The Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference announced its all-conference teams on Tuesday with three Hawkeyes earning honors.  Senior defenseman Austin Smith and junior midfielder Jay Morgan earned first team honors, while freshman midfielder Connor Gatenby was named to the honorable mention team.  Congrats to all three players.  You can see the full list of players right here.

The team also announced its annual team awards:

Offensive MVP:  Jay Morgan
Defensive MVP:  Austin Smith
Rookie of the Year:  Sean Embree
Coaches Award*:  Matt Morris and Jeff Formeller
Thomas Plotkin Award**:  Mike Schmidt

* Goes to the player(s) who show excellent commitment and determination to make the team better both on and off the field.
** Goes to the player who most exemplifies the tenacity, competitiveness and spirit that Tom had, all while keeping a smile on his face.

The team also announced captains and other positions within the program for next season:

2012-13 Captains:  Jay Morgan, Jeff Formeller and Mike Schmidt
2012-13 Sophomore Captains:  Trevor Kinzie and Matt Sambo
2012-13 Team President(s): Jeff Formeller and Mike Schmidt
2012-13 Team Vice President:  Jordan Kane

Iowa ended its season this past weekend with a 7-4 loss to Illinois in the GRLC Championship Game.  It marked the program’s first appearance in the GRLC Championship Game and its first appearance in any conference championship game since losing to Illinois State in the 2002 CCLA Division 2 Championship Game.

The Hawkeyes started their tournament run with a 11-10 overtime victory over Indiana on Friday in the quarterfinals  Sean Embree led the way with four goals, while Jay Morgan added one goal and four assists.  Photos from that game can be found here.

On Saturday, Iowa needed another overtime game to defeat Missouri 8-7 in the semifinals.  Jeff Formeller, Matt Solak and Embree each had two goals.  Photos from that game can be found here.

And in the GRLC Championship Game, Illinois raced out to a 5-0 lead, but the Hawks went on a 4-2 run in the second half, but it was not enough.  Jay Morgan had two goals, while John Koenig and Embree each tallied a goal.  Photos from that game came be found here.

With the 2-1 performance over the weekend, Iowa finished the season with a 7-7 record.  Congrats to all the seniors on a fun year.

The Hawkeyes played their last regular-season game of the year this past weekend against Nebraska at the Hawkeye Rec Fields.  A great turnout of parents and friends came out for Senior Night and the Thomas Plotkin #12 Memorial Game.  Coach Alex de la Pena read the team a note from Thomas’ father and the seniors were recognized before the game.

As for the game, Iowa defeated Nebraska 24-9 and clinched a spot in the 2012 GRLC Tournament.  This was Iowa’s third straight season beating the Huskers.

Photos from the game and the pre-game tailgating/ceremonies can be found here.

Iowa heads to Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL to take on Indiana on Friday, May 4 in the quarterfinals of the GRLC Tournament.  If Iowa wins, they would play Mizzouri on Saturday at 6:30 PM.

The Hawkeyes traveled down to Columbia, Missouri this past weekend to take on the Tigers in a conference game.  Missouri jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first quarter and led 7-2 at half.  Iowa battled back and made it a two-goal deficit, but didn’t have enough to complete the comeback as the Tigers won 11-9.

Connor Gatenby led the Hawkeyes with three goals, while John Koenig added two goals and Jeff Formeller recorded one goal and two assists.  Junior Brandon Warshawsky made eight saves on the day.  Photos from the game can be found here.

Iowa is now 4-4 on the season, including a 1-2 mark in GRLC play.  The Hawkeyes head to Minnesota this upcoming weekend for games against Minnesota State-Mankato (Friday) and Minnesota (Saturday) at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato.

Iowa played a doubleheader in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday and headed back to Iowa City with one win and one loss.  In the first game, Iowa jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter against Kansas, but the Jayhawks outscored the Hawkeyes, 6-2, in the second half and defeated Iowa 10-8.

Iowa was led by Sean Embree who recorded three goals and two assists, while Patric Russell had two goals and Jay Morgan chipped in with two assists.

