PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The last time the La Roche men's lacrosse team took the field to compete in an NCAA sanctioned game was on March 7th, 2020, exactly 375 days ago. On Wednesday afternoon, the Redhawks will end that streak and return to field for their 2021 season opener at Hiram College.
LRU enters their first season under Head Coach Cody Golon, coming off a 2-2 COVID-19 shortened campaign that saw the Redhawks off to their best start since 2014. Joining Golon on the bench this season will be Jimmy McCann and Bryan Pajewski.
"Overall, we are just extremely excited to have an opportunity to play the sport we love" Golon said."This team has really been working hard to build a culture on accountability. Our upper class has a lot of game experience that will come in hand, as most of them have been starting now for 3-4 years up to this point. We also brought in a freshman class that is hungry to compete."
The men's lacrosse roster consists of eight returning players and six newcomers, with all eight returners having starting experience.
Midfielder and 2019 AMCC Defensive Player of the Year, Shawn McDanel, will enter his senior season for the Redhawks this March. The Pittsburgh native already holds the LRU men's lacrosse record for most career ground balls with 443 (13.4 ground balls/game). In 33 games throughout his career, McDanel has tallied 34 goals and 17 assists for a total of 51 points and is a three-time AMCC Player of the Week.
Seniors Brent Burkhouse and Devin Wolford will play this season after being granted another year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic shortening the 2020 season. Burkhouse currently ranks third all-time in program history with 40 career assists to go along with 43 career goals. Last season, he scored an average of three goals/game. Wolford has started in 39 games for LRU throughout his career, totalling 28 goals and 19 assists (47 points).
Senior midfielder Austen Lunt was the team's main facilitator last season, leading the Redhawks with 13 assists in four games. Lunt's 3.25 assists per game last season ranked 14th in NCAA D-III. He's tallied 25 assists and 23 goals (48 points) in 17 career games with LRU.
In net, junior Chris Sylvis will hold down the fort. He has a total of 402 saves in 21 career starts (19.1 saves/games), second most in program history. Sylvis boasts a 55.6% career save percentage which currently ranks first in program history.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior defender Jimmy Wodarek looks to make a big impact. Wodarek was named to the 2019 AMCC All-Conference First Team and has started in 18 games for the Redhawks. Junior John Aiello will play defense and serve as the team's backup goalkeeper. Aiello has started in all 20 games he's played in, picking up 61 ground balls and causing 25 turnovers. Junior midfielder Zach Opalko will play a hybrid role this season. He has seven starts and has played in 20 games, picking up 45 ground balls, causing 10 turnovers and scoring 4 goals.
The five freshmen, Sebastian Colinear, Jordi Farr, Isaiah Hubbard, Nathan Petrarco and Grant Tebbe all look to make an impact their first season. Farr scored two of the Redhawks three goals in their opening scrimmage. Senior Paxton Thomas is also a first year member for LRU lacrosse and will play on the defensive side of the ball.
The Redhawks open their season Wednesday, March 17th at Hiram in a non-conference game. Only Hiram residential students will be permitted to attend.