COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Maryland men's lacrosse team hauled in several Big Ten honors between yearly awards and All-Big Ten teams, the conference announced Wednesday. 

Maryland took home two yearly awards with Brett Makar named Defensive Player of the Year and Braden Erksa voted Freshman of the Year.

The Terps also placed three players on the All-Big Ten teams in Makar, faceoff specialist Luke Wierman and close defensemen Ajax Zappitello, with all three coming on the first line.

On defense, Makar has led a unit holding foes to only 10.4 goals per game. Individually, the New York native has grabbed 36 groundballs and forced 17 turnovers. He is the fourth Terp to be named Defensive Player of the Year following Casey Ikeda (2015), Tim Muller (2017), and Nick Grill (2021).

This marks the second consecutive season that Makar has been named the Big Ten Defensive player of the Year and the third straight year he has been First-Team All-Big Ten.

As a true freshman attacker, Erksa has been at the center of Maryland's offense, leading the team in points with 32. His 17 goals and 15 assists through 12 games has paced the team, highlighted by the game-winning goal in overtime on the road at Ohio State. 

He is Maryland's first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Year winner.

Wierman earns All-Big Ten First-Team honors for the second consecutive year. Widely regarded as the best faceoff specialist in the country, Wierman has won 191 of 308 faceoffs this season, good for 62 percent. He also leads the team with 104 groundballs. 

Zappitello has made his name as one of the top defenders in the sport this season, guarding and stopping several of the top attackers in the game. His 21 caused turnovers lead the team and he also has 29 groundballs. Zappitello also has two goals and a pair of assists to his name. 

Additionally, Teddy Dolan is Maryland's 2023 Big Ten Sportsmanship nominee.

Maryland is back on action on Saturday against sixth-seeded Rutgers.