The University of Mary Washington men’s lacrosse team opened the 2007 season with high hopes, despite an uncharacteristically down year in 2006. With a strong defense returning and the hopes for several young players to step into the starting lineup, head coach Kurt Glaeser led the team to a 6-9 mark last spring, competing against some of the top NCAA Division III teams in the nation.
The Eagles dropped their two opening games of the year on the road to nationally-ranked Roanoke College and Hampden-Sydney College, scoring 13 goals against the seventh-ranked Maroons. UMW followed with a pair of wins, over Hood College, 14-2, in Capital Athletic Conference play, and then at Randolph-Macon College, 7-3. In the win over Hood, 10 different players scored goals, and the defense allowed just two extra-man tallies. The defense again proved its mettle at Randolph-Macon, as the Yellow Jackets managed just 17 shots in the game, while UMW erupted for five third quarter goals in the four-goal victory.
After falling to nationally-ranked McDaniel College and Villa Julie College, the Eagles dropped a pair of heartbreaking 7-6 decisions at Catholic University and Goucher College. Brown netted two goals and two assists against the undefeated Green Terror. The team was outshot, 36-15, at Villa Julie. Against CUA, The Eagles fell behind, 3-0, but were able to tie the score at four by halftime. Despite two fourth quarter goals, the Eagles were unable find the tying tally at the end in the one-goal defeat.
UMW made a dramatic comeback at Goucher, trailing 6-4 with less than a minute in regulation. Last minute goals by senior Tommy Park and junior Scott Fletcher knotted the score to force overtime. Facing a St. Mary’s team that had been ranked as high as 19th in the nation during the year, UMW rebounded in a big way, topping the Seahawks, 8-5, before a raucous crowd at the Battleground. The momentum carried over to a 13-4 win at Christopher Newport University, in which the Eagle defense held the Captains scoreless until the fourth quarter.
A loss at #1 ranked Salisbury University in conference action preceeded a 12-1 win over Washington & Jefferson College. In that game, Brown scored three goals and added three assists, and freshman Dan Coats produced three more goals. With a chance to move as high as third in the CAC standings, the Eagles were then upset at home against Marymount, again by a 7-6 score. Determined, the Eagles closed the regular season with a 9-4 win at York. Senior Marc D’Eredita started the scoring with two first quarter tallies, and senior Pete Collins added two goals and an assist as well. The squad closed the year by falling again at #14 Villa Julie College in the CAC Tournament quarterfinals, 16-6. Fletcher had three goals and Brown had two for the UMW cause.
The Eagles defense, led by junior goalkeeper Eric Everitt, turned in several outstanding outings, as it held six different opponents to five goals or fewer. Offensively, sophomore Sean Brown led the team with 15 goals and 11 assists, with junior Scott Fletcher registering 15 goals and six assists. Senior Matt Richman-Raphael proved to be one of the top face-off men in the conference, as he collected 152, nearly 60 percent of his draws for the year. Senior Matt Morrell, who saw time at attack and midfield, scored 13 goals and four assists despite missing five games due to injury.