WC men’s lacrosse suits up for start of 2025 season
The Wilmington College men's lacrosse team opened their season this week in Williams Stadium against the visiting Hanover College Panthers. Below is a preview of this season.
A Look Back
The Quakers won their most games since 2018 last season, going 4-13. Their wins came against Mount St. Joseph University (12-4), Spalding University (14-9), La Roche University (15-3) and Warren Wilson College (15-4).
Austin Young was the Quakers’ All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) representative, as he was named an Honorable Mention.
Key Pieces Lost
The major player the Quakers will miss is Austin Young. He scored the second most goals on the team with 17 and was third on the team with 20 points. He also dished out three assists.
To go along with his scoring output, Young was second on the team with 42 ground balls.
Key Returners
Wilmington retained most of their players from last season including junior captain Nick Roca. He led the Quakers with 22 goals and 26 points to go along with four assists. Roca also led the team with 121 shots and 74 shots on goal. His shots on goal total was tied for fifth in the OAC.
Defensively, senior Colin McLaughlin is a big returner for Wilmington. He led the OAC last season with 36 caused turnovers and was fifth with 72 ground balls. McLaughlin also tallied four goals on 21 shots for the Quakers and had the most face off wins on the team with 47.
The other two Quakers with double digit goals return in seniors Cody Everly and Kegan Campbell. Everly scored 15 goals and had nine assists for 24 points, while Campbell scored 11 goals.
Senior Brock Fugate returns for Wilmington as their leading assist man with 10. In goal, both Everly and sophomore Peyton Thompson are back. Thompson was third in the conference with 189 saves last season. This duo will man the pipes once again for the Quakers.
Newcomers
Wilmington welcomes seven freshmen to this year's team. Ely Hatten is from Georgetown, Ohio and Georgetown Jr./Sr. High School, and Zach Swearingen is from New Carlisle, Ohio and Tecumseh High School.
Garrett Reigelsperger hails from Springboro, Ohio and Springboro High School, Caleb Mann is from Freeport, N.Y. and Freeport High School.
Noah Pressman comes from New Trier, Ill. and IMG Academy, while Manny Castillo comes from Wilmington, Ohio and Wilmington High School.
The final freshman for the Quakers is Brody Whitaker from Dayton, Ohio and Kettering Fairmont High School. Whitaker is also a member of the Quakers football team.
Coaching Staff
Entering his second season at the helm of Wilmington College is head coach Dan Moriarty. He looks to bring more success to the program as he took a step in the right direction with the Quakers last season.
Joining him this year for his first season is assistant coach Justen Shaw. He is a 2023 graduate of Wilmington College and was a solid player for the program. He was named Honorable Mention All-OAC twice and is one of just two players to achieve this feat. Shaw is also in the Top-10 in program history of several single-season and career records.
What to Watch For
The Quakers play four straight home games to begin their season against Hanover, Anderson University (Ind.), Washington and Jefferson College, and Alma College.
They begin OAC play at Baldwin Wallace University on March 22 and play their final home game of the season April 23 vs. Ohio Northern University.
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