Wittenberg Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach George Harris has proven he has what it takes to build a consistent winner, leading the Tigers to a program-record 57 wins in his seven seasons at the helm. Despite significant graduation losses, odds are good that Harris has a plan in place to make his youthful team into a winner again in 2013.
The most experienced area of the squad figures to be the defense, where juniors Hunter Bastian (Knoxville, Tenn./Horace Greeley) and Jacob Gilbert (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and sophomore Nick Bergenty (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) all return after moving into the starting lineup a year ago. They will be joined in the defensive mix by sophomore Brett Wilson (Lenaxa, Kan./St. James Academy) in the long-stick midfielder spot as the Tigers look to improve upon the 8.8 goals per game they yielded a year ago.
With the defense returning largely intact, Harris can turn his attention to breaking in a fresh goalkeeper after Spencer Baker started all 13 games in 2012 before earning his degree. Sophomores Jesse Langer (New York, NY/Salisbury School) and Jay Dolan (Andover, Mass./Phillips Andover) are battling for the starting spot between the pipes in 2013.
The Tigers’ will also have a new man taking most of the face-offs after Elliot Avis won more than 52 percent of his battles a year ago. Sophomore Riley Boehm (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) won 42 of his 92 face-offs during his inaugural collegiate campaign. He will be joined by sophomore Ryan Spitzer (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) in the defensive midfield position.
Moving into the attacking third of the field, three-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) midfielder and 2013 team co-captain Alex Previte (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) returns after leading the Tigers with 22 goals and ranking second in total points a year ago (31). He will be joined on the attack by sophomore Andrew Morrison (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and junior Jack Bornhofen (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh), who finished with matching totals of 24 points in 2012.
Also returning to the attack are junior Jordan Shoger (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights), sophomores Lewis Thompson (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown) and Matt Hugdahl (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie), and senior co-captain Tyler Hall (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Twp.), who contributed 13 goals a year ago.
Not to be overlooked is the potential impact of a large, deep freshman class. Harris expects several of the newcomers to make an immediate impact.