ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A trio of Bonnies have earned major awards from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after a stellar 2022 campaign: seniors Sean Westley and Brett Dobson were named Co-Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year respectively while head coach Randy Mearns received Coach of the Year accolades.

St. Bonaventure's career leader in points, goals and assists, Westley was undoubtedly key to the Bonnies' rise to the top of the conference this season. The Whitby, Ontario native tallied a program-record 51 points while tallying the most points per game this season of any MAAC player, 3.9. He ranked second in the league in assists, handing out 22, and his 29 goals were second only to teammate Jackson Rose among all MAAC players this year.

A three-time MAAC Offensive Player of the Week during the campaign, Westley logged multiple points in all but one game and finished with three or more points nine times. He notched six hat tricks during his senior season and was at his best with five goals and six total points in the regular season finale as the Bonnies clinched their first-ever regular season championship with a win on Senior Day.

Bona's first 100-point scorer with 116 points in 42 career games, Westley shares the league's top offensive honors with Jojo Pirreca of Marist. The Bonnies keep at least a share of Offensive Player of the Year honors in their camp for the second consecutive year after Jake Rosa made program history by becoming the first major award winner in program history last spring.

Dobson made national headlines throughout the season for his play in the cage. The senior from Oshawa, Ontario takes a major conference award alongside Westley, who he has been teammates with on the lacrosse field since elementary school.

The Bonnies goalie won MAAC Defensive Player of the Week recognition a whopping seven times during the season while again rising to the top of the national stats leaders. The nation's leader in save percentage for the second consecutive year, Dobson stopped over 66 percent of the shots he faced, well ahead of Georgetown's Owen McElroy who was the only other goalie in the country with a save percentage over 60 percent (.623).

Dobson also stands second nationally and first in the conference for saves per game (16.7) as well as fourth in the country and first in the MAAC in goals against average (9.0).

Throughout the year, Dobson earned praise from all across the lacrosse world. He was named to the USILA Division I Team of the Week twice and also crowned as the US Lacrosse Magazine Division I and Lacrosse Network National Player of the Week in April after allowing just three goals with 21 saves in a key conference win over Monmouth. He became the first Bonaventure player named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List as the nation's top player and also was selected to the Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-America Second Team.

A Second Team All-MAAC pick and All-Championship Team selection last year, Dobson has announced his intention to forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and declared himself for the Premier Lacrosse League College Draft.

Mearns set lofty goals for his Bonnies program upon being named head coach in 2017 after the revival of St. Bonaventure men's lacrosse and has made that vision a reality in the Bonnies' fourth season at the Division I level.

From guiding one of the youngest teams in Division I history four seasons ago to now overseeing one of the nation's veteran-most groups with 23 seniors, Mearns has not only led the Bonnies to a MAAC regular season crown but also into the national conversation including the program's first-ever Top 20 votes this year.

Picked fifth in the preseason MAAC Coaches' Poll, St. Bonaventure finished the conference slate 5-1, beating each of the top three ranked teams entering the year. The Bonnies finished the regular season 10-3 overall and ranked fourth in the country in scoring defense, allowing under nine goals per game, and ninth nationally in winning percentage. This year's regular season crown is the third for a Mearns' led team as he coached two MAAC regular season champs at Canisius previously. His Bonnies squad led the MAAC in All-Conference honors (nine players) and All-Academic Team nods (24 players) this season. 

The owner of 115 wins in 23 seasons during his head coaching career, Mearns has led the Bonnies to a 15-8 mark the past two years and two straight appearances in the MAAC semifinals.

St. Bonaventure owns the top seed in the MAAC final four and will play fourth-seeded Siena in the semifinals Thursday, May 5 at Marist.

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