long Island on March 15...Marrone was announced as the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 13…The graduate student registered 14 goals on 27 shots across two games…Marrone netted eight goals, the second-most in a game by a Gator, in the E8 victory at Keuka on April 12…He set the program record for goals in a season in the road win…Marrone became just the fifth RSC player to reach 100 career points vs. VTSU: Castleton on March 19…Freshman Jordon Hankel (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) was selected the E8 Goalkeeper of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 16…The rookie only permitted nine goals and registered a .775 save percentage in a 3-0 week…He also earned the Conference's Goalkeeper of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 20…Hankel registered 39 saves and a 62.9 save percentage across two contests…He finished his debut spring leading the E8 with 242 saves, 14.24 saves per-game…Midfielder Adam Willig (Buffalo, NY/Amherst Central), a grad student, Johnson, McElwee, and Marrone were voted co-captains.
