Posted: May 02, 2009
Top-ranked Roanoke will face off against #10 Washington & Lee in the search of its' 16th ODAC Championship. The winner will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Roanoke is 18-27 all time against the Generals, including an overtime win on April 15th. Face-off is Sunday at 1 pm in Donald J Kerr Stadium.
Series Information vs. the Generals
Washington & Lee holds a 27-18 series lead over Roanoke, dating back to 1968. As an NCAA Div. I Institution, the Generals won the first 10 meetings over the then Div. II Maroons. In 1978, Roanoke defeated its in-state rival, 14-11 in Lexington to win the first game in the series. The Maroons' went on to capture the NCAA Div. II-III National Championship.
The highest scoring total and win margin over the Generals came in 1985. With Bill Pilat in the Maroon nets, Roanoke snapped a five-game skid with a 20-6 win in Lexington. Since 1985, Roanoke holds a slim advantage, with a 16-13 mark. In recent history, each of the last four meetings has been decided by one goal.
Last Time Out - 17-12 win over Hampden-Sydney, ODAC Semifinals
Roanoke staged a fourth-quarter rally to upend Hampden-Sydney, 17-12 in the ODAC Semifinals at Kerr Stadium Wednesday evening. With the win, the Maroons (17-0) will advance and host the ODAC Championship at Kerr against Washington & Lee. The Tigers end their season at 8-9.
Roanoke dominated on paper, winning the groundball war, 48-17, a 64-33 shots advantage and winning 25-of-33 face-offs. The men were successful in 20-of-22 clear attempts and 3-of-4 man-up opportunities.
Hampden-Sydney got up early, 2-1 before the Maroons scored four unanswered goals to make it 5-2 with 13:18 remaining in the second period.
The Tigers recaptured the lead and retaliated back scoring six of the following nine goals to tie the contest at 8-all with 4:02 left in the third. HSC continued to pound away to take its first lead of the game as Andrew Mahoney found Kenny Mathison to make it, 11-10 with 13:18 left in the final stanza.
But Roanoke, who broke the ODAC single-season wins total with 17, have been in this predicament before and responded quickly. The Maroons reeled off seven-straight goals over the next 10 minutes to take a commanding 17-11 lead and eventually the game as they remain unbeaten.
Roanoke was led by Justin Tuma with three goals, 11 groundballs and 11-of-15 in face-offs. Jeff Keating also led the team with three goals, all in the final period as he sparked the late surge for the Maroons. Trey Keeley, Pat March and Brian Foley each added two goals and one assist in the win. Steve Furdock and Chas Carlson each totaled a goal and an assist.
Greg Khanzadian collected seven groundballs and won 10-of-14 face-offs. Sam Love and Stephen Simmons were big again for the Maroons, collecting eight and five groundballs, respectively. Love even had four caused turnovers to his credit.
The Tigers were led by Doug Carpenter with three goals followed by Kyle Jett with two goals and two assists to his credit. Carter Mavromatis had two goals and an assist while Andrew Mahoney added a goal and two assists. Ben Clarke also had two goals.
Mike Bagby finished with 14 saves in goal for the Tigers while Jake Dorsey had eight between the pipes for the Maroons. He is now second all-time in career wins with former Maroon goalie and current head coach Bill Pilat '85.
Last meeting (14-13 OT win, April 15th)
Roanoke College needed some late magic and a little luck to get past #5 Washington & Lee, 14-13 in overtime at Kerr Stadium on April 15th. Zach Thomas' goal with 2:39 remaining in the sudden victory claimed the Maroons' 15th victory of the season.
The milestone win tied the school-record for single-season wins with the 2005, 2006 and 2007 teams. The 15-game win streak surpasses the 2006 team for the longest in school-history. Thomas is now in a class all by himself in Roanoke Lacrosse, becoming the only player in school-history as a member of four 15-win seasons.
Roanoke won the groundball war with a slim, 44-39 advantage in addition to a 48-47 edge in shots. The Maroons were successful in 17-of-20 clear attempts.
The Maroons jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first period before Washington & Lee scored five unanswered goals to take a 6-4 lead. Jeff Keating found Thomas for his first goal of the game to go into the half down one, 6-5.
The Generals kept the momentum in the third period, scoring four of the first six goals of the second half to take a 10-7 lead. Tim Skeen's man-down goal from James Shanahan gave their squad a three-goal lead and seemed in control with just over four minutes left.
