Agundez makes program history as Pride men's lacrosse program's first NAIA Player of the Week

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Getting their 2025 season underway just yesterday, the Clarke University men's lacrosse team earned their first weekly individual honor of the season as midfielder/faceoff man Abraham Agundez earned the Heart of America Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor, Heart officials announced Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday, NAIA officials announced that Agundez earned the national Defensive Player of the Week honor as he becomes the first member of the Clarke men's lacrosse team to ever receive national recognition for a weekly award.

Agundez helped lead the way for the Pride's ressounding 22-7 win over Augustana College where Agundez's ability to go 16-fo-18 at the faceoff dot was a major factor in CU having a majority of the offensive possession that would lead to the team tying the school record for goals in a game with those 22 tallies.

The senior from Edgewater, Md. would also tally his second career goal in his second season at Clarke with 3:41 left in the second quarter as he would take the ball straight into the offensive zone after winning a faceoff and shoot straight away to make it 13-2 for CU at the time, where the score would hold going into halftime as he also added an assist earlier in the second.

This is the third-straight season with at least one Heart Defensive Player of the Week honor for the Pride and the second-straight season earning the award after their season opener as Agundez joins his teammate Jack Fritz and 2024 graduate Drew Dorenbush as fellow Heart Defensive Player of the Week recipients.

Clarke men's lacrosse will be on the road for their next five games starting with a road trip to Madison, Wis. this Saturday, Mar. 1 to face Edgewood College for a scheduled 12:00 p.m. CT opening faceoff.