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Each year, we at US Lacrosse Magazine pore over the top coaches, players, games, performances, breakthroughs and moments for the annual “Best of Lacrosse” edition. Naturally, this retrospective tome drops in December. 

But now is the time to be heard.

Over the next two weeks, we’re polling fans on Twitter (@USLacrosseMag) to vote on four finalists in 10 categories: Best Men’s Coach, Best Women’s Coach, Best Men’s Player, Best Women’s Player, Best Game, Best Men’s Performance, Best Women’s Performance, Best Men’s Breakthrough, Best Women’s Breakthrough and Best Moment.

Today, we present our four finalists for Best Men’s Performance: Trevor Baptiste in the NCAA  quarters against Notre Dame, Dave Little’s 9-for-9 shooting in Navy’s win over Lehigh, Dan Morris’ big game against Rutgers and Zach Currier’s all-around game in Princeton's blowout of Johns Hopkins. 

Narrowing down the field meant leaving out some games that made headlines.

Marcus Holman stepped up when the Ohio Machine needed him, scoring three of his four goals in a run that sealed the MLL championship. His four-goal, two-assist performance helped him win the game’s MVP award.

Lyle Thompson also had a big game in a title clincher. He scored seven points in the Champion’s Cup Game 2 to help the Swarm win the NLL title.

Cases could be made for any and all of these standouts. More on this year’s finalists for Best Game.

Trevor Baptiste, Denver
21-for-22 FO vs. Notre Dame in NCAA quarterfinal

Coming off a dominant first-round performance against Air Force, Baptiste did not have much to improve upon. All Baptiste did in the next round was win 21 of 22 faceoffs, including 21 consecutive victories, and add 13 ground balls to help lead Denver to a 16-4 blowout win over Notre Dame to advance to the final four. Oh, and he scored a goal to go with the unbelievable faceoff performance. Baptiste was a two-time Epoch/US Lacrosse Player of the Week during a prolific season in which he became the first faceoff man to be named a Tewaaraton Award finalist. He also made the U.S. training team.

Dave Little, Navy
9-for-9 shooting vs. Lehigh on March 25

Dave Little had nine goals in his career entering the 2017 season. The junior attackman doubled that number in one game, scoring nine times in a 14-9 win over Lehigh. What made this performance even more special was the fact that he didn’t miss a shot. Little went 9-for-9, far exceeding his 40.4 shooting percentage on the year. At least for one game, Little was as efficient as they come. That outburst helped Little finish the season tied for the team lead in scoring with 23 goals.

Zach Currier, Princeton
15-for-19 FO, 10 GB, 3A vs. Johns Hopkins on March 3

When it comes to all-around performances, it doesn’t get much better than the show Currier put on March 3 in a Friday night blowout of Johns Hopkins. Currier won 15 of 19 faceoffs, scooped 10 ground balls and doled out three assists in Princeton’s 18-7 victory over the Blue Jays at Homewood Field. He also factored in a defensive effort that limited Johns Hopkins’ first midfield line to 0-for-15 shooting. The under-appreciated Canadian export was left off of the USILA’s first-team All-American list despite leading all Division I midfielders in points (58) and assists (34), ranking fourth in Division I in ground balls per game (8.67) despite not being a full-time faceoff specialist and even leading the Tigers with 21 caused turnovers. Currier, who was a second-team All-American, picked where he left off in college as a pro, becoming an MLL Rookie of the Year finalist and then providing a spark to the Peterborough Lakers in the Major Series Lacrosse finals en route to a Mann Cup championship.

Dan Morris, Maryland
16 saves vs. Rutgers on April 15

Maryland wrapped up a rough three-game, nine-day stretch that included wins over Penn State and Albany with a matchup against Big Ten foe Rutgers. Terps goalie Dan Morris was not sharp early, held without a save during the first quarter. But he turned it on when it mattered. Morris shook off the first quarter and made 16 saves the rest of the way, including four saves during the three overtime periods in the 13-12 thriller. He had to make a handful of crucial saves, with one coming at the end of regulation to force overtime.