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Stickmen Advance to Quarterfinals
The men's lacrosse team wrote another thrilling chapter in its storied history this spring. The Shoremen began the season ranked tenth in Division III and rose as high as third during the course of the year. After posting a milestone victory midway through the season, the Shoremen went on to cap the campaign with another appearance in the NCAA Division III championship tournament.
The Maroon & Black got off to a 6-0 start this spring, as senior attackman Jon Fellows recorded three games with at least nine total points over that span. In early April, the Shoremen posted their 500th all-time victory with an 18-4 win at Haverford. Washington College is believed to be the first school currently in Division III to reach 500 all-time wins in men's lacrosse. Ten players scored at least one goal for WC in that historic win.
The Shoremen took a 10-2 record into the four-team Centennial Conference Tournament the last weekend of April. In the semifinals, WC built an 8-1 lead en route to a 12-8 win over Western Maryland, avenging a tough double-overtime loss to the Green Terrors one week earlier. Senior attackman Craig Rentch led the Shoremen offense with four goals and one assist in the win, while senior midfielder Brad Hopkins won 14 of his 18 face-offs.
The win against Western Maryland put the Shoremen into the Centennial Conference championship game against the host Gettysburg College Bullets. After falling behind by three goals early, the Shoremen rallied to take an 8-7 lead in the fourth quarter, but Gettysburg wound up winning the game, 12-10, securing an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament in the process.
With one of two at-large bids to the tournament still a possibility, the Maroon & Black had extra motivation heading into the annual "War on the Shore" with bitter rival Salisbury University. May 4, in front on 1,515 fans at Sea Gull Stadium, the Shoremen took an early lead and never trailed en route to a strong 14-10 win over the host team. Junior attackman Eric Kuehn led the Shoremen assault with five goals.
The following night, the Shoremen got good news: not only did they receive an at-large bids to the NCAA Division III Tournament, they were also seeded second in the southern half of the tournament field. May 8, Kibler Field hosted a first-round NCAA tournament game as the Shoremen, making their 19th appearance in the Division III playoffs and their 24th appearance in any NCAA playoffs, took on visiting Cabrini, a newcomer to the NCAA tournament. The Shoremen controlled the game throughout, posting a 10-5 win behind a six-goal, two-assist performance by Fellows.
Next up for the Shoremen was a quarterfinal home game against Washington & Lee on May 12. The Shoremen had defeated the Generals, 9-8, earlier in the season and W&L was looking for revenge. WC fought hard after giving up seven first-quarter goals, but saw its season come to an end with an 11-8 loss. Despite the tough end of the season, the 2002 Shoremen had turned a 9-8 record in 2001 into a 13-4 performance in 2002.
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