Men's Lacrosse Says Farewell to Seven Seniors

Whittier College men's lacrosse played its final home game of the season against the Chapman University club team on April 19.  While the 18-9 loss wasn't the result the Poets' seven graduating seniors hoped for, they understood that injuries required a number of key players to see limited action as Whittier prepares for its final NCAA contest against Colorado College on May 3.

"Chapman is a great team, and we knew it was going to be a physical battle," said second-year head coach Nate Watkins.  But with a must-win game coming up against Colorado College, we need to get healthy."

The Poets have been plagued with injuries lately.  Senior defenseman Dan Aas, just came back from surgery on his hand after missing eleven games.  Senior Todd Drotleff is out for the season with a back injury.  Midfielder Sean McCarroll went down last week with a knee injury.  Starting goalie Ben Brown has played all season with knee problems and aggravated his hamstring early on against Chapman.

"When I saw Ben go down in the first quarter, I realized we couldn't risk losing more guys to injury," added Watkins.

In his last home game in a Poets uniform, Brad Sollenberger stepped in and played very well for the Poets, making ten saves in goal. 

"Brad has worked incredibly hard the past two seasons," said Whittier goalie coach Danny McCormick.  "He showed us how much he's improved with some of the difficult saves he made tonight."

Sollenberger was just one senior that had a strong performance in his final home game.  Midfielder Chuck Wagner scored three goals and Kevin McCarroll scored two goals and added an assist.  David Denniston led the Poets defense and picked up four groundballs. 

Christian Wright '10 led the Poet offense with five points, scoring two goals and assisting on three others.  Anthony Lackey '09 added two goals and an assist.  Corey Schab '09 finished with a game-high seven groundballs and won twelve face-offs.

Chapman was led by Marcus Wooden with five goals and three assists.  Connor Martin also scored five goals and was credited with one assist.

The Poets travel to Colorado College for their final regular season game on May 3.  The Poets are currently 4-6 in NCAA play with a 2-3 in-region record.  A win on May 3 will make the Poets eligible for the NCAA Tournament.  To see the selection process click here.  For the current power rankings from www.laxpower.com, click here.