This Time, Gettysburg Takes Nothing for Granted
from press release
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – No one would blame the
Gettysburg College men’s lacrosse team for having high
expectations entering the 2010 season.
But following their rollercoaster 2009 season (16-4, 7-1 CC)
— which began with three losses in the first five games,
culminated in an appearance in the NCAA Division III national
championship game, and included a Centennial Conference title and a
14-game winning streak in between — the Orange & Blue are
taking nothing for granted this year.
“Overall, the approach of our team this preseason has been
one of work ethic and enthusiasm,” said coach Hank Janczyk.
“They know nothing comes easy, and they are excited about
taking on that challenge. I am looking forward to working with this
group of young men, and watching them improve each and every
day.”
In the Division III preseason polls, Gettysburg was picked No. 3 by
the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA),
Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse. They were also the unanimous
favorite in the Centennial Conference preseason poll.
Graduation has been both kind and unkind to the Bullets in 2010.
Just six major contributors are gone; however, five of those were
All-Americans. The most significant loss will be felt on the
defensive end, with the graduation of Tommy Kehoe ’09, a
two-time All-American and the 2009 USILA Division III National
Player of the Year, as well as Yanni Peary ’09 and Zach
Furshman ’09, each two-time All-Americans at defense and
goaltender, respectively. The Bullets also lose attackmen Zach
Pucci ’09 (second team All-American) and Rob Triplett
’09, along with midfielders Drew Duckworth ’09 and Tom
O’Donnell ’09 (second team All-American and Centennial
Conference Player of the Year), who had a combined 62 goals and 44
assists in 2009. In addition, face-off specialist Tim Stanton
’09, reserve attackman Danny Collura ’09, and backup
goaltenders John Gilfillan ’09 and Charles Floeckher
’09 all graduated.
“We realize graduation has left us with some pretty big shoes
to fill,” said Janczyk. “But we are excited about the
potential our team has, especially the talent and the leadership of
our senior class. I really believe these young men can make a
difference in leading us to a great year.”
The cupboard is far from bare, as the Bullets return two
All-Americans to anchor the attack and defense in Joe Brody
(Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) (second team in 2008) and Tim Kurpis
(Yorktown, N.Y./Yorktown) (honorable mention in 2009), and return
most of the midfield unit that contributed in 2009.Brody, who will
be starting for the fourth straight season, is rapidly moving up
the rankings of Gettysburg’s career scoring leaders, with 106
goals in his first three seasons.
Primarily a finisher his first two years, when he posted 87 goals
and 22 assists, Brody expanded his game in 2009, dishing out a
team-leading 31 assists to tie Pucci for the team-high in scoring
with 50 points. For his career, Brody has already amassed 107 goals
and 55 assists to rank 12th in career points and goals, and 14th in
career assists.
“Joe Brody is one of the major leaders of our team, on and
off the field,” said Janczyk. “He is an
incredibly hard worker and if he puts it all together this year, we
feel he could be one of the top attackmen in the
country.”
Brody will be joined on the attack by fellow senior, Josh Reichert
(Englewood, Colo./Kent School), who had a breakout season in his
first as a starter, scoring 33 goals. The team’s best
finisher, Reichert was successful on 43.2% of his shots last
year.
The third attack spot is up for grabs, with senior Kjael Skaalerud
(Denver, Colo./Denver East), freshman Evan Thomas (Ithaca,
N.Y./Ithaca), and sophomores James Patterson (Bethesda,
Md./Heights), Pat Sartory (West Friendship, Md./McDonogh School),
and Tyler Feeley (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul’s School) competing.
It will likely be “by committee” at the start of the
season until one or two separate themselves from the rest.
The midfield unit is deep and dangerous, returning five Bullets who
played significant minutes on offense in 2009. Senior Kyle McGrath
(Randolph, N.J./Randolph), a second-team All-Centennial performer
in 2009 and an Inside Lacrosse preseason first team All-American
this year, will lead the unit. McGrath was the team’s main
catalyst last year, registering 31 goals on a team-leading 110
shots. He played particularly well in the Bullets postseason run,
registering 16 goals and four assists in the team’s six
conference and NCAA tournament games.
