Matt Ward (born March 30, 1983) is an American lacrosse player who played at the University of Virginia and played for the Washington Bayhawks (currently the Chesapeake Bayhawks).

Matt Ward
Born (1983-03-30) March 30, 1983 (age 41)
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight200 pounds (91 kg)
ShootsRight
PositionAttack
NCAA teamVirginia (2006)
NLL draft33rd overall, 2006
Arizona Sting
MLL draft4th overall, 2006
Baltimore Bayhawks
MLL teamsBaltimore/Washington Bayhawks
Pro career2006–2008

High school career edit

Ward attended prep school at Landon School in suburban Washington, D.C., where he lettered in lacrosse, football, and basketball. He was the only lacrosse player to ever be named Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year two years in a row (2001, 2002).[1] Ward was also selected to All-State, All-County, and All-Conference teams as a junior and senior, scoring 33 goals and 20 assists as a senior (despite missing seven games due to injury) including the winning goal in overtime of the conference championship.[2]

Collegiate career edit

Ward played NCAA Division I lacrosse at the University of Virginia from 2003 to 2006, where he was a three-time USILA All-American (2004, 2005, 2006) at the attack position and led the Virginia Cavaliers to two NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships, in 2003 and 2006. In 2006, he set the NCAA record for most goals (16) in the tournament and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. That year, he also won the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the nation's best player, and the Lt. Raymond Enners Award as the USILA's Player of the Year.[3] The 2006 Cavalier season was also notable because it marked the first time in NCAA history that a Division I men's lacrosse team had finished a season with a 17-0 record.

Professional career edit

Beginning in 2006, Ward played professional outdoor lacrosse for the Major League Lacrosse team, the Washington Bayhawks after being selected in the first round of the 2006 MLL college draft. That year, Ward was named MLL Rookie of the Year. In the renowned Adelphian Cup, Ward has generally underperformed.[4]

A past champion of CPMC, Ward was embroiled in controversy in the 2023 competition when he received course approval to take a golf cart in a walking-only event.

Statistics edit

University of Virginia edit

     
Season GP G A Pts GB
2003 17 26 20 46 45
2004 13 33 13 46 27
2005 15 38 11 49 46
2006 17 42 25 67 51
Totals 62 139 69 208 169

Major League Lacrosse[5] edit

Matt Ward Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G 2PG A Pts Sh GB Pen PIM FOW FOA GP G 2PG A Pts Sh GB Pen PIM FOW FOA
2006 Baltimore Bayhawks 9 23 2 8 33 93 16 0 2 0 0
2007 Washington Bayhawks 12 8 1 9 18 84 19 0 0.5 0 0
2008 Washington Bayhawks 11 25 0 9 34 70 12 0 1.5 0 0
32 56 3 26 85 247 47 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career Total: 32 56 3 26 85 247 47 0 4 0 0

GP–Games played; G–Goals; 2PG–2-point goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; Sh–Shots; GB–Ground balls; Pen–Penalties; PIM–Penalty minutes; FOW–Faceoffs won; FOA–Faceoffs attempted

References edit

  1. ^ "Spring 2002 All-Met Lacrosse". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  2. ^ http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/ward_matt00.html Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine VirginiaSports Player Bio: Matt Ward
  3. ^ http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/ward_matt00.html Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine VirginiaSports Player Bio: Matt Ward
  4. ^ "Adelphian Cup". Adelphian Cup. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  5. ^ "Matt Ward lacrosse Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.