Moon Township, Pa. - Freshman Matt Bukovac (Ashburn, Va. / Briar Woods) and junior Jake Hayes (Calgary, Alberta / Central Memorial) of the Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team both claimed honors from the Northeast Conference (NEC) as announced in the league's weekly release Monday.
Hayes earned his second straight Offensive Player of the Week honor while Bukovac notched the Rookie of the Week award after both helped RMU take down nationally-ranked Bryant to claim the NEC's regular-season title.
With his honor, Hayes registered his fourth offensive player of the week award of this season while no other student-athlete in the conference has garnered such recognition more than once. The selection gives the Colonials their sixth offensive player of the week honor of the season, a total which is greater than the number that the rest of the league combined has taken.
The recognition for Bukovac and Hayes also gave RMU 11 weekly honors this season, which surpassed its final figure from last season.
Hayes tied for game-high honors with six points in helping Robert Morris take down the Bulldogs. He posted three goals and a trio of assists to claim his fourth game with at least six points in the team's last 12 outings. He became just the third Colonial in history to score 40 goals in a season and also moved into a tie for third in single-season points at RMU with 58, three off the record. Hayes, who moved into eighth in career points (82) at RMU, notched his 12th career hat trick and has now posted 15 points in his last two games. Hayes tallied his sixth straight multi-goal game and grabbed his 11th such effort this season.
At the end of the regular season, Hayes led the league with 2.86 goals per game, ranking seventh nationally. He was tied for the league lead in points per game at 4.14 with his teammate, Kiel Matisz (Stoney Creek, Ontario / Saltfleet), as the duo was tied for sixth nationally. Hayes also has the second-highest shooting percentage in the country at the week's outset as he has converted on 58.0 percent of his shots.
Bukovac earned his fourth win of the season by tallying nine saves in 60 minutes of action and also helped the Colonials kill off two of the Bulldogs' four extra-man opportunities. Bukovac made a key save with RMU clinging to the lead in the final two minutes of regulation as he stopped a Bryant shot when the Bulldogs had a man-up opportunity. He also notched a career-high four ground balls.
The award was the second rookie of the week honor for Bukovac and his third accolade of the season overall.
Robert Morris has had five distinct student athletes honored by the NEC this season, which is tops in the conference.
By virtue of winning the regular-season title, the Colonials earned the top seed and the right to host the upcoming NEC Tournament, which will be held Friday, May 4, and Sunday, May 6, at Joe Walton Stadium.
RMU is off until this coming Friday, May 4, when they welcome Mount St. Mary's in the first NEC Tournament semifinal. The opening faceoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
