FOREST, Va. --- Spring sports have been extraordinarily successful for the ODAC and its member schools in recent seasons, lending to a lot of excitement as the weather turns warmer in the final third of the academic year. That was true of the 2020 campaign as well before competition was halted due to the climate surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, some of the ODAC's best teams and student-athletes did take to their respective arenas and gave us a glimpse of what could have been an outstanding season.

In this installment of a series of season wrap-up features designed at recognizing some of those early achievements in the conference's spring sports, we take a look at the ODAC's men's lacrosse programs.

In addition to the sections below showcasing a conference-wide view of the sport, wrap-ups and features from our member schools will be included to provide a more in-depth perspective for each program. The school features are posted at the bottom of this release and will be included as they become available.

STARTING OFF THE SEASON STRONG

Several ODAC squads opened their seasons on the right foot, but none moreso than Randolph-Macon College. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 7-0 start, one of just three teams in Division III (with Salisbury University and Ursinus College) to finish the season unbeaten with that many victories. Their wins included a 10-9 OT thriller on the road at Catholic University and a 17-14 away victory at St. Mary's College.

Guilford College rattled off three straight wins to start the season on the way to a 6-2 mark. In those six victories, the Quakers out-scored their opponents, 99-47. Virginia Wesleyan University also won its first three games towards a 5-1 start. That included a 22-3 thumping of SUNY-Delhi.

Shenandoah University and Hampden-Sydney College wrapped the shortened season at 4-2. The Hornets opened 1-1 before winning three straight including a 20-4 drubbing of Chatham College. The Tigers, which defeated Shenandoah in SU's final game, earned a tough 11-9 decision over Catholic amongst their wins. H-SC's two losses were to #14 Christopher Newport University (10-9) and #8 Cabrini University (16-6), as ranked by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). 

OUR SCHEDULES ARE SUPER TOUGH

The University of Lynchburg routinely plays one of the toughest schedules in Division III and that was no different to start the 2020 season. The Hornets' four non-conference games were all against top-15 teams as ranked by the USILA. Lynchburg dropped an outing to top-ranked Salisbury University (16-10) before topping #15 Franklin & Marshall College (19-10). The Hornets remaining two nationally-ranked opponents were Cabrini (L, 17-15) and #11 York College (Pa.)(L, 14-7). Lynchburg had three more nationally-rated games to be played on its slate against #13 St. Lawrence University, CNU, and #18 Stevenson University.

Washington and Lee University also featured against four nationally-ranked squads amongst its six non-league contests. They squared off against York (L, 13-9), #5 Denison University (L, 17-11), Franklin & Marshall (L, 15-5), and #9 Gettysburg College (L, 12-11). The Generals also had CNU on their future schedule.

Roanoke College took on three national-caliber programs. The Maroons opened with CNU (L, 24-12) and later met Denison (L, 13-7) and Dickinson College (L, 10-8), which was receiving votes towards the final USILA poll.

SPEAKING OF RANKINGS...

Several ODAC teams were either ranked or earning consideration towards the USILA's final poll. While Washington and Lee (13th) and Lynchburg (16th) started the year in the preseason table, the Hornets were the lone ODAC team inside the final top-20 at #17. W&L (19 votes), Randolph-Macon (12), and Hampden-Sydney (6) all received votes towards the final survey.

MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD

If you read the feature on the ODAC's men's lacrosse seniors, you know that Lynchburg midfielder Kevin Rogers has posted some eye-popping numbers over his career. What we didn't know is that he would soon be named the Division III Player of the Year by Inside Lacrosse.

The two-time All-ODAC honoree racked up 25 points on 16 goals and 9 assists in Lynchburg's five games. All but five of those points came against nationally-ranked opponents. He had five goals and two assists each against Franklin & Marshall and Cabrini. Rogers owns a running streak of 39 straight games with at least one point recorded dating back to March 24, 2018. In 65 career games, he failed to notch a point just three times.

MORE FROM INSIDE LACROSSE

Nine ODAC players picked up All-American recognition from Inside Lacrosse. Rogers was tabbed to the first team, while teammate and defenseman Tyler Gallagher (more on him later) was named to the second team. The remaining seven standouts all received honorable mention distinction. That includes Bridgewater College and Hampden-Sydney face-off men Mason Gauntt and Jake Brummett, respectively, Randolph-Macon short-stick defensive midfielder Tyler Flora, Roanoke attackman Jason Sarro and defenseman Josh Vetter, and Washington and Lee face-off man Jack Hodgson and short-stick defensive midfielder Jed Londry.

Gauntt is the second All-American in Eagles' program history. Current teammate Eric Husselbaugh was a USILA All-American in 2019.

ODAC/VIRGINIA FARM BUREAU INSURANCE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE

In addition to earning an All-American award, Lynchburg's Gallagher was tabbed the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's lacrosse by the conference's athletic communications personnel. In the classroom, Gallagher maintains a 3.88 grade point average as a biomedical science major with a minor in mathematics. The Palmyra, Pa., native earned Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) last season and has been nominated again this year. He is a chaplain of the University's EMS squad as well as the co-founder and vice-president of Lynchburg's Pre-Health Club. The perennial Academic All-ODAC honoree is a facilitator at Lynchburg's annual One Love Foundation escalation workshop.

On the field, Gallagher is a three-time All-ODAC honoree. He picked up first team laurels last season and was a third team choice in 2018 and 2017. This year, he caused nine turnovers and picked up 13 ground balls in Lynchburg's five contests. He also got forward for one goal. For his career, he gathered 88 ground balls and caused 60 turnovers including a career-best 23 in 2017. He registered three points on two goals and an assist.

