GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- After an up-and-down regular season left the Tusculum University men's lacrosse team sitting with a .500 record in 2019, the Pioneers will look to lessons learned by a veteran squad as the 2020 season opens on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Barton.
The Pioneers won five straight games and stood at 5-1 overall after a 22-12 win over Barton last March 9, but losses in five of the next six matches -- all conference contests. Facing a must-win game to qualify for the SAC Championship tournament against nationally-ranked Catawba, the Pioneers pulled out an 11-10 win in double overtime to qualify for the postseason for the third time in the last four seasons.
Seventh-year head coach Richard Carrington welcomes back a whopping 36 players from last year's team, but one of the few players not back is All-Conference standout Keegan Bell, who graduated after setting a school single-season record with 44 goals and 59 points, including a team-high six man-up goals.
ATTACK
Senior Liam Macdonald (Coquitlam, B.C.) is a second-team preseason All-SAC selection after leading the conference and setting a school single-season record with 37 assists last year. Macdonald ranked fourth in Division II with 2.64 assists per game, and his 58 points were second on the team and seventh in the league. Macdonald enters his senior season as the program career leader in assists with 60, and ranks sixth in goals (61) and fifth in points (121).
Junior Braden Elam (Maineville, Ohio) got off to a hot start last season, scoring nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in six matches before missing the rest of the season due to injury. Elam had three games with two goals or more, and begins his junior season with 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in 14 career games. Fellow junior Luke Doehring (Elizabethtown, Ky.) had four goals in six matches last season, including his first career goal against perennial powerhouse Limestone.
Sophomore Nate Raymond (Traceys Landing, Md.) was third on the team with 18 goals as a freshman and tied for fifth with 20 points, scoring at least one goal in each of the last nine games in which he played. Fellow sophomore Kale Lawrence (Kaleden, B.C.) contributed 16 goals (fourth on the team) and 23 points (third on team) as a rookie, and registered at least one point in nine of the Pioneers' 14 matches including five goals in a win over Lees-McRae. Additional support on attack will be provided by senior Chris Vallette (Beverly, Mass.), who transferred to Tusculum from Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.
MIDFIELD
Senior AJ Hems (Laurens, S.C.) finished with 13 goals and four assists for 17 points in his first season at Tusculum after transferring from Roberts Wesleyan College. Hems provided the biggest goal of the year for the Pioneers, in double overtime against nationally-ranked Catawba in the regular-season finale that gave Tusculum the final spot in the SAC Championship tournament. Fellow senior Campbell Holley (Trussville, Ala.) is a four-year program member who has appeared in 16 matches in his first three seasons, including a career-high 11 appearances last season.
Junior Lorenz Brown (Charlottesville, Va.) had 11 goals and three assists for 14 points last season, tying for sixth on the team in goals. Brown had goals in five straight matches at midseason, including two at Newberry and three at Coker. Brown has played in 22 career matches for the Pioneers, collecting 14 ground balls. Junior Nash Johnson (Kennesaw, Ga.) played in 11 matches last season and finished with 12 ground balls, and junior Riley Burns (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) had one assist in four matches last year and has three assists in 10 appearances in his career.
A sizeable sophomore class includes Sean Dunn (Palm Harbor, Fla.), who was fourth on the team with 22 points last season including 11 goals. Jordan Daniel (Langley, B.C.) added nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points, and is the top man-up scorer returning from last year with three. Will Cookman (Nanaimo, B.C.) played in 12 games last year and had two goals and eight assists for 10 points. Josh Pickford (Victoria, B.C.) contributed five goals and four assists as a freshman, with depth coming from returnees Cody Webb (Naples, Fla.) and Giovanni Berardis (Cape May Court House, N.J.).
New to the program are freshmen Aiden Caskey (Orlando, Fla.) and Tristan Kirkham (Langley, B.C.). Caskey scored 82 goals in his career at Timber Creek High School and collected 147 ground balls, while Kirkham earned MVP honors in provincial competition during his years as Brookswood Secondary School.
FACEOFFS
Sophomore Addie Wilkins (Spartanburg, S.C.) was the top faceoff man for the Pioneers last season, winning 71 out of 174 draws. Sophomore Andy Michalski (Victoria, B.C.) was just under 50 percent on draws at 47-for-98, while senior Conrad Carney III (Lexington, Ky.) was successful on nine of 27 faceoffs. Redshirt freshman Nathan Fraser (Kamloops, B.C.) is also expected to be a key contributor at the X for the Pioneers this season.
DEFENSE
The Pioneers return a veteran group on defense, led by senior long pole Joel Edgar (Coquitlam, B.C.). Edgar ranked ninth in the SAC with a team-high 55 ground balls last season, and enters his senior season with 142 ground balls (third most in program history) and 38 caused turnovers in 42 games. Edgar also has two goals and seven assists for nine points on offense, including a goal and five helpers last season.
Fellow senior Quinn McKitrick (Aldergrove, B.C.) was a preseason second-team All-SAC selection after earning honorable mention All-Conference honors last season. McKitrick started all 14 games on defense for the Pioneers and had nine caused turnovers. His career total of 39 caused turnovers ranks fourth in program history.
Junior Connor Coleman (Kill Devil Hills, N.C.) also started every game for the Pioneers last season and led the squad with 15 caused turnovers while ranking second with 31 ground balls. Junior Dawson Lovejoy (Farmington, N.Y.) made 11 starts last season and had six ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers, while Tanner Deck (Saskatoon, Sask.) played in 13 games off the bench and was second on the team with 10 caused turnovers to go along with 18 ground balls. Juniors Austin Poteet (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) appeared in four games last year and had three ground balls, while Zach Earp (Burlington, N.C.) made three appearances on defense for the Pioneers.
Sophomores Brent Floyd Jr. (Glen Burnie, Md.), Freddy Harbinson (Okanagan Falls, B.C.) and Tyler Nunenmacher (Mandeville, La.) will look to expand their roles after seeing playing time as freshmen. Nunemacher appeared in eight matches and had five ground balls and four caused turnovers, while Floyd played in six matches and Harbinson saw time in three contests. Freshmen Matt Airey (Raleigh, N.C.) and Cam Phillips (Vero Beach, Fla.) will make their Pioneer debuts this season.
GOALKEEPERS
Sophomore Ross Geiger (Calgary, Alta.) started all 14 matches as a freshman and had a 7-7 record with a 13.81 goals against average and a .479 save percentage. He finished ninth in the SAC in goals against average as a rookie, fifth in saves and eighth in goals against average, while tying for fourth on the team with 23 ground balls.
Senior Ryan Pickering (West Haven, Conn.) and junior Patrick Thomas (Tega Cay, S.C.) return as well for the Pioneers. Pickering has appeared in nine career matches and has 25 saves in 125 minutes, while Thomas has seen action in 18 matches (10 starts) with a 11.41 goals against average and a .508 save percentage on 131 saves.
SCHEDULE
Tusculum travels to Barton for their season opener on Saturday, Feb. 8 and follow with non-conference matches against Limestone, Maryville (Mo.), Lees-McRae and Alabama Huntsville before the conference opener at Newberry on Saturday, March 7. The Pioneers will play eight conference matches before closing the regular season at home against Wingate on Saturday, April 18.
