Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Georgetown on May 10, 2025 , Loss , 12, to, 16
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Photo by: Duke Athletics
Giles-Harris, Sowers Honored by US Lacrosse Magazine
12/21/2020 1:15:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
DURHAM, N.C.—With the 2021 collegiate lacrosse season on the horizon, preseason honors are starting to roll in for the Blue Devils. US Lacrosse Magazine is the first to announce its Preseason All-America Team and preseason players of the year, picking Duke's JT Giles-Harris and Michael Sowers as its Preseason Defenseman and Attackman of the Year, respectively.
Both Sowers and Giles-Harris also were voted to the Preseason All-America Team with 11 other players. Duke, Syracuse and Yale are the lone three teams to have multiple players represented on the 13-man squad. All five ACC programs are represented.
Giles-Harris, the 2019 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and considered the top defenseman in 2020, returns for his final season as a Blue Devil after the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility after the cancellation of the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19. He is among the 10 seniors from the 2020 team returning for 2021 and most recently was voted a team captain by his teammates for the second consecutive season
A two-time All-American close defenseman, Giles-Harris will anchor Duke's defense again in 2021. He enters his final year as a Blue Devil with 113 ground balls and 70 caused turnovers. Prior to the abrupt end to the 2020 season, the Nyack, N.Y., native had 21 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers, earning Inside Lacrosse All-America First-Team recognition.
Giles-Harris has started 63 of the 64 games in his career and is on his way to becoming the fourth Duke close defenseman to earn All-America First Team honors twice in his career. Amassing 70 career caused turnovers, he needs 15 caused turnovers to climb into the top 35 in NCAA history and 19 to surpass Luke Duprey's Duke record of 88.
Sowers, considered the favorite to win the 2020 Tewaaraton Award before the season was canceled due to COVID-19, joined the Blue Devils this fall after transferring from Princeton after all spring athletes were granted an extra year of eligibility due to the 2020 season being cut short.
Graduating from Princeton as the program's all-time leading scorer with 302 points (121 goals, 181 assists), Sowers led the nation in points (9.4/gm) and assists (6.2/gm) last year, both of which would have been Division I records. He broke the Ivy League single-game record for points in a game with 14 against Colgate. He had 11 assists versus the Raiders to set a Princeton single-game record. Against reigning NCAA Champion, Sowers notched four goals and four assists.
With 302 points to his name, the Dresher, Pa., native has the potential to become just the second person in NCAA history to reach the 400-point plateau. Lyle Thompson currently holds the career scoring record with 400 points. Sowers' 181 assists currently rank ninth in NCAA history and are 51 shy of breaking Pat Spencer's record of 231. For his career, Sowers is averaging 6.4 points per game and 3.9 assists per game. He scored 80-plus points in each of his three full seasons with the Tigers and had 47 through five games in 2020.
Division I US Lacrosse Magazine Men's All-Americans
A – Chris Gray, North Carolina
A – Jeff Teat, Cornell
A – Michael Sowers, Duke
M – Brendan Curry, Syracuse
M – Sam Handley, Penn
M – Connor Kirst, Rutgers
FO – TD Ierlan, Yale
SSDM – Ryan Terefenko, Ohio State
LSM – Jared Conners, Virginia
D – Arden Cohen, Notre Dame
D – Chris Fake, Yale
D – JT Giles-Harris, Duke
G – Drake Porter, Syracuse
Division I US Lacrosse Magazine Positional Players of the Year
A – Michael Sowers
M – Ryan Terefenko
D – JT Giles-Harris
G – Drake Porter
Specialist – TD Ierlan
Both Sowers and Giles-Harris also were voted to the Preseason All-America Team with 11 other players. Duke, Syracuse and Yale are the lone three teams to have multiple players represented on the 13-man squad. All five ACC programs are represented.
Giles-Harris, the 2019 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and considered the top defenseman in 2020, returns for his final season as a Blue Devil after the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility after the cancellation of the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19. He is among the 10 seniors from the 2020 team returning for 2021 and most recently was voted a team captain by his teammates for the second consecutive season
A two-time All-American close defenseman, Giles-Harris will anchor Duke's defense again in 2021. He enters his final year as a Blue Devil with 113 ground balls and 70 caused turnovers. Prior to the abrupt end to the 2020 season, the Nyack, N.Y., native had 21 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers, earning Inside Lacrosse All-America First-Team recognition.
Giles-Harris has started 63 of the 64 games in his career and is on his way to becoming the fourth Duke close defenseman to earn All-America First Team honors twice in his career. Amassing 70 career caused turnovers, he needs 15 caused turnovers to climb into the top 35 in NCAA history and 19 to surpass Luke Duprey's Duke record of 88.
Sowers, considered the favorite to win the 2020 Tewaaraton Award before the season was canceled due to COVID-19, joined the Blue Devils this fall after transferring from Princeton after all spring athletes were granted an extra year of eligibility due to the 2020 season being cut short.
Graduating from Princeton as the program's all-time leading scorer with 302 points (121 goals, 181 assists), Sowers led the nation in points (9.4/gm) and assists (6.2/gm) last year, both of which would have been Division I records. He broke the Ivy League single-game record for points in a game with 14 against Colgate. He had 11 assists versus the Raiders to set a Princeton single-game record. Against reigning NCAA Champion, Sowers notched four goals and four assists.
With 302 points to his name, the Dresher, Pa., native has the potential to become just the second person in NCAA history to reach the 400-point plateau. Lyle Thompson currently holds the career scoring record with 400 points. Sowers' 181 assists currently rank ninth in NCAA history and are 51 shy of breaking Pat Spencer's record of 231. For his career, Sowers is averaging 6.4 points per game and 3.9 assists per game. He scored 80-plus points in each of his three full seasons with the Tigers and had 47 through five games in 2020.
Division I US Lacrosse Magazine Men's All-Americans
A – Chris Gray, North Carolina
A – Jeff Teat, Cornell
A – Michael Sowers, Duke
M – Brendan Curry, Syracuse
M – Sam Handley, Penn
M – Connor Kirst, Rutgers
FO – TD Ierlan, Yale
SSDM – Ryan Terefenko, Ohio State
LSM – Jared Conners, Virginia
D – Arden Cohen, Notre Dame
D – Chris Fake, Yale
D – JT Giles-Harris, Duke
G – Drake Porter, Syracuse
Division I US Lacrosse Magazine Positional Players of the Year
A – Michael Sowers
M – Ryan Terefenko
D – JT Giles-Harris
G – Drake Porter
Specialist – TD Ierlan
Players Mentioned
D
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