DEVELOPING STORYLINES AND PLAYERS WE WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED

• Randolph-Macon's Start | The Yellow Jackets 7-0 start came with some eye-opening numbers as four players had collected 22 or more points already. Colin DiSesa led the ODAC with 42 points and 28 goals, while his 14 assists ranked sixth. He was one of a league-high 16 seniors powering R-MC's roster. This group helped R-MC to last year's #4 seed in the ODAC Tournament, its highest placement since 2012. 
• Kevin Rogers' Scoring Streak | He left it at 39 games. Barring a return next season, that's where it will stay. But given that he had registered at least one point in 62 of his 65 career games, not many would bet against him continuing his run. Curious of the national record? We're not sure about points, but the longest streak for consecutive games played with at least one goal is 73 by Casey Grugan from Cabrini. He did that from March 17, 2007 to May 15, 2010.
• Jack Hodgson's Run at the D-III Face-Offs Won Record | W&L's Hodgson was a two-time USILA All-American in addition to three assignments to the All-ODAC First Team. He earned his acclaim by dominating on face-offs at a 67.3-percent clip for his career. He won 866 face-offs in his career including 95 already this season, placing him 11th all-time in Division III history. The D-III record is 1,191 by Tommy Hughes formerly of Endicott College. 
• Hodgson and Jason Sarro's Bids to be Four-time All-ODAC First Teamers | Both Hodgson and Roanoke's Sarro earned All-ODAC First Team honors their previous three seasons. Sarro added the 2017 ODAC Rookie of the Year award to his resumé. Both players were well on their way. Along with Hodgson's previous notes, Sarro was tied for fourth in the ODAC in points (35), tied for second in assists (17) and tied for sixth in goals scored (18). His 124 career assists are fifth all-time in ODAC history.

RANK 'EM

The following list of players were ranked inside NCAA Division III's top-50 in a major statistical category.

• Mason Gauntt, BC | 6th in points/game (7.00) and ground balls per game (13.40); 15th in face-off winning pct. (.720)
• Eric Husselbaugh, BC | 12th in assists/game (3.40); 49th in goals/game (3.60)
• Chris Martel, BC | 13th in shot pct. (.586)
• Jack Sheehan, FC | 49th in shot pct. (.500)
• Connor Sweeney, GC | 38th in assists/game (2.63)
• Nick Arcuri, H-SC | 48th in save pct. (.590)
• Jake Brummet, H-SC | 8th in ground balls/game (12.67); 41st in face-off winning pct. (.669)
• Jared Medwar, H-SC | 12th in shot pct. (.593)
• Jake O'Brien, H-SC | 34th in shot pct. (.536)
• Nate Shafer, LYN | 17th in shot pct. (.579)
• Colin DiSesa, R-MC | 18th in points/game (6.00); 19th in goals/game (4.00)
• Tommy Kane, R-MC | 21st in GAA (7.43)
• Andrew Tiffey, R-MC | 1st in shot pct. (.667)
• Jason Sarro, RC | 25th in points/game (5.83); 28th in assists/game (2.83)
• Josh Vetter, RC | 23rd in caused turnovers/game (3.17)
• Christian Clement, SU | 50th in face-off winning pct. (.657)
• Kyle Leeming, VWU | 11th in save pct. (.645); 24th in GAA (7.55)
• Jack Hodgson, W&L | 41st in face-off winning pct. (.669)

THE ODAC HAS SOME REALLY GOOD COACHES

Good coaching is a staple up and down the ODAC's ranks of sponsored sports. From promising newcomers to those with established cultures and even a with hall of fame credentials, there are no shortage of quality mentors for the league's student-athletes.

In men's lacrosse, five active coaches have earned ODAC Coach of the Year honors. Roanoke's Bill Pilat leads the way as he ended 11 of his 32 seasons with an ODAC top coaching award. Lynchburg's Steve Koudelka has been honored five times, while J.P. Stewart from Virginia Wesleyan University and Gene McCabe from Washington and Lee have twice been recognized by their peers. Hampden-Sydney's Jason Rostan earned his first honor in his first season after taking over the Tigers' program from his father, Ray, in 2017.

Pilat is the leader in career victories with 355 following the shortened 2020 season. He entered the year fifth in career victories amongst active Division III coaches and tied for fifth all-time. He now owns that spot outright. Koudelka is next on the list to reach the 300-win mark. His 289 victories are 14th all-time and ninth in the active Division III ranks. Seven of the ODAC's 11 active coaches own winning percentages of .500 or better.

Below is a snapshot of the ODAC's active head coaches and their career records thru this season.

• Mic Grant, BC| 95-90 (.514) in 12 seasons overall / 54-66 (.450) in 8 seasons at Bridgewater
• Michael Baggetta, FC | 11-30 (.268) in 3 seasons
• Mark Crisco, GC | 14-11 (.560) in 2 seasons
• Jason Rostan, H-SC | 46-19 (.708) in 4 seasons
• Steve Koudelka, LYN | 289-130 (.690) in 24 seasons
• Andy Sinclair, RAND | 37-100 (.270) in 9 seasons
• J.B. Sheridan, R-MC | 84-79 (.515) in 10 seasons
• Bill Pilat, RC | 355-156 (.695) in 32 seasons
• Tim Marshall, SU | 47-72 (.395) in 8 seasons overall / 41-63 (.394) in 7 seasons at Shenandoah
• J.P. Stewart, VWU | 132-139 (.487) in 18 seasons
• Gene McCabe, W&L | 217-100 (.685) in 19 seasons overall / 163-82 (.665) in 14 seasons at Washington and Lee

Click one of the graphics below to be taken to that school's season wrap-up feature. These features will be added as our members complete them.

For more on ODAC men's lacrosse, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and following @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.