Matt Poskay (born January 13, 1984) is an American professional lacrosse player who played with the Boston Cannons and New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). Poskay attended Arthur L. Johnson High School (Clark, New Jersey), where he set a national high school record for goals scored in his career. He played his collegiate lacrosse at the University of Virginia, where he won collegiate national titles in both 2003 and 2006. He was part of the MLL championship team in 2011 with the Cannons.
| Born | January 13, 1984 Clark, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 204 pounds (93 kg) |
| Position | Attackman |
| NCAA team | Virginia (2006) |
| MLL draft | 12th overall, 2006 Boston Cannons |
| MLL teams | Boston Cannons New York Lizards |
| Pro career | 2006–2015 |
| Website | Matt Poskay |
Poskay scored 468 points during his high school career, a New Jersey state record that stood was broken by Canyon Birch, who graduated from Manasquan High School in 2019 with 558 points.[1] His 362 goals at Arthur L. Johnson High School set a national high school record, which he first broke during his junior year in 2001.[2][3] He held the national career record for goals scored during his high school career for nearly a decade[4] (a record since surpassed and held as of 2015 by Zed Williams, with 444 career goals), and ranked tied for fifth nationally in career goals as of 2015.[5]
In addition to lacrosse, Poskay played quarterback on his high school's football team, earning first team all-state honors as a senior, and started at point guard for the school's basketball team.[6]
While at the University of Virginia, he was recognized twice as an All-American and was part of the school's Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship teams in 2003, as well as the team that won the 2006 championship with a 17–0 season record that made them the 12th undefeated champion in Division I history.[6][7]
Poskay took over the Head Coaching position at Montclair State University in fall 2018. Prior to Montclair, Poskay was the Men's Lacrosse Head Coach at Wagner College since 2011, prior to which he served as an assistant coach at Arthur L. Johnson High School and for two years as an assistant coach at Drew University.[4][6]
He was inducted into the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2013, at the age of 29.[6]
MLL career
editPoskay was selected in the second round by the Boston Cannons, the 12th pick overall, in the 2006 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.[8]
During his rookie season in 2006, Poskay led the Cannons with 25 goals in eight games, leading the team in goals and setting a team rookie record. In 2007, he scored 21 goals, earning a spot as an all-star and was named the MLL All-Star Game MVP with a four-goal performance. He was an all-star again in 2008, leading the team with 34 goals. Poskay was recognized as winner of the Major League Lacrosse MVP Award and the Major League Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2010, a season in which he scored a team-record 45 goals. In the 2011 season, Poskay's 30 goals tied for the most in MLL, in a season in which the Cannons won the league championship. In 2012, Poskay led the Cannons with 38 goals.[8]
| Matt Poskay | 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 | Boston Cannons | 8 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 56 | 8 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | Boston Cannons | 12 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 70 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2008 | Boston Cannons | 12 | 34 | 0 | 7 | 41 | 96 | 21 | 0 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2009 | Boston Cannons | 7 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | Boston Cannons | 12 | 45 | 1 | 6 | 52 | 98 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | Boston Cannons | 12 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 37 | 77 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Boston Cannons | 13 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 105 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Boston Cannons | 13 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 78 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2015 | New York Lizards | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 96 | 244 | 1 | 31 | 276 | 646 | 96 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career Total: | 102 | 254 | 1 | 32 | 287 | 669 | 101 | 0 | 36 | 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- ^ New Jersey Best Known Lacrosse Records, LaxRecords.com. Accessed June 1, 2020.
- ^ Remo, Jessica. "ALJ Alum Matthew Poskay to be Inducted into NJ Lacrosse Hall of Fame; Poskay is the national high school record holder with 362 goals and the NJ record holder for career points.", Clark-Garwood Patch, January 23, 2013. Accessed August 3, 2015. "Matthew Poskay, former Alumni of Arthur L. Johnson High School has done it all. A professional player, a member of the US National Team pool, an All-American and National Champion at Virginia, the national high school record holder with 362 goals, and the New Jersey State record holder with 468 career points, Poskay has proven himself as an elite player at every level."
- ^ Staff. "Wagner College men's lacrosse coach Matt Poskay inducted into N.J. Lacrosse Hall of Fame", Staten Island Advance, February 1, 2013. Accessed September 4, 2015. "How dominant was Poskay? Consider that he set the national record during his junior season of 2001."
- ^ a b Staff. "Poskay Named Wagner Head Coach", Major League Lacrosse, June 10, 2011. Accessed August 4, 2015. "He has held the national high school record with 362 career goals for nearly a decade and also tallied 468 career points, tops in state history."
- ^ Loveday, Mike. Individual Lacrosse Records: Career Goals, LaxRecords.com, June 2, 2014. Accessed August 3, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "2018 Men's Lacrosse Coaching Staff". Wagner College. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- ^ Thamel, Pete. "Virginia Claims National Title, and a Victory for Lacrosse", The New York Times, May 30, 2006. Accessed September 4, 2015. "The Cavaliers throttled the Minutemen, 15–7, spoiling the first appearance by UMass in the N.C.A.A. final. The victory gave Virginia its fourth N.C.A.A. title, and at 17–0, Virginia became the 12th undefeated Division I champion."
- ^ a b Matt 'Posk' Poskay #7, Boston Cannons. Accessed August 3, 2015.