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| Photo by REBECCA DESJARDINS Wesleyan, in the white jerseys, won the annual alumni game 14-8 held during homecoming weekend. |
It may have only been fall ball competition, but the Virginia Wesleyan men's lacrosse team has already started playing stiff competition. In a Sept. 27 scrimmage against Virginia Beach Select, Wesleyan came out on top in the match, though narrowly--13-12 in double overtime. "I was glad to see the win," said second year head coach JP Stewart. "I was initially upset that it had gone that far, but the more I evaluated the game and who we played against, the better I thought we played."
Virginia Beach Select's roster included a variety of players from Division I, II and III programs. Most of the opponents were All-Americans. Two players, Spencer White and Wesleyan alumnus Jack Lingo, play for Major League Lacrosse teams. White is a member of the New Jersey Pride and Lingo plays for the Boston Cannons. "We just wanted to find the best and most talents players that could challenge us," said Stewart.
Wesleyan jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with two goals from sophomore Dan Hofmeister and one from senior Ryan Bush before Select was able to get one past senior goalie Dustin Betthauser. Hofmeister and Bush combined for nine of Wesleyan’s goals, contributing five and four respectively. "Its easy playing with Bush, Cameron [McKay] and all the midfielders," said Hofmeister. "They get all the fast breaks. I just finish up the easy things."
Wesleyan only trailed once in the game, but saw Select come back to tie the score several times, including in the fourth quarter when Select came back to score four goals to tie the game and force overtime. Solid goaltending by sophomore Matt Shiles helped keep the first overtime scoreless. The Marlins capitalized and dominated the second overtime, taking three shots on goal and not allowing one on their own. Senior Ryan Naftzinger finally broke through and found the back of the net 1:08 into the second overtime to end the game. "We worked really hard," said Naftzinger. "They had a really good team. We were fortunate that we were able to pull out a win."
For the alumni playing in the annual Alumni game, it was not a pleasant homecoming as the Marlins defeated them 14-8. The Marlins led the entire game, beginning with a goal from first-year Dan Feathers. "The previous week, I didn’t know what to expect," said Feathers. “After the game, I was mad because I didn’t feel like I held it together. In the second game, during warm-ups, I felt good. I just went out there and did what I had to do.” Six other Marlins contributed to the 10 goals that were goal in the first half, including three goals scored in a 41-second span by Bush, sophomore Will Mumford and junior Bryan Nichols.
"Alumni game are tricky because the Alums are here for fun," said Stewart. "We approached it as a game to win." Wesleyan only had two goals in each the third and fourth quarter, but their lead was large enough over the Alumni. "We got a lot better in the course of a week," said Stewart. "We played better and the stick skills were better." For the new players, especially the freshmen, these two games were their first taste of collegiate lacrosse. While the adjustment is tough, Stewart is pleased with how they are doing.
"Overall, they're good," said Stewart. "Its tough to adjust from high school lacrosse to college lacrosse. I'm happy with them and they've done a pretty good job so far." Stiff competition will follow the lacrosse team as they open up the 2004 spring season against Division III national champions Salisbury University at Salisbury on Feb. 14.
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Julia Green |
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Katie Barg |
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Merrie Tobler |
Field hockey continued heading down the only path they've known this season: the winning path. They are currently riding a 13-game winning streak and lead the ODAC with a 7-0 record. "They don't have as big of a bench," said head coach Kim-Michael Mertes. "We mostly run them off the field with our bench continually attacking." In their past six games, the Lady Marlins have led the attack against their opponents, outscoring them 29-2.
Over Homecoming weekend, the Lady Marlins spent the weekend away in Roanoke, playing Roanoke College (4-2 ODAC, 10-4 overall) on Oct. 4 and Hollins University (0-6, 0-10) on Oct. 5. First-year Kimmy Bausch redirected a shot by first-year Laura Weidema for the first goal of the game against Roanoke towards the end of the first half. Roanoke would pull even within the first five minutes of the second half, but senior captain Gayla Dalrymple-Smith scored a goal to give the Lady Marlins the lead once again. However, Roanoke pulled even to create the game's second tie.
First- year Megan May sealed the game for the Lady Marlins as she sent the ball past Roanoke's junior goalkeeper Beth Lichty, making the final score 3-2. In their contest against Hollins, the Lady Marlins coasted to an easy 11-0 win. Senior captain Jackie Griffin, Dalrymple-Smith, Weidema and first year Michelle Krueger had two goals apiece. Bausch and fellow freshmen Heather Grotheer and Loes van der Padt each had one goal. Wesleyan outshot Hollins 33-2 in the game. The following weekend, the Lady Marlins had another two- game road trip with games against Lynchburg College (3-2, 6-6) and Sweet Briar College (1-6, 4-9).
Junior goalie Margie Baker and the Lady Marlin defense shut down the Lynchburg Hornet offense as Wesleyan won the close game 1-0. Freshman Chrissy Clancy tallied the game's only goal. The Lady Marlins finished up the weekend with a 4-0 win over the Vixens of Sweet Briar College. Griffin, Dalrymple-Smith, sophomore Molly Deaton and May each found the back of the cage. Wesleyan had 22 shots on Vixen goalie sophomore Jenn Wiley. Baker only faced one shot from Sweet Briar. Wesleyan played their final away game of the season against cross-water rival, Christopher Newport University. The Lady Marlins came away from the game with a 4-0 win over the Lady Captains. Griffin broke through the Lady Captains' defense and scored the game's first goal at 13:32 into the first half.
Wesleyan closed the first half with a 1-0 lead. However, it only took 34 seconds into the second half for Clancy to find the back of the cage and increase the Lady Marlins’ lead 2-0. Another goal from Griffin and one from freshman Erica Boyce would seal the game and give Wesleyan their first shutout win over Christopher Newport in the four years the teams have met. On Oct. 18, the Lady Marlins hosted the Salem College Spirits for Parents Weekend. A crowd of 355 watched the Lady Marlins win their second game in two days by a score of 6-0. May got scoring underway when she put the ball past the Salem goalie. Wesleyan saw their lead grow just two minutes later when sophomore Cara Byrd scored. Grotheer, Weidema and Boyce each added a goal before the end of the half to give Wesleyan a 5-0 lead.
First-year Lindsay Smith scored the second half's lone score while freshman Kelly Messina had the assist. Smith's goal and Messina's assist set two new program records. Smith became the 14th different player to score for the Lady Marlins while Messina became the 16th different Lady Marlin to have an assist. With their recent success, the team and several individuals have received national recognition from several sources. On Oct. 7, Bausch became the first Lady Marlin in history to be recognized as Rookie of the Week by Womensfieldhockey.com. The team broke into the national rankings at No. 20 in the STX/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll on Oct. 15. There have been two recognitions by the NCAA: a 4th place ranking in the South Region by the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Committee and the NCAAsports.com Team Spotlight of the Week.
"We are keeping it in perspective," said Mertes. "When the season is over, we'll look back and enjoy it." The Lady Marlins end their regular season with two home games. On Saturday, Oct. 25, they will face the Eagles of Bridgewater College at 1 p.m. Then, on Sunday, Oct. 26, the Lady Marlins will host the other Eastern Mennonite University at 1 p.m. Eastern Mennonite is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation and is 6-0 in the ODAC and 10-2-2 overall.
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