LONG ISLAND, NY - Last week, the Long Island Lacrosse Journal named Purchase College junior Ben Erkan one of the top collegiate men's lacrosse juniors from all of Long Island, during its end of season wrap up.

The Long Island Lacrosse Journal, which is the leader in news for all things associated with the game on Long Island, focuses on men's and women's lacrosse at the high school and collegiate levels. The site also does featured stories on players and coaches that live in Nassau or Suffolk county.

Erkan, who is from Bellport, NY, was one of 53 junior men's lacrosse players selected for the distinction. The group consisted of players across all three NCAA Divisions and were broken down into the following categories:

Attackers - 19
Attackers/Midfielders - 1
Midfielders - 14
Face-off Get-off - 3
Long-stick Midfielders - 3
Defensemen - 6
Goalies - 7

Erkan was one of the 14 midfielders picked for the list, as he finished his third year with four goals, three assists, 13 shots on goal, six ground balls and a .667 face-off percentage in two games. The season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For his efforts, the junior was named to the Skyline Conference Weekly Honor Roll following his performance against SUNY New Paltz. He was also named one of three captains for the Panthers at the beginning of the season. 

As a sophomore in 2019, he finished second on the team in goals with 21 and ground balls with 38. Erkan also recorded 62 shots on goal, 14 caused turnovers, seven assists and a .485 face-off percentage in 13 games.

During his freshman campaign, the Bellport native started all 14 games and finished with 17 goals, 13 assists, a team-high 76 ground balls, nine caused turnovers and was the squad's main face-off player, finishing with a .463 percentage.

To read the LILJ's complete list of the top juniors, click here.