By Clay Jones & Kellie Lagoy
The men’s lacrosse team looks to hang on to its second spot in the ODAC standings.
The Marlins’ final game will be on home territory against the Washington and Lee Generals. This game will hopefully lock them into the second conference spot. With this finish, they will earn a first-round bye into the conference tournament.
“Each of these last games are vital to our success, as they dictate what seed we get and what team we play,” senior goalkeeper Rory Finnegan said.
Finnegan has shown great leadership on and off the field. He recently was voted ODAC Player of the Week for men’s lacrosse for his outstanding game play. For the 2014-15 season, Finnegan has posted above a .500 save percentage, which puts him above other goalies in the conference.
The Marlins also have a hot offense in front of them. Men’s Lacrosse has three players with more than 20 goals. Junior Josh Currier leads the team with over 30 goals, with seniors Mike Moran and Joe Papetti both having over 25. Papetti also has his name on the conference leaderboard for man-up goals.
This season has brought the Marlins a lot of success, and they have proved their skills in big games. The biggest win came against Roanoke College on April 4, 2015. Roanoke has
always been a conference powerhouse, by capturing 18 titles since their start. The Marlins defeated them by a 17-15 margin, and this was their first win over Roanoke since 2008. The victory has given this team massive momentum into the rest of the season. Since the win, the Marlins have only dropped one game to Lynchburg College.
This is Head Coach J.P. Stewart’s 12th season in his position, and this conference tournament will be his sixth appearance. He has led this team to one of the best conference records in the school this season.
The Men’s Lacrosse conference tournament will begin on Tuesday, April 28. If the Marlins maintain their second-seed status, then they will battle that following Saturday, in the semifinals. The Marlins haven’t been to the semifinals since the 2011-12 season, when they fell to Lynchburg College.
If the Marlins earn the first-round bye, then they will host their opponents on May 2 at Trinder Field. The finals of the tournament will be held the following day at the higher-seeded team’s field.
This men’s team will look for some redemption as it heads into the postseason to attempt to claim its first conference title in VWC history.
