SEASON OUTLOOK: Hopes Are High As Tigers Open New Era

A new era opens for Wittenberg men’s lacrosse as first-year Head Coach Jay Owen leads the Tigers into the 2014 season. Optimism abounds as Owen inherits a veteran team stocked with players who have helped produce winning records in five straight seasons, an unprecedented run of success for the program.

Wittenberg returns 21 letterwinners to the roster in 2014, including nine starters, after the Tigers posted records of 8-5 overall and 3-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) last year. Among the returnees are three of the team’s top four scorers, a face-off specialist who had a 63 percent success rate, and three defenders who started every game they played a year ago. 

The Tigers figure to turn to sophomores Thomas Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) and Andrew Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) for offense again in 2014 after the twins enjoyed quite a debut. Thomas and Andrew each contributed 24 goals, in addition to a combined 32 assists, to lead Wittenberg’s attack a year ago. 

Senior Jordan Shoger (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) added 20 goals in 2013. Rounding out the returning attacking players are seniors Jack Bornhofen (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh), who has tallied 27 total points the last two years, Lewis Thompson (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown), who contributed 17 points a year ago, and Matt Hugdahl (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) who scored 19 goals over the 2012 and 2013 seasons combined. 

In the midfield, the Tigers are led by junior Riley Boehm (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie), who won 108 of 172 face-offs in 2013 and picked up 81 ground balls to rank among the top players in all of NCAA Division III. He will be joined again in the defensive midfield by juniors Ryan Spitzer (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson), who won 52 percent of his face-offs and picked up 47 ground balls a year ago, and John Haeling (Briarcliff, N.Y./Briarcliff) and sophomore Ryan Parmater (Granger, Ind./Penn). 

Other returning letterwinners in the midfield mix are sophomore Jeff Sherman (Atkinson, NH/New Hampton School) and juniors Brett Wilson (Lenaxa, Kan./St. James Academy), Will Stocker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) and Sean Kelleher (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who saw his season cut short by injury in just the second game in 2013. 

On defense, Owen can turn to a trio of talented returning players to form a strong nucleus as seniors Hunter Bastian (Knoxville, Tenn./Horace Greeley) and Jacob Gilbert (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and junior Nick Bergenty (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan), an all-conference honoree in 2013, all return to the starting lineup. They will be joined in the defensive mix by senior Martin Park (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium) and sophomores Matthew Klever (Lebanon, Ohio/Moeller), Conor O’Brien (York, Maine/York) and TJ Smith (Atlanta, Ga./The Marist School), who missed most of 2013 due to injury. 

Junior Jay Dolan (Andover, Mass./Phillips Andover) is competing with a pair of freshmen for the starting spot in goal. He made one winning start in 2013. 

Owen’s plans for the 2014 season also include numerous freshmen in prominent roles. The Tigers have 12 first-year players on the roster.

Written By: Ryan Maurer