Posted: Mar 14, 2014
The Roanoke College men's lacrosse program enters the 2014 season as the reigning Old Dominion Athletic Conference Champions. In 2013, we defeated Washington and Lee for our 18th ODAC Championship, at home in Kerr Stadium. We went on to play in the NCAA Tournament for the 24th time in school history, advancing to the second round to play Lynchburg College.
About our Returners
We have some outstanding players returning to our squad this year. We have one of our five USILA All-Americans, as well as four of our seven All-ODAC performers returning to the field in 2014. Goalkeeper Charles Pease was an Honorable Mention USILA All-American and a First Team All-ODAC Selection. Pease started all 16 games for us last year and picked up 13 wins. He had his highest save percentage in his three years in net last year, which is exciting for this year.
Troy Grogan returns as a defender for us this year, and was a Second Team All-ODAC selection last year. He finished last year with 38 ground balls and 14 forced turnovers. Will Pilat enters his sophomore season as a Third Team All-ODAC selection from 2013. He was the second leading scorer on our team last season, finishing with 32 goals. He also dished out 21 assists for 53 total points. Four of his 32 goals were game winners for us, including the goal against Washington and Lee in the ODAC Championship. Wes Pancoast was also a Third Team All-ODAC pick last year. He scooped up 39 ground balls and forced 17 turnovers, the second most of anyone on the team.
About our Schedule
We are ranked 8th in the NCAA Division III preseason poll. There are six opponents in the pre-season annual survey that we will face this season. On February 16th, St. Mary's, who was picked 16th in the preseason poll, will come to play at Kerr Stadium. St. Mary's made its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, but fell to Lynchburg in the first round. Our next contest will feature Denison University, ranked 15th in the poll. The Big Red won the NCAC regular season title in 2013.
During our spring break trip, we will be traveling down south to Texas to play in a pair of games. We will play Colorado College in the first game of our trip at Dallas Jesuit High School on March 2nd. On the 5th we will play Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas just outside of Austin, TX.
On March 8th, we host #5 Dickinson at home to close the spring break games. Dickinson finished the season with a record of 18-1 last year, losing its only game to Salisbury in the NCAA Quarterfinals. On March 15th, we will take a trip to #1 Stevenson. The Maroon Club will be hosting a reception before the game at the Green Turtle in Towson (15 min. from Stevenson) from 3-6 PM that afternoon. The game will start at 7 PM. We hope that you can attend! There will be a special gift package for all Maroon Club members and drink tickets in addition to some complimentary appetizers. For those who aren't a Maroon Club member but wish to join, please contact Brad Moore at moore@roanoke.edu or (540) 375-2344. To RSVP for the event, click HERE.
On March 29th, we play #13 Washington and Lee in Lexington, VA, in a rematch of the ODAC Championship game from last year. In another 2013 rematch, we will play #12 Lynchburg at home on April 5th.
We open our season on February 8th with a scrimmage against Mary Washington comes to town. That is the start of a three-game home stand, and we hope to see you at one of our games if you're in the area. That game will begin at 2:00 PM.
Alumni Weekend Activities
During Alumni Weekend, we will host Bridgewater College at 2 PM. You'll be able to support us in action, which includes our Maroon Club reception during the men's lacrosse game from 2-5 PM.
The reception is for Maroon Club members only so if you are interested in joining, please contact Brad Moore at (540) 375-2344 or by email at moore@roanoke.edu. If you would like to pay online to become a member, click HERE. For more information about the Maroon Club, please visit our website by clicking HERE. Your gift can go to support the men's lacrosse program.
Attention Maroon Club Members
For our alumni who are Maroon Club members, be on the lookout for the Maroon Club newsletter which will be coming out in early March. It will highlight the winter season along with each of our nine spring sports and talk about the events coming up, including the Maroon Club golf outing April 11 at Roanoke Country Club. For more information about the golf outing, please click HERE.
Thank You
I want to conclude by saying THANK YOU to our supporters of the Maroon Club to the men's lacrosse program. The equipment we received, the spring break trip to Texas, the team meals on the road could not be possible without the help of our parents, alumni and friends of the program.
Our conference is among the top echelon of NCAA Div. III in men's lacrosse. It is evident with the addition of Bridgewater and Shenandoah, the continued improvements from Randolph-Macon and Lynchburg, and the historic powers of Washington and Lee, Hampden-Sydney and Roanoke, that this is a top men's lacrosse league. The ODAC has had an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis, which makes the games more meaningful. While we have enjoyed the success historically, other teams are getting better and we want to remain at the top of our league. We need your support to continue our dominance as one of the premier men's lacrosse programs in the country!
Thank you for your continued support of the Roanoke College men's lacrosse program!