Senior Patrick Koehl (Shamong, N.J./St. Joseph’s Prep [Pa.])
and juniors Chris Cahill (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell
Academy), Danno Lynch (Medfield, Mass./Avon Old Farms), and Andrew
Ryan (Palm Beach, Fla./Westminster School [Conn.]) all played
significant minutes in 2009 and had at least 10 points each. Koehl
(eight goals, three assists) and Cahill (13 goals, 10 assists)
bring speed and playmaking ability, while Lynch (19 goals) and Ryan
(18 goals) are powerful dodgers with heavy shots.
Juniors J.C. Ward (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and John Doyle
(Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep.) and sophomore Matt McMurray
(Orangeville, Ont./Hill Academy) will add depth to the unit and
look to contribute. Also, sophomore Graham Franke (Baltimore,
Md./Towson) had an excellent fall season and could be a dynamic
player in the mold of O’Donnell. But a broken foot in
December required surgery, and he will miss the first month of the
season.
On the defensive half of the ball, short-stick midfield stalwarts,
senior Alex White (Easton, Conn./Joel Barlow) and junior Ben
Engleman (Potomac, Md./Thomas S. Wootton) return. Both were
lockdown defenders last year and will look to become more involved
in the Bullets transition game in 2010.
At long-stick midfield, the Bullets will replace Kehoe with junior
Tommy Barnett (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick School), Kehoe’s
backup a year ago. Barnett will provide a steady, physical presence
and has a fine knowledge and understanding of the game. Backing up
Barnett will be freshman Matt Canter (Potomac, Md./Thomas S.
Wootton) and junior Chris Fumai (Huntington, N.Y./St.
Anthoy’s), who has picked up a long pole for the first time
this spring and has been impressive during preseason practice.
On defense, three experienced upperclassmen return who played
significant minutes in 2009. Kurpis, an Inside Lacrosse preseason
first-team All-American, returns for his third year as a starter
and will be relied upon as the team’s anchor and vocal
leader. Senior Scott Manniello (Huntington, N.Y./Cold Spring
Harbor) and junior John Odierna (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Cold Spring
Harbor), teammates on Cold Spring Harbor’s 2006 New York
state championship, each started 10 of the team’s 20 games
last season. Odierna and Manniello are both aggressive defenders
who excel at making life miserable for their attackmen. Juniors
Alexander Cole (Rumsford, R.I./Moses Brown) and Andrew Coskey
(Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) and freshmen Billy Grayson (Washington,
D.C./St. Alban School) and Ryan Mulligan (Darien, Conn./Darien)
provide depth and could see some time.
In goal, the Bullets face a tall task in replacing Furshman, but
sophomore John LeClerc (Acton, Mass./Tilton School [N.H.]) has
emerged as the front-runner to claim the spot. LeClerc, a
tremendous stopper and an excellent athlete out of the cage, looks
to become the next in a long line of successful Gettysburg goalies.
Providing additional options between the pipes are freshmen Tom
Bradley (San Diego, Calif./Francis Parker) and J.T. McCook (Miami,
Fla./Gulliver Prep.) and sophomore Lucien Reichert (Englewood,
Colo./Kent School)
“We think LeClerc has all the potential to become a top-notch
Division III goalie,” said Janczyk. “He
definitely has the attitude, the will, and the athleticism, and we
are really looking forward to watching him grow into that role as
our starting goalie.”
In 2009, the Bullets’ schedule was ranked by the Laxpower.com
ratings to be the most difficult in Division III, and it
doesn’t get much easier in 2010. Of the team’s 15
opponents, four finished 2009 ranked in the USILA top-20, including
non-conference powers Salisbury (No. 2), Cortland (No. 4), and
Cabrini (No. 15). The Cortland game will again be played on Long
Island at John J. Burns Park in Massapequa, N.Y. on March 6.
Gettysburg’s Centennial Conference schedule also figures to
be difficult, with all eight opponents finishing 2009 ranked in the
top-50 according to the Laxpower.com computer rankings. Figuring to
be one of the team’s more formidable conference opponents is
Haverford College, which returns most of the team that won the
Centennial regular season title and reached the second round of the
NCAA tournament last season.
The Bullets play their season opener on Wednesday, when they host
Messiah College in a non-conference affair starting at 3:30 p.m.