But in the last two minutes of the period, the Maroons reeled off three-straight goals to tie the contest at 10-all heading into the fourth quarter.
The Generals looked destined for the win, as Harry St. John and Will Keigler scored three of the next four goals to take a seemingly commanding 13-11 lead with four minutes left in regulation.
Just 16-seconds after the Generals took a two-goal lead, Stephen Simmons brought some life back to the crowd with a groundball off the face-off and found an open Matt Quinton to bring them back to within one, 13-12.
Thomas sent the game into overtime as his uncontested shot found the back of the net to tie it at 13-apeice heading into the extra period.
Sam Love led the Maroons with seven groundballs and five caused turnovers. Simmons collected five groundballs and caused four turnovers with an assist in the fourth period.
Thomas finished the night with a team-high three goals and one assist. Quinton and Joseph Coretti netted two goals while Brian Foley added a game-high three assists. Keating dished out two assists.
Keigler finished with a game-high four goals and one assist for W&L. Skeen added two goals and two assists while Seth Fishman notched two goals.
Jake Dorsey stopped a season-best 18 shots for Roanoke in addition to five groundballs. Connor Locke had 13 saves in goal for the Generals.
Roanoke went on to beat Virginia Wesleyan that Saturday in the regular season finale to complete the undefeated regular season.
ODAC Semifinals, May 2, 2007 - Roanoke d. W&L, 13-12
Roanoke freshman midfielder Steve Furdock registered a man-up goal off an assist from sophomore midfielder Chas Carlson with 25 seconds left in the contest to lift the 11th-ranked Maroons over 18th-ranked Washington and Lee, 13-12, in the semifinals of the 2007 ODAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament at Alumni Field.
Roanoke (13-4) opened the game with two scores before the Generals responded with their first goal with 3:44 to play in the initial quarter as sophomore attackman Seth Fishman scored off a feed from freshman attackman Will Keigler. After a RC goal by senior attackman Jon Mason gave the Maroons a 3-1 lead just 41 seconds into the second period, W&L tallied three of the next four goals to tie the contest (4-4) with 9:29 to play before halftime. Roanoke used a three-goal run, which included two more scores from Mason, to take a 7-4 lead with 6:46 left in the half, but the Generals produced a spurt of their own, notching three goals to close out the half with the score tied at 7-7.
Fishman and Keigler connected again to begin the second half with the Generals leading, 8-7, at the 11:25 mark in the third quarter, but the Maroons took back the lead with two-straight tallies and held a 9-8 advantage with 7:45 to play in the third. The Generals fired back with four-answered goals, including three from sophomore midfielder Harry St. John to lead RC, 12-9, with 11:45 to play in the fourth quarter. However, the Maroons mounted their comeback just 16 seconds later as an unassisted score from freshman defender Stephen Simmons at 11:29 sparked a four-goal run that included the game-tying score from freshman attacker Pat March with 9:24 left and ended in Furdock's game-winner.
The Generals (9-6) were led by St. John, who posted five goals, and Keigler's two goals and three assists. Fishman and junior attackman Ned Rider each added two goals and one assist, while senior goalkeeper Chris Lalli recorded 10 saves in goal.
Junior attackman Zach Thomas paced the RC offense with three goals and one assist, while Mason contributed a trio of scores. Senior attackman Brendan Moore notched two goals and one assist and Carlson registered one goal and two assists. Freshman goalkeeper Jake Dorsey racked up 13 stops between the pipes.
Roanoke Remains #1 in USILA Weekly Poll
Roanoke College remained atop the USILA Div. III weekly poll announced this afternoon. It is the program's second earned #1 ranking and the first time a sport in the Div. III-era at Roanoke has been the top in the nation. After claiming the 1978 National Championship, the Maroons were ranked #1 for the first half of the 1979 season before falling to North Carolina.
Roanoke College remained atop the USILA Div. III weekly poll announced this afternoon. It is the program's second earned #1 ranking and the first time a sport in the Div. III-era at Roanoke has been the top in the nation. After claiming the 1978 National Championship, the Maroons were ranked #1 for the first half of the 1979 season before falling to North Carolina.
The Maroons moved into the new spot last week as the only Division III undefeated school after now #4 Stevenson fell, 14-7 to #5 Salisbury in the CAC Championship game, dethroning the then #1 team in the country. Both Roanoke and Salisbury received first-place votes in the coaches' poll, with the Maroons taking 12 of the 13 votes. Middlebury remained second and Ithaca moved up to the third spot.
