Trio of Trojans Make NAIA All-American Team in Men’s Lacrosse
UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor men's lacrosse team made more history recently, with Jackson Dale, Henry Cooper and Lucas Pacer being named as NAIA Third-Team All-Americans after their record-setting campaigns with the Purple and Gold.
Dale, Cooper and Pacer are the second, third and fourth NAIA All-Americans in the seven-year history of the Taylor men's lacrosse program. The trio joins Aidan Craig (2024) as the only players in program history to garner the prestigious honor and marks the first time that TU has collected multiple All-American awards in the same season.
Dale led the NAIA with 66 assists, finishing just five off a new program record. The junior did set a new TU record with 111 points, ranking No. 2 in the NAIA and also added 45 goals to rank No. 21 in the NAIA. Those stats were all new career-highs for the two-time All-WHAC standout and pushed Dale to No. 1 in program history with 104 career goals, No. 2 with 201 points and No. 2 with 97 assists in his three seasons in Upland.
Cooper finished his second season with the Purple and Gray atop the NAIA with 221 shots, No. 3 with 120 shots on goal, No. 8 with 61 goals and No. 14 with 76 points. The sophomore set new TU records in shots, shots on goal and goals for a single season en route to earning his second All-WHAC nod in as many years. Those numbers helped Cooper climb to No. 2 in Taylor history with 101 goals and No. 4 with 126 points at the halfway point of his collegiate career.
Pacer led the NAIA with 58 caused turnovers and ranked No. 4 in the nation with 131 ground balls during his final collegiate campaign. The senior posted career-highs in each statistic and broke TU's single-season records in each, doubling the previous caused turnovers record. The two-time All-WHAC standout finished his time with the Trojans as the program's all-time record holder with 295 ground balls and 114 caused turnovers.
The play of Dale, Cooper and Pacer helped Taylor to a host of program-bests, including 10 wins, a No. 8 NAIA ranking, TU's first-ever home postseason contest and the program's first-ever postseason victory.