In Iowa’s second game, they defeated Kansas State 18-1.  It was Iowa’s biggest victory since defeating Arkansas, 25-0, in 2010.  Matt Solak and Connor Gatenby led the way with three goals each, while Mitch McElman, John Koenig, Embree and Morgan each registered two goals.  Griffin Adams had four saves between the pipes and Michael George tallied one save.

Iowa is now 4-3 on the season with a 1-1 mark in GRLC play.  The Hawkeyes next take the field on Saturday, April 14 when they travel to Columbia, Missouri to play Missouri in a conference game.

Iowa headed to Olympic Park in Schaumburg, IL this past weekend for two games in the cold and snow.  On Friday, the Hawkeyes took on Marquette, but lost to the Golden Eagles 9-6.  Jay Morgan led the team with two goals, while Sean Embree tallied two assists and Griffin Adams made nine saves between the pipes.

On Saturday, Iowa took on fellow GRLC foe Illinois (ranked #17 in the MCLA), jumping out to a 4-1 lead at the half.  But the Fighting Illini bounced back and tied the game up at 5-5 in the fourth quarter before scoring the winning goal with roughly five minutes left, winning 6-5.  All five of Iowa’s goals came from five different scorers, while Brandon Warshawsky made 14 saves.

With the two losses, Iowa is now 3-2 (1-0 in conference play) on the season.  The Hawkeyes next take the field on Saturday, March 31 with games against Kansas and Kansas State at Memorial Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.

Photos from the games against Marquette and Illinois can be found here and here.  Also, photos from the whole season can be found at the new Iowa Men’s Lacrosse Fan/Parent Booster Site on Facebook.  Feel free to add/share/like photos.

The Hawkeyes improved to 3-0 on the season after beating Iowa State 12-7 in the Bubble on Friday.  Photos from the game can be found here.

Also, photos from the first two games of the season can be found on the new photos section of the site.  Also, more photos from the game against St. Cloud State can be found here.

Iowa next travels to Chicago the March 2-3 weekend for games against Marquette on Friday and Illinois on Saturday.

Iowa kicked off the 2012 season with a 8-7 double overtime victory over Wisconsin on Friday night in the Bubble in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the first quarter on Friday, but the Badgers held a 5-4 lead entering the fourth quarter.  Despite trailing by two goals under two minutes, Iowa was able to score two goals, including one with eight seconds left in regulation, to send the game to overtime.  Both teams were unable to score in the first overtime before freshman Sean Embree scored the game winner.

Embree led all scorers with four goals, while freshman Connor Gatenby tallied two goals and junior Brandon Warshawsky made nine saves between the pipes.

On Saturday, the Hawkeyes defeated St. Cloud State 9-8.  Embree, junior Jay Morgan and freshman John Koenig each notched two goals, while freshman Trevor Kinzie dished out two assists.  Warshawsky started the game and played one quarter (three saves with no goals allowed) and freshman Griffin Adams (four saves) played the remaining three quarters.

Photos from both games should hopefully be added to the site later this week.  If you are a parent/friend with photos from the game, feel free to contact Matt Benson so they can be added to the site once the photos page gets figured out/added to the site.

Iowa next takes the field on Friday, February 17 at 8 PM in the Bubble when they face rivals Iowa State.

Iowa traveled to Madison, Wisconsin this past weekend where they finished second in the 2011 Mad City Tournament.  The Hawkeyes defeated Wisconsin in the first round, while beating Iowa State in the second round.  On Sunday, they lost to Ohio State, 5-4, in the championship game.

The second place finish is the team’s best finish ever in the Mad City Tournament and only second time Iowa has walked away from Madison with a trophy (finished third in 2003).

Photos from the Saturday’s games can be found here, while Sunday’s championship game photos can be found here.

The team is deeply saddened by the news that one of our own players, Thomas Plotkin, went missing while studying abroad in India and is presumed to have passed away. Tom was hiking above the Ganges River on Thursday when he fell 100 yards and went missing. Tom was a junior midfielder who prided himself on winning groundballs and out-hustling his opponents. His passion and love for both the game and his teammates were unparalleled, and his friendship is something we will always treasure. Tom was truly loved by everyone who knew him.

Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends during these difficult times.