BALTIMORE – University of California-Berkeley senior attackman Max McKone and University of St. Thomas senior midfielder Andrew Sotis have been named the recipients of the Godekeraw Award, which is presented by US Lacrosse to the top scholar-athlete in each division of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA).

The Godekeraw Award is made possible through a generous gift from Dr. Laurence A. Feldman, founder of LaxPower.com, to the US Lacrosse Foundation. The winners of the award receive an engraved, hand-made stick crafted by the legendary Alf Jacques of the Onondaga Nation to honor their achievement.

McKone led all of MCLA Division I in goals scored (68) while leading Cal to a 16-3 record and a berth in the semifinals of the 2017 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour. In addition, McKone held down a 3.76 GPA in business administration while also academically tutoring and lacrosse mentoring underprivileged inner city youth with the Oakland (Calif.) Lacrosse Club.

"The fall of his sophomore year Max had some of the goofiest stickwork and shooting mechanics I'd ever seen,” said Cal head coach Ned Webster. “He's always been a strong student and an all-around stellar human being, but it has been astonishing and extremely satisfying to see his transformation as a lacrosse player these past few years, and it's all due to his relentless work ethic and unquenchable desire to be a champion.

“While we did not achieve our main team goals this year, I feel proud of our success and improvement, and Max and his classmates' leadership is an enormous reason why. No one I have ever coached in 12 years is more deserving of such a prestigious award than Max McKone."

Sotis was the second-leading scorer (31g, 14a) for Division II’s top-seeded and top-ranked team, helping the Tommies (15-3) advance all the way to the national championship contest. He amassed a 3.22 GPA in mechanical engineering while spending the last two summers building houses and caring for orphaned HIV positive children in Guatemala.

“Andrew is a tremendously well-rounded individual, and someone who truly embodies all the things that the Godekeraw Award represents,” said St. Thomas coach Brian Gross. “In addition to his on-field performance and leadership of our team as a senior captain, he is an outstanding student and serves the UST campus community as the senior class president.

"What has impressed me most about Andrew, though, is how he serves the greater community. The pictures from his summers in Guatemala the past two years are some of the most selfless and humbling images I have ever seen.”

The Godekeraw Award is presented each year to the student-athlete who has shown considerable success on the field, a 3.2 GPA or higher in the classroom and substantial community service record. It is the most prestigious award presented to an MCLA player.