Introduction
Mark Matthews (born January 27, 1990) is a professional lacrosse player for the Saskatchewan Rush in the National Lacrosse League and the Ohio Machine in Major League Lacrosse.
Canadian Lacrosse Association career
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 Langley Thunder of the Western Lacrosse Association
College career
Matthews played for the University of Denver for four years. Matthews made the USILA All-American team his junior and senior seasons. With Matthews leading the team in scoring, the Denver Pioneers surprised the lacrosse world by reaching the 2011 NCAA lacrosse semi-finals.
NLL career
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. 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.
MLL career
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.
Statistics
University of Denver
| 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 | 3.9 | |
| 2012 | 16 | 47 | 17 | 64 | 4.0 | |
| Totals | 61 | 156 | 61 | 217(a) | 3.3 |
- all-time career points leader for University of Denver
NLL
Reference:
| 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 134 | 288 | 471 | 759 | 476 | 100 | 5.66 | 3.55 | 0.75 | 20 | 38 | 76 | 114 | 64 | 12 | 5.70 | 3.20 | 0.60 | ||
| Career Total: | 154 | 326 | 547 | 873 | 540 | 112 | 5.67 | 3.51 | 0.73 | ||||||||||
Major League Lacrosse
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | G | 2ptG | A | Pts | LB | PIM | GP | G | 2ptG | A | Pts | LB | PIM | ||
Canadian Lacrosse Association
| 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
- 2011 Minto Cup Champion (Whitby Warriors)
- 2016 NLL Champions Cup (Saskatchewan Rush)
Awards
| Preceded by Adam Jones |
NLL Rookie of the Year 2013 |
Succeeded by Logan Schuss |
| Preceded by Dan Dawson |
Champion's Cup MVP 2015 |
Succeeded by Aaron Bold |
| Preceded by Lyle Thompson |
National Lacrosse League MVP Award 2018 |
Succeeded by Dane Dobbie |