MSL 
Erich Acton
Erich Acton 
When Everything Clicks — The Breakthrough of Erich Acton
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Uxbridge, Ontario
MSL Team: Brampton Excelsiors
College: Rochester Institute of Technology
Major: Electrical Engineering Technology
Development Isn't Always a Straight Line
Sometimes a player's development is obvious.
Every year the numbers climb.
Every year the role gets bigger.
Every year you can see exactly where the player is headed.
Then there are players like Erich Acton.
The ability was always there.
He produced in junior lacrosse.
He earned opportunities in Major Series Lacrosse.
He went to one of the strongest NCAA Division III programs in the country.
But then came 2026.
And suddenly everything exploded.
At RIT, Acton went from 17 points the previous season to 95.
He became a First Team All-American.
He was named his conference's Offensive Player of the Year.
Then he came home and stepped directly into the Brampton Excelsiors offense.
And kept producing.
Sometimes development happens gradually.
Sometimes everything just clicks.
Uxbridge
Acton is from Uxbridge, Ontario, and attended Everest Academy.
He also played club field lacrosse with Edge.
By 2021, he had committed to continue his field lacrosse career at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
But like so many Ontario players, much of Acton's development came inside the box.
And his path would lead him to one of the most historic names in Canadian lacrosse.
The Brampton Excelsiors.
Brampton
Acton's connection to the Excelsiors began before he reached the senior level.
In 2021, he appeared in four OJLL Futures games.
Then came his first full Junior A season in 2022.
In 18 games:
17 goals
17 assists
34 points
He also spent six games with the West Durham Ironheads in Junior B, producing another:
8 goals
14 assists
22 points
The offensive ability was becoming apparent.
But Acton was only getting started.
Taking Another Step
In 2023, Acton returned to Brampton and took another substantial step forward.
Twenty Junior A games.
25 goals
29 assists
54 points
He was becoming one of the important pieces of the Excelsiors offense.
There were nights when his ability to create became particularly obvious.
Against Kitchener-Waterloo, Acton produced six assists and seven points, then ended the game himself with an overtime winner.
Against Six Nations, he scored a hat trick and added two assists.
He could finish.
He could distribute.
And he was beginning to show that he could take over stretches of games.
That summer also brought his first taste of Major Series Lacrosse.
Acton appeared in one game for the senior Excelsiors.
He scored.
One MSL game.
One MSL goal.
Not a bad introduction.
One More Junior Season
Acton returned for his final Junior A season in 2024.
In 17 regular-season games:
16 goals
31 assists
47 points
Then he added another eight points in three playoff games.
His complete Junior A regular-season career finished at:
55 games
58 goals
77 assists
135 points
More than two points per game.
Acton also received another taste of MSL action that summer, appearing twice for Brampton.
Again, he produced.
Two goals.
One assist.
Three points in two games.
The senior game didn't appear to intimidate him.
RIT
Meanwhile, Acton had entered an entirely different environment at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
RIT isn't simply another college lacrosse program.
The Tigers expect to compete nationally.
That means earning playing time isn't easy.
Acton appeared in seven games during his first season in 2024.
He recorded two assists.
No goals.
For somebody accustomed to producing offensively, patience suddenly became part of the development process.
Waiting for the Opportunity
In 2025, Acton's role increased.
He played 19 games.
His production improved to:
10 goals
7 assists
17 points
He scored twice and added an assist against St. John Fisher.
He produced another two goals and an assist during the NCAA Tournament against Ohio Northern.
Progress.
But nothing that suggested what was coming next.
Then came 2026.
The Explosion
This wasn't a small step.
It was a leap.
Acton went from 17 points in 2025 to:
61 goals
34 assists
95 points
in 24 games.
Seventy-eight more points.
Fifty-one more goals.
He recorded at least one point in 23 of RIT's 24 games.
His shooting percentage approached 50 percent.
And when the games became more important, Acton became even more dangerous.
During five NCAA Tournament games:
17 goals
5 assists
22 points
Against Babson in the NCAA quarterfinals, Acton produced a career-high:
7 goals
10 points
And in the NCAA Division III championship game against Tufts, he scored three more times.
This wasn't simply a good season.
It was one of the best offensive seasons in NCAA Division III lacrosse.
The Honours
The awards followed.
Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year.
First Team All-Liberty League.
First Team USILA All-American.
Acton had gone from fighting for a larger role at RIT to becoming one of the premier offensive players in Division III lacrosse.
In one season.
That's what a breakthrough looks like.
Protected by Brampton
Brampton clearly knew what it had.
Before the 2025 Major Series Lacrosse Entry Draft, the Excelsiors placed Acton on their Junior Protected List.
That meant there would be no draft-day uncertainty.
He was staying with Brampton.
His senior opportunities had been limited while he completed his junior career and continued at RIT.
But in 2026, the opportunity finally arrived.
And Acton was ready.
Welcome to Major Series Lacrosse
Acton's first full MSL season wasn't a gradual introduction.
He became part of Brampton's offense.
Over 12 games, Acton produced:
11 goals
18 assists
29 points
Almost two-and-a-half points per game.
For a young forward playing his first full season against Major Series Lacrosse defenses, that's impressive.
But watching the games tells you more.
Acton wasn't simply collecting secondary assists.
