The Mary Washington College men's lacrosse team will look to begin the new millennium as it ended the old one - with a winning record as one of the top teams in the always-tough Capital Athletic Conference. Coach Kurt Glaeser's Eagles finished the 1999 season with a 7-5, regular season record, their first winning campaign in four years.
The Eagles' only overtime' game of the year was a 13-2 win over Villa Julie College in the season's second contest. Ryan Lynch (shown after scoring the game-winner on the cover) netted his third goal of the game with 1:18 remaining in the extra frame, giving the Eagles their first win of, the year. Coach Glaeser's "Cardiac Kids" won four games by one goal, including an unbelievable 12-11 win at Marymount University, where the Eagles trailed by six goals midway through the second period, and scored nine straight goals in route to the classic come from behind victory.
If the Eagles are to contend for the league title again in 2000, they must replace four seniors, including MWC season scoring record-holder, Risto Worthington. Worthington, a two-time All-CAC pick and holder of several school marks, closed his three-year MWC career with 42 goals and 25 assists, among the tops in the nation. The attackman from Columbia, MD was also named the Mary Washington College Male' Scholar-Athlete of the Year, for his performance on the field and in the classroom. In addition, the Eagles lose face-off specialist Chris Lanzillotta, quick, tough middie Gerrit Visscher, and goalie Eric Gins to graduation.
Offensively, the Eagles will need to find a scorer to replace Worthington, and returnees Will Gunther (13 goals, seven assists), Ryan Lynch (23 goals, 15 assists), and Joe Boulier (five goals; four assists) should lead the surge from the attack. The midfield sees the loss of Lanzillotta (35 ground balls) arid Visscher (seven goals; nine assists), but returns a strong group, led by offensive stalwarts Ed Scopin (13 goals, four assists) and All-CAC pick Matt Rosone (23, goals, ten assists). Lynch finished second on the team in scoring a year ago, while Rosone picked up a team-high 60 ground balls in addition to his 2.4 points per game. Rich Davis, Brian Marsh, and Justin Camorda are also midfield veterans. Perhaps the strength will come from an experienced defense, who returns intact this Spring. After a year of adjusting to the college game in '98, the group, comprised of several rising juniors, seemed to get last Spring, as the Eagles finished 4-0 in one goal games. All-CAC selection J.B. Hodgson leads a defensive crew that includes returnees Andy Suddarth, Grif Barhight, Ed Holownia, Ted Bratrud, Aaron Shriber, Andrew Tremaglio, and Ryan Wellner.
The goal returns two players, rising junior Chris Vibert and junior Derrek Ostrzyzek, who manned most of the duty between the pipes for the Eagles in '99. Ostrzyzek stopped 78 shots in eleven games a year ago, allowing 11.51 goals per ' game in 417 minutes of action.