2008 Men's Lacrosse Season Outlook

Preseason Interview head coach Andy Rowe

Entering the 2008 season, Guilford looks to improve upon its 3-10 record last year.The Quakers faced a tough schedule in 2007, suffering five losses to teams ranked among the nation’s top 20 at one point.Head coach Andy Rowe adds 12 newcomers to a team that returns 23 letterwinners, including eight starters, and looks to lead Guilford back into contention in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).

Here’s a preview of the 2008 Quakers’ lineup by position:

ATTACK: Senior Todd Bochenek (10 goals, 19 assists) is back on attack after leading the team in scoring for the past two seasons.The 2006 honorable mention All-ODAC pick is on pace to finish among Guilford’s top-five career assist leaders.Joining him is last year’s leading goal scorer and classmate Colin Davis (12 g, 2 a) along with sophomore Tyler Zivic (7 g, 3 a).The Quakers look forward to a full season from Zivic, who broke his hand early in 2007.Also pushing for time on attack are juniors Gareth Fuller (8 g, 1 a) and Kevin Thomas.Freshman David Heltzel played well during fall practice.

MIDFIELD: The Quakers’ midfield will be as deep as ever with a great combination of senior leadership and young energy.Seniors Dan Orr (9 g, 6 a), Manny Sargeant (4 g, 1 a) and F.J. Ientile (2 g) return for their final year to lead a group of talented and athletic underclassmen.They will be helped by junior Matt Meriwether (9 g, 4 a) and sophomore Josh Osbourne.Freshmen Joe Dauksis, Matt Halip, Ken Keesee, Nick Martin, and Tom Pappas highlight the midfielders and look to give Guilford added depth in 2008.

Junior Kyle Boylan and sophomore Matt Fuquay give Guilford a pair of strong and experienced long-stick midfielders.The Quakers return senior Carl Farlow and sophomore Andrew Heimsath at short-stick defensive midfield position.They are joined by freshmen Gary Hall.Junior Dan Simpson returns for his third season as Guilford’s face-off specialist, and is joined by freshman Matt Youngblood.

DEFENSE: The defense returns all three starters from last year, including senior Tyler Harrison (38 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers), a 2007 honorable mention All-ODAC pick and 2008 preseason Inside Lacrosse honorable mention All-American.He is joined by juniors Gates Benson (37 gb, 15 cto) and Warren Brown (18 gb, 4 cto).Benson, a defensive standout, has started every game in his first two seasons.Guilford will look to senior Gary Beste, sophomore Grayson Lyles and freshman Max Cha to contribute quality defensive depth off of the bench.

GOALIE: Senior Andrew Vigne (0.561 save percentage) is back for his fourth year as the Quakers’ starting goalkeeper.Vigne has a chance to end his career among the top three career leaders for saves at Guilford.Pushing Vigne for the starting job will be fellow senior Ian MacPhail and freshmen Mark Guillen.

Guilford opens its regular season Feb. 23 against York (Pa.) College and hosts St. John Fisher College and Christopher Newport University before hitting the road during spring break for games against Neumann College, Emerson College and Washington & Jefferson College.The March 10 contest with Emerson will be held at Johns Hopkins University on legendary Homewood Field.A trip to the University of the South and a home match versus crosstown rival Greensboro College round out the Quakers’ non-conference matches.The always tough ODAC schedule features four teams ranked among the top 20 of Inside Lacrosse’s Face-off Yearbook preseason poll.

Guilford begins its competitions Feb. 9 in a round-robin scrimmage day with Catawba College, Greensboro and Wingate University at the Smith High School complex in Greensboro, N.C. There will be a donation table set up for you to help Christian Zwickert's, head men's lacrosse coach at Wesley College, family and son Collin. Click here for more information about the Zwickert family and the donations on the night of the 9th.