Mark Matthews (lacrosse)

Mark Matthews (born January 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player for the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League. He won the 2018 NLL MVP award.

Mark Matthews
Born (1990-01-27) January 27, 1990 (age 34)
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight230 pounds (104 kg)
ShootsLeft
PositionAttack
NCAA teamDenver (2012)
NLL draft1st overall, 2012
Edmonton Rush
NLL teamToronto Rock
MLL draft4th overall, 2012
Denver Outlaws
MLL teamsDenver Outlaws
New York Lizards
Atlanta Blaze
Ohio Machine
Philadelphia Barrage
Pro career2012–
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's lacrosse
World Lacrosse Championship
Winner 2014 Denver
Runner-up 2018 Netanya
World Indoor Lacrosse Championship
Winner 2015 Onondaga
Winner 2019 Langley

He popularized the toe drag dodge, his signature move.

Canadian Lacrosse Association career

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Matthews played for the OLA Jr A Whitby Warriors for three years, winning a Minto Cup in 2011. In 2010 he played for the Coquitlam Adanacs, where he won his first Minto Cup. Matthews currently plays for the Peterborough Lakers in the Major Series Lacrosse league.

College career

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Matthews played for the University of Denver for four years. Matthews made the USILA All-American team his junior and senior seasons. He was a USILA 2nd team All American at attack in both 2011 and 2012.

With Matthews leading the team in scoring, the Denver Pioneers surprised the lacrosse world by reaching the 2011 NCAA lacrosse semi-finals.

NLL career

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Matthews was drafted by the Edmonton Rush in the first round of the 2012 NLL Entry Draft. After scoring 38 goals and 31 assists in his rookie year, Matthews was named NLL Rookie of the Year.[1] The Rush won their first championship on June 5, 2015, and Matthews was named MVP of the championship finals. In 2018, Matthews won the National Lacrosse League MVP Award after a year where he broke the league record for assists in a season with 84.[2]

Heading into the 2023 NLL season, Inside Lacrosse ranked Matthews the #10 best forward in the NLL.[3]

MLL career

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Matthews was drafted in the first round of the 2012 Major League Lacrosse draft by the Denver Outlaws, where he scored 19 goals in 9 games. In 2013, he joined the New York Lizards, where he had 11 goals in 8 games. He switched teams again for the 2014 season, this time to the Rochester Rattlers. In his two years there, he played in 8 games and scored 17 goals. In 2016, for the Atlanta Blaze, Matthews has his career high goals with 23. He stayed with the Blaze for the 2017 season, where he had 13 goals in 6 games. In 2018, Matthews joined the Ohio Machine, but only participated in 2 games for them.[4]

Statistics

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University of Denver

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Season GP G A Pts PPG
2009 15 24 9 33 2.2
2010 16 39 11 50 2.9
2011 14 46 24 70 5.0
2012 16 47 17 64 4.0
Totals 61 156 61 217 (a) 3.6
(a) graduated as all-time career points leader at University of Denver

Reference:[5]

Mark Matthews Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP

2013 Edmonton Rush 16 38 31 69 47 12 4.31 2.94 0.75 1 2 2 4 2 0 4.00 2.00 0.00
2014 Edmonton Rush 18 31 47 78 54 18 4.33 3.00 1.00 2 6 5 11 5 4 5.50 2.50 2.00
2015 Edmonton Rush 18 53 62 115 64 6 6.39 3.56 0.33 4 11 13 24 11 4 6.00 2.75 1.00
2016 Saskatchewan Rush 18 40 69 109 76 23 6.06 4.22 1.28 4 8 14 22 16 2 5.50 4.00 0.50
2017 Saskatchewan Rush 18 40 73 113 61 25 6.28 3.39 1.39 4 7 20 27 17 0 6.75 4.25 0.00
2018 Saskatchewan Rush 18 32 84 116 67 6 6.44 3.72 0.33 4 3 19 22 11 2 5.50 2.75 0.50
2019 Saskatchewan Rush 18 41 64 105 70 8 5.83 3.89 0.44 1 1 3 4 2 0 4.00 2.00 0.00
2020 Saskatchewan Rush 10 13 41 54 37 2 5.40 3.70 0.20
2022 Saskatchewan Rush 18 30 62 92 57 10 5.11 3.17 0.56
2023 Saskatchewan Rush 18 25 73 98 57 10 5.44 3.17 0.56
170 343 606 949 590 120 5.58 3.47 0.71 20 38 76 114 64 12 5.70 3.20 0.60
Career Total: 190 381 682 1,063 654 132 5.59 3.44 0.69

GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.

Major League Lacrosse

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Mark Matthews 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
2012 Denver Outlaws 9 19 0 9 28 48 9 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 5 8 15 1 0 5 0 0
2013 New York Lizards 8 11 0 6 17 28 9 0 1 0 0
2014 Rochester Rattlers 3 6 0 2 8 19 9 0 0 0 0
2015 Rochester Rattlers 5 11 0 4 15 33 7 0 2 0 0 2 5 0 1 6 17 2 0 0 0 0
2016 Atlanta Blaze 7 23 0 5 28 50 14 0 2 0 0
2017 Atlanta Blaze 6 13 0 7 20 34 6 0 1 0 0
2018 Ohio Machine 2 3 0 1 4 12 0 0 2 0 0
2019 New York Lizards 3 4 0 3 7 16 5 0 1 0 0
2019 Atlanta Blaze 4 4 0 12 16 20 3 0 0 0 0
2020 Philadelphia Barrage 5 6 0 5 11 12 6 0 1 0 0
52 100 0 54 154 272 68 0 10 0 0 4 8 0 6 14 32 3 0 5 0 0
Career Total: 56 108 0 60 168 304 71 0 15 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

Canadian Lacrosse Association

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008 Whitby Warriors OLA Jr A 20 28 36 64 10 -- -- -- -- --
2009 Whitby Warriors OLA Jr A 12 20 32 52 -- -- -- -- -- --
2011 Whitby Warriors OLA Jr A 13 34 39 73 6 -- -- -- -- --
Junior A Totals -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Senior A Totals -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Accomplishments

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  • 2010 Minto Cup Champion (Coquitlam Adanacs)
  • 2011 Minto Cup Champion (Whitby Warriors)
  • 2015 NLL Champions Cup (Edmonton Rush)
  • 2016 NLL Champions Cup (Saskatchewan Rush)
  • 2018 NLL Cup (Saskatchewan Rush)
  • 2018 NLL MVP (Saskatchewan Rush)

Awards

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Preceded by NLL Rookie of the Year
2013
Succeeded by
Preceded by Champion's Cup MVP
2015
Succeeded by
Preceded by National Lacrosse League MVP Award
2018
Succeeded by

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rush's Matthews wins Moe's Southwest Grill Rookie of the Year". NLL.com. May 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  2. ^ "MOST VALUABLE PLAYER ANNOUNCED". nll.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  3. ^ "NLL Top 50 Players: Top 30 Forwards". Inside Lacrosse. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. ^ "Mark Matthews". statscrew.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  5. ^ "Player National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.