Roanoke, Lynchburg Locked in First Place
FOREST, Va. --- The
parity of ODAC men’s lacrosse has extended all the way to the
polls as two teams sit locked in first place in the 2011 ODAC
Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll. Roanoke College and
Lynchburg College each collected 59 poll points, but the Maroons
did receive five first place votes to the Hornets’ three top
nods. Hampden-Sydney College (48 pts.) and Washington and Lee
University (42 pts.) stand tight for third and fourth in the annual
survey of the league’s coaches.
ODAC teams and athletes have received plenty of attention across
the country in various preseason materials. Both RC and LC
are ranked in the Lacrosse Magazine and Inside
Lacrosse/Face-off Yearbook rankings. The Maroons are
rated eighth and fifth by the two outlets, respectively, while the
Hornets are 13th and 11th.
Hampden-Sydney sits 20th in the latter publication.
Roanoke midfielder Justin Tuma headlines a list of seven ODAC
athletes honored as preseason All-Americans by the Face-off
Yearbook. Tuma was the conference’s only member on
the first team, and the same holds true for fellow Maroon,
defenseman Alex Burkhead, on the second team. Five players
were named to the honorable mention team including attack Jeff
Keating and midfielder Trey Keeley from Roanoke, attack Dylan Hoff
and midfielder Max Voumard from Lynchburg, and defenseman Joe
LaSala from Washington and Lee.
The Maroons and reigning ODAC Coach of the Year, Bill Pilat, made
their way to the national quarterfinals in 2010, powered by a
school-record 18-3 record. RC earned 11 all-conference
selections with five set to return in 2011. Tuma (30 goals,
19 assists, 128 groundballs, 156-of-243 face-offs) and Burkhead
(57gb, 13 caused turnovers) were both All-ODAC First Team
honorees. Tuma led the ODAC in groundballs per game at 6.10
and face-off percentage (.642). Joining them from the second
team are Keating (34g, 27a), Keeley (22g, 30a) and short-stick
specialist Drew Manley (4g, 11a, 67gb). Keating placed ninth
in points per game (2.90). Also back is top scoring threat
Richard Lachlan (37g, 9a).
Lynchburg welcomes back four of its seven All-ODAC players and all
but one of its top six scorers from 2010. Hoff, a second team
choice, was fifth in the league in goals per game (2.22), while
leading the Hornets with 63 points (40g, 23a). Midfielder
Eddie Bilinkas (19g, 12a) joined Hoff on the second team, while Ben
Sauer (22g, 16a) was an honorable mention member. Pat Ohrem
(16g, 15a) and Voumard (22g, 7a), the reigning ODAC Rookie of the
Year, round out the top returning scorers. Goalkeeper Franc
Cook, also an honorable mention selection, posted an ODAC
third-best 8.28 goals-against-average and was second with a .559
save percentage (142 total saves).
Hampden-Sydney will have to do without the services 2010 ODAC
Player of the Year, Kyle Jett, but four all-conference performers
are back for another go-round. First team attack Micah Keller
(47g, 12a) led the ODAC at 2.76 goals per game and was sixth with
3.59 points per contest. He also notched four game-winning
goals, tying RC’s Keating for the league lead.
He’s joined on the front lines by second team choice Ben
Clarke (34g, 16a) and honorable mention midfielder Cole Hawthorne
(25g, 21a). Clarke was ninth in goals (1.89) and
10th in points (2.78) per game. Defenseman Andrew
Pritzlaff (32gb, 14ct), also an honorable mention designee, keys
the back line.
Washington and Lee brings back a pair of all-conference athletes
led by defenseman LaSala. A second team choice, LaSala led
the team with 40 caused turnovers to go with 26 groundballs.
He’s joined in back by honorable mention defenseman Austin
Wernecke (34gb, 17ct). The top returning scorer for W&L
is attack Mac Means (24g, 4a). Midfielder Rob Look is in line
to take over the face-off duties full-time after placing second in
the conference with a .632 win percentage (84-of-133).
Randolph-Macon will be under new leadership in 2011 with the
arrival of J.B. Sheridan as head coach. His first year at the
reins will be eased by the return of the Yellow Jackets’ top
three scorers, including All-ODAC First Team attack Tyler
Midwinter. Midwinter (40g, 17a) led the league at 3.80 points
per game. He’s joined by second team midfielder Patrick
Egan (24g, 14a). Attack Jake Leddy (30g, 20a) is also back
after finishing seventh in points per game (3.33) and eighth in
goals per game (2.0).
Virginia Wesleyan features all five of its all-conference award
winners from 2010. Leading scorer Adam Nycz (28g, 13a),
short-stick specialist Mike Tibbs (5g, 2a, 53gb, 18ct) and
goalkeeper Tyler Keech (8.96 GAA) were all second team
choices. Keech led the ODAC with a .629 save percentage and
232 total saves. Midfielder Travis Puls (17g 11a) and
defenseman Devon Heath (28gb, 8ct) were honorable mention in
2010.
Guilford welcomes Tom Carmean to Greensboro as the new mentor for
the Quakers. Guilford will be without its two All-ODAC
selections from 2010, but does return four of its top six scorers
in attacks Chris Ashcraft (18g, 9a) and Chris Sisk (18g, 7a) and
midfielders Greg Nash (12g, 14a) and Ken Keesee (13g, 3a).
Randolph begins its second season competing in the ODAC with a
roster stocked with 15 newcomers including 14 freshmen led by
attack Colt Wood. Honorable mention keeper Kevin McCracken
(213 saves, .521 save%) is back between the pipes. Double
figure scorers Stephen Allman (15g, 4a) and T.J. Story (11g, 2a)
also return to don their WildCat jerseys.
Listed below is the complete 2011 ODAC Men’s Lacrosse
Preseason Poll. For more information, visit the websites of
any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC’s home on
the Internet at www.odaconline.com.
2011 ODAC MEN’S LACROSSE PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes
1. Roanoke (5) | 59 pts. |
1. Lynchburg (3) | 59 pts. |
3. Hampden-Sydney | 48 pts. |
4. Washington and Lee | 42 pts. |
5. Randolph-Macon | 31 pts. |
6. Virginia Wesleyan | 23 pts. |
7. Guilford | 15 pts. |
8. Randolph | 11 pts. |