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BEST adj.
/best/
superlative of GOOD

1: excelling all others

2: most productive of good: offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction

3: most, largest

(Source: Merriam-Webster)

Best of Lacrosse 2018 Finalists
Men’s Player | Women’s Player
Men’s Coach | Women’s Coach
Men’s Breakthrough | Women’s Breakthrough
Men’s Performance | Women’s Performance
Game | Moment

As the lacrosse calendar turns from 2018 to 2019 and we reflect on one of the most riveting years in recent memory, US Lacrosse Magazine is taking to Twitter for the fans’ perspective on what made it so. We’ve identified four finalists each in 10 categories in preparation for our annual “Best of Lacrosse” edition.

Below, we present the finalists for Best Men’s Performance.

Ryan Brown
Team USA
25G in FIL World Championship

It’s hard to isolate one performance in particular, but perhaps it’s Brown’s four-goal outburst against the inspired Iroquois Nationals in the opener. The Iroquois had the U.S. on the ropes early, but Brown scored three of his goals during a convincing second-half stretch that reasserted Team USA as the favorite in the tournament and rewarded the coaching staff’s decision to use a roster spot on a stretch shooter. Brown was lights out from there, scoring at a 45-percent clip (25-for-55) while finishing just one goal shy of Mark Millon’s Team USA record of 26.

Chris Gray
Boston University
5G, 4A in PL QF vs. Bucknell

A magnificent performance by one of the country’s best freshmen resulted in one of the biggest upsets of the season, as Boston University knocked off then-No. 11 Bucknell 12-11 in the opening round of the Patriot League tournament. Gray engineered the Terriers’ comeback from a five-goal deficit, finishing with five goals and four assists, memorably assisting Brendan Homire’s game-winning goal and raising his arms in celebration before Homire even took the shot. That’s swagger.

Marcus Holman
Ohio Machine
11G vs. New York Lizards

Holman picked up where he left off in the 2017 MLL championship game — he zinged three straight fourth-quarter goals to propel the Machine to their first title with a 17-12 win over the Denver Outlaws — by setting the net on fire in Ohio’s 2018 season opener. He broke the MLL single-game record with 11 — yes, eleven — goals in the Machine’s 25-13 victory over the New York Lizards

TD Ierlan
Albany
24-for-24, 22 GB vs. Cornell

Pick a perfecto, any perfecto. Ierlan, now with Yale after transferring in the offseason, had three of them during his record-setting campaign with the Great Danes. His 24-for-24 performances against Cornell and Stony Brook both were one faceoff shy of the NCAA single-game record. He proceeded to go 48-for-49 during the America East tournament. The single greatest season ever by a faceoff specialist featured plenty of performances that would qualify here.