October 6, 2009
Contact: Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevich@concentric.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage Web Page: www.carthage.edu
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Carthage Men’s Lacrosse Concludes Season with 14-13 win at Oberlin;
Red Men Travel Conclude Inaugural Season with a 3-7 Record
Fall 2009 “Lakefront Classic”: Carthage played host to the “Lakefront Classic,” a series of exhibition matches, on Saturday, Oct. 10 at both Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis., and at the Wisconsin-Parkside Wood Road Soccer Field Complex in Somers, Wis. Carthage played four games at Art Keller Field, edging Lindenwood University, 7-6; playing the University of Illinois to a 7-7 tie; losing to Minnesota-Duluth, 14-4; and winning over Marquette University by an 11-8 margin.
2009 Season Finale: The Carthage College men’s lacrosse team (3-7) concluded its inaugural season on Saturday, April 25 with a 14-13 win over Oberlin College (1-10) at Shults Field in Oberlin, Ohio.
Red Men to Help Launch New League in 2010: Carthage will help launch the nation’s newest varsity lacrosse league in 2010 with the formation of the Midwest Lacrosse Conference. Seven teams will be inaugural members of the circuit. Those seven are Adrian College, Albion College, Carthage, Fontbonne University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Trine University and the College of Mount St. Joseph. Adrian and Albion are located in Michigan, Fontbonne in St. Louis, Mo., Trine in Angola, Ind., and Mount St. Joseph is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Several other programs are expected to join in the coming years. Aurora University and Concordia University (Wis.) will join the circuit in 2011 when they add varsity men’s programs. Benedictine University (Ill.), Lake Forest College, Otterbein College and Saint Vincent College considering the same. Beginning in 2012, the MLC will have an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Besides the opportunity to earn an NCAA berth, the biggest lure of the new league is chance to play league games at home. “I had one home game last year in my first season,” said Carthage coach David Neff. “We were traveling to Alabama and Pennsylvania. Any game that I can get more local, which for us is four-to-five hours, is a good thing.” (courtesy of US Lacrosse’s Lacrosse Magazine) Milwaukee School of Engineering athletics director Dan Harris will serve as the league commissioner.
First Home Lacrosse Game: In Wisconsin’s first ever NCAA lacrosse game, the Carthage College men’s lacrosse team (2-6) lost to the College of Mount St. Joseph (4-5) by a final of 16-6 on Saturday, April 11 at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis. The Lions jumped out to a quick, 3-1 start in the first five minutes with Drew Crutcher leading the way with two goals. The teams traded scores until Carthage finally netted two in a row and pulled the game into a 5-5 tie. Attackman, Anthony Pezutti, put Mount St. Joseph back on top, 6-5. The Lions sealed the deal when Carthage committed two penalties, including a one-minute unreleaseable, that resulted in three Mount St. Joseph goals. The Red Men were led by Keegan Bowman with three goals and Owen Foley with two goals. The Mount St. Joseph contest will be the Red Men’s only home lacrosse date this season.
Spring Trip: Carthage went 1-2 on its March 16-19 spring trip. The Red Men traveled to Birmingham, Ala., on March 16-18 to play a pair of games at the Birmingham-Southern College Athletic Complex. Carthage lost to Washington & Jefferson College (3-1), 9-8 in overtime, on Monday, March 16. On Wednesday, March 18, Carthage lost to Birmingham-Southern (2-5), 15-6. On Thursday, March