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 35) Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight	230 pounds (104 kg)
Shoots	Left
Position	Attack
NCAA team	Denver (2012)
NLL draft	1st overall, 2012 Edmonton Rush
NLL team	Toronto Rock
MLL draft	4th overall, 2012 Denver Outlaws
MLL teams	Denver Outlaws New York Lizards Atlanta Blaze Ohio Machine Philadelphia Barrage
Pro career	2012–
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.^[1]

Early life

Matthews played minor hockey growing up in Oshawa and was drafted by the OHL's Saginaw Spirit in 2006.

College career

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.

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 Peterborough Lakers in the Major Series Lacrosse league.

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

Heading into the 2023 NLL season, Inside Lacrosse ranked Matthews the #10 best forward in the NLL.^[4]

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.^[5]

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	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

NLL

Reference:^[6]

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

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

				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

• 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

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

See also

• Denver Pioneers men's lacrosse
• 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship