Jeff Capella
Setting the Scene:
After the 2006 season in which the Wittenberg University men's lacrosse team finished the year at 6-7, the 2007 Tigers wanted better, and they got it. The Tigers finished at 6-6 overall, their first season with a .500 mark since 2000. The team posted back-to-back seasons with at least six wins each for the first time since the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Head Coach George Harris has certainly turned around the Tiger program since his arrival in 2006.
Postseason Honors:
As a result of the Tigers' success, the team had four players earn North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) honors.
Leading the way for the team's offense during the season was freshman midfielder Jeff Capella (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne). The NCAC recognized Capella's fine freshman campaign and named him to the second-team. Capella finished this first year in the Red and White with a team-best 27 goals, including one game-winner, and six assists.
Senior Bryan Arnold (Columbus, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) led the team from a defensive stand point and was named to the NCAC second-team for the second straight year. It was Arnold's third NCAC honor as he was named to the Honorable Mention squad in 2005. Last year Arnold scooped up 27 ground balls and registered one goal and one assist.
Junior attacker Brandon Hulett (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) was also recognized by the NCAC as he was placed on the Honorable Mention squad, his second straight selection to the team. Hulett finished the year tied for fourth on the team with nine goals. He also led the team with 16 assists. His 25 points on the team were second only to Capella's 33.
The fourth and final Tiger to earn recognition by the NCAC was senior defenseman Brandon Schwind (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington). This was the third NCAC award for Schwind as he was a first-team selection in 2006 and a second-team selection in 2006. Schwind helped anchor a solid defense with Arnold and Schwind picked up 36 ground balls and knocked in four goals.
Super Seniors:
The 2007 Wittenberg men's lacrosse team was led by a fine group of seniors who will certainly be missed as the team moves into the 2008 season. The Tigers had senior leaders in all facets of the game: offense, defense, and goalkeeping. The six leaders were: Schwind, Arnold, Jansen Wehrley (Medina, Ohio/Medina), Adam Morrison (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson), Mark Morrell (St. Louis, Mo./C.B.C), and Pat Garlock (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles).
As previously noted, Arnold and Schwind helped anchor a solid Tiger defense and earned multiple NCAC awards in their four years with the team. The two were each named the team's most valuable defensive players in their careers with Schwind getting the award in 2006 and Arnold in 2007.
In his four years with the Tigers, Wehrley earned three varsity letters. Wehrley finished his final campaign playing in all 12 games and picking up 14 ground balls. Over his four years with the Tigers, Wehrley totaled 67 ground balls.
Attacker Morrison also enjoyed a successful senior year. Morrison played in all 12 games, starting 10 of them, and knocked in seven goals. Over Morrison's three years with the Red and White, Morrison totaled 42 goals and 37 assists. Morrison also earned Honorable Mention NCAC honors in 2004 and second-team recognition in 2005.
Morrell's greatest contributions to the team were his ability to play hard-nosed defense, pick up the ground ball, and win the face-off. For his incredible work ethic, Morrell was the recipient of the 2007 Coaches Award. On the year, Morrell picked up 38 ground balls and won .504 percent of his face-offs. Over his four years, Morrell totaled 88 ground balls.
Tim Gates
Youth Movement:
The Tigers are surely going to miss their departed leaders of 2007, but with a strong group of young players in place, the team looks forward to an even more promising 2008 season. Eight starters are slated to return to the lineup and 15 of the 16 freshman received playing time over the course of the season.
Clearly, Capella was the leader among the freshman. He was not alone by any means, though. Freshman attacker Tim Gates (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover), who started 11 games, finished fourth on the team in goals with 12 and second on the team in assists with 12. Gates also picked up 29 ground balls. Also helping out the offense was midfielder Ted Winders (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) who started 11 games and scored nine goals and picked up 10 assists. Brian Welton (Germantown, Tenn./Houston), who finished third on the team with 13 goals and also added four assists, also helped out the offense. The final freshman who helped out the Tiger offense was midfielder Mike Derrenberger (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), who saw time in 20 games for the team and will be counted on to play more big minutes next season. On the defensive front, Ben Van Vranken (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) saw times in four games in goal for the Red and White.
The freshman were not the only ones who saw plenty of action during the 2007 as three sophomores also saw extensive action. Most of the freshmen had impact on the offensive end, and most of the sophomores played for the defense. Steve Koppenhafer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore), Sam Henderson (Potomac, Md./Thomas S. Wootten), and Andrew Goldstein (Rockville, Md./Thomas S. Wootten) all played extensively for the Tigers and were key contributors to the defense. Koppenhafer started 11 games for the Tigers and totaled 27 ground balls and one assist. Henderson played in 11 games, starting three, and scored six goals and assisted on four others. Finally, Goldstein had three goals while playing in seven games.
With the combination of promising young players and a Coach Harris heading into his third year, the Tigers look to once again improve on their record and look forward to the upcoming 2008 season.
The Coach:
George Harris (Ithaca '89) has compiled a 12-13 overall record in his first two seasons leading the Tigers after three seasons as the top assistant at Harvard University. Harris' .480 winning percentage is the highest in program history, but it should be noted that Harris has the lowest game total of any Tiger coaches.
Harris has coaching experience at Ithaca, Skidmore, Colgate, Cornell and Harvard, where he served as the team's offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator, and he earned the 2004 Harvard University Department of Athletics Merit Award, which is given to one assistant coach among the university's 37 varsity teams each year in recognition of professional commitment, dedication and overall program advancement.
Finally, the Tigers could not have been successful without Garlock in goal, keeping opponents' shots out of the back of the net. Garlock started eight games for the Tigers last year and collected 80 saves and 201 saves over his four years.