He was making plays.
Showing What He Can Do
Against Oakville, Acton scored twice in the opening period as Brampton went toe-to-toe with one of the league's strongest teams for 40 minutes.
Against Cobourg, he opened the scoring with a jump and dunk, then added another by diving across the crease on the power play.
Later in that game, Acton turned distributor.
He assisted Thomas McConvey.
Then Mike Triolo.
Then Triolo again.
Different situations.
Different ways of creating offense.
That's what makes him interesting.
He's not limited to one way of attacking.
A Complete Night Against Owen Sound
Then came one of Acton's best performances of the MSL season.
Against Owen Sound, he opened the scoring off a Mike Triolo pass.
Later in the first period, he assisted goals from Kealan Pilon and Eric Ward.
And with Brampton trying to put the game away late, Acton struck again.
Final score:
Brampton 9, Owen Sound 7.
The Three Stars:
1. Erich Acton
2. Mike Triolo
3. Riley Ford
Two goals.
Two assists.
First Star.
For a young player establishing himself at the Senior A level, those are the nights that matter.
Two Different Games
One of the things that makes Acton's development particularly interesting is that he's learning two versions of lacrosse simultaneously.
At RIT, he's an NCAA attackman/midfielder.
Space.
Movement.
Dodging.
Shooting angles.
Off-ball play.
Then he comes home.
Now it's box lacrosse.
Less room.
More contact.
Shorter decision-making windows.
Pick-and-rolls.
Quick sticks.
Crease play.
Different angles entirely.
And Acton is producing in both.
That's valuable.
Because each game teaches things that can make him better at the other.
Still Developing
Here's the other thing to remember.
Acton isn't finished.
The 2026 season wasn't the end of his college career.
He's still developing at RIT.
He's still learning Major Series Lacrosse.
And he's still building his résumé toward professional box lacrosse.
Which makes what happened this year particularly intriguing.
Maybe 2026 was the breakout.
Maybe it's only the beginning.
By the Numbers
Hometown: Uxbridge, Ontario
Born: January 16, 2003
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
High School: Everest Academy
Club Field Lacrosse: Edge
College: Rochester Institute of Technology
Major: Electrical Engineering Technology
Junior A: Brampton Excelsiors
2022 Brampton Junior A:
17 goals, 17 assists, 34 points — 18 games
2022 West Durham Junior B:
8 goals, 14 assists, 22 points — 6 games
2023 Brampton Junior A:
25 goals, 29 assists, 54 points — 20 games
2024 Brampton Junior A:
16 goals, 31 assists, 47 points — 17 games
Junior A Career:
58 goals, 77 assists, 135 points — 55 regular-season games
2026 RIT:
61 goals, 34 assists, 95 points — 24 games
2026 Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year
2026 First Team All-Liberty League
2026 First Team USILA All-American
2026 NCAA Tournament:
17 goals, 5 assists, 22 points — 5 games
2026 Brampton MSL:
11 goals, 18 assists, 29 points — 12 games
Gary Groob's Take
Sometimes you can actually watch the moment when a player takes the next step.
I think we're watching that with Erich Acton.
Look at where he was a year ago.
Seventeen points at RIT.
A year later?
Ninety-five.
That's not normal progression.
That's an explosion.
Sixty-one goals.
First Team All-American.
Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year.
Then Erich comes back to Ontario, steps into Major Series Lacrosse with Brampton and produces 29 points in 12 games.
That's when I start paying attention.
Because field lacrosse success doesn't automatically mean you're going to walk into Major Series Lacrosse and produce.
This is a different game.
The space disappears.
The contact increases.
You're playing against men who have spent years defending some of the best offensive players in the world.
And Erich looked comfortable.
What I've enjoyed watching is the variety in his game.
I've seen him shoot.
I've seen him distribute.
I've seen him dive across the crease.
I've seen the jump and dunk.
And I've seen him make plays for the veterans around him.
That last part matters.
Look at the players he's sharing the floor with in Brampton.
Mike Triolo.
Thomas McConvey.
Kealan Pilon.
Young players can sometimes feel like they have to prove they belong every time the ball reaches their stick.
Shoot.
Force something.
Make the big play.
Erich doesn't have to do that.
He can move the ball.
Let the offense work.
Then when his opportunity appears, attack it.
The Owen Sound game was probably one of the best examples.
Goal.
Assist.
Assist.
Then another goal late.
Four points.
First Star.
He affected the game in different ways.
And I think the RIT experience is helping.
He's learning how to create with space in the field game and then coming home and learning how to create when there isn't any space in the box game.
Those are two very different problems to solve.
Erich is figuring out both.
But the number I keep coming back to is still 95.
Because you don't accidentally score 95 points.
Something changed.
Confidence.
Opportunity.
Experience.
Probably all three.
Whatever it was, Erich Acton found another level in 2026.
And now the interesting question isn't whether he can play at this level.
We've seen enough to answer that.
The question is:
How many more levels does he have?
He's still playing college lacrosse.
He's just completed his first full MSL season.
His professional box career is still ahead of him.
We're not looking at the finished product.
We're watching the breakthrough.
And sometimes that's the most interesting time to discover a player.
That's why Erich Acton belongs among the Stars of MSL.
— Gary Groob