Gettysburg holds down the #6 spot while Washington & Lee dropped for the second-straight week to 10th. Cortland, Haverford and Geneseo hold the 7, 8 and 9 spots, respectively.
Cabrini, who fell to Roanoke, 16-13, remained #14 in the poll. Other Maroon opponents in the poll are Lynchburg, who moved up three spots to 15th, and Williams, who dropped out of the poll but received votes. The Maroons defeated the Hornets, 19-12 on the road and needed overtime to get past the Ephs, 17-16.
Player Performances against W&L
Zach Thomas has totaled 10 goals and five assists in five games, which includes three games with a hat trick. Chas Carlson has scored a goal in five of six games against W&L with at least one point in every game against the Generals.
Scouting the Maroons (17-0, 6-0 ODAC)
Roanoke just completed the conference's first-ever undefeated regular season and the programs' 15th undefeated mark in conference play. The 17 wins broke a school-record and ODAC mark with a win over Hampden-Sydney in the ODAC Semifinals Wednesday. Against the Marlins in the regular season finale, the Maroons broke single-season records in points, goals, assists and 20-goal games.
The Roanoke scoring charge is led by Pat March with 65 points and 25 assists while second in goals with 40. Matt Quintons' 62 points is second on the team while his 50 goals, 114 shots and 80 shots on goal lead the Maroons. Senior Zach Thomas has 31 goals and 23 assists for 54 points. The face-off crew is led by Greg Khanzadian (156-227), followed by Justin Tuma (105-167) and preseason All-American, Josh Rea (65-98).
Stephen Simmons, Roanoke's LSM, is a menace on defense and has 89 ground balls on the year, in addition to seven points (4g, 3a). Tuma (118 gb) and Khanzadian (110 gb) lead the team in groundballs, winning most off of face-offs. Sam Love leads the defense with 83 groundballs, and collected a season-best eight in the ODAC Semifinal win vs. H-SC. Jake Dorsey has a .545 save percentage in between the pipes for Roanoke with 169 saves this season.
Record Watch
Zach Thomas needs one more point to move into fourth on the all-time scoring list at Roanoke (229 pts), while needing three assists to up himself to sixth on that career list with 92. He is five goals from fourth among the career goal leaders at Roanoke (138). Chas Carlson needs three points to move into 11th on the career scoring list (185 pts) while Pat March is currently 15th on that list with 171 points. March needs only two points to put him at 14th and seven for 13th. Jake Dorsey jumped up two spots to eighth on the career saves list (455) after stopping eight shots in the ODAC Semifinal win over the Tigers. With a win tonight, he can pass Bill Pilat '85 for second in career wins with 36. Matt Quinton needs only one point to move into sole possession of 27th on the all-time scoring list. He needs five more to move into 26th.
The Maroons as a team have already broke several records, including the face-offs record their last time out. With 30 shots tomorrow, the team can see another record fall, breaking the school shots record set by the 1992 team (1017). The team has set new ODAC Records in points, goals, assists, single-season wins and winning-streak.
ODAC Tournament History
Roanoke has been the team to beat in the ODAC since joining the conference in 1981. In its first eight years, Roanoke won the ODAC Title and didn't lose a game until 1989. The Maroons have won a conference-record 15 ODAC Titles and two since tournament play has begun in 2002. They were runner-up in 2004 & 05 but won it in 2006 & 07. It is their fifth ODAC Championship appearance, tied with Lynchburg for the most in ODAC Tournament play. The championship won in 2006 was the first in 10 seasons (1997). The men won back-to-back titles for the first time since winning three-in-a-row from 1995-97. The Maroons won ODAC Titles in 1990 and in 1992, which was the year they advanced to the NCAA Div. III National Championship game.
Head Coach Bill Pilat
Bill Pilat is in his 21st season on the Roanoke College sidelines where he has accumulated over 55 percent of the men's lacrosse wins in school history. Pilat is by far the winningest coach in the team's history with 216 to his credit. His win percentage of .663 entering this season is also the best in the 42-year history of the men's lacrosse program.
Pilat became only the 13th coach in NCAA Division III to win 200 games with a 20-7 win over York (Pa.) in the season-opener and is ranked among the top-20 all-time in win percentage. He is currently seventh among active coaches in career wins and 15th in win percentage. The longtime coach reigns among the all-time greats in ODAC History, ranked second in career wins and first in win percentage. A three-time VaSID coach of the Year (2005-07), Pilat is ranked second in state history in wins and first in win percentage as well (college division).
