NEWARK, N.J. — NJIT men's lacrosse players Liam Brown and Garrett Muscatella have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Men's Academic All-District at-large team for Division I, CSC announced Tuesday afternoon.

Brown and Muscatella were two of the eight combined men's and women's at-large selections NJIT produced - three in women's fencing, two in men's volleyball, and one in men's fencing

The 2023 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's At-Large Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 21 (men) and June 22 (women). The CSC Academic All-District® teams include the student-athletes listed at the links above.

Brown, a goalkeeper from Cedar Grove, was named to the America East All-Academic team for the third consecutive year on May 3 after earning spots in 2021 and 2022. He was selected this year after posting a 3.85 GPA while majoring in Biomedical Engineering. 

Brown played every minute in goal for the Highlanders and made a career-high and America East-leading 192 saves in 2023. His 14.77 saves per game during the regular season led the conference and all of NCAA Division I. Brown reached 500 career saves against Merrimack on April 8 and ended the year with 550 career stops, second all-time at NJIT (Nick Marzullo, 579). 

Brown made double-digit stops in every game - including a season-best 20 in the opener at Siena - and the 38 saves he made in the first two games of the year were the second-most of his career (40 in 2020; 19 at Delaware on 2/15/20; 21 vs Lehigh on 2/22/20). He posted four of the top 15 save performances in the conference this year (20 at Siena, 18 vs Mount St. Mary's, Lindenwood, and Bryant) and ended the regular season in the top ten nationally among active leaders with his 550 saves (currently ninth). 

Muscatella, a midfielder from Long Valley, joined Brown on the All-Academic team for the first time after producing a 3.85 GPA and majoring in Biomedical Engineering.

Muscatella was named America East Offensive Player of the Week for the first time on March 13 after helping lead the Highlanders to a thrilling 14-13 win over Lindenwood on March 11. On the year, Muscatella exploded for career numbers in goals (22), assists (8), points (30), shots (55), shot percentage (.400), shots on goal (37), and ground balls (19) while matching his career high with three caused turnovers. He also had four games with at least three goals, including setting a career high with four goals on two occasions - against Lindenwood on March 11 and at UAlbany on April 15. In between, he set career highs in assists and points in a three-goal, three-assist effort at Merrimack on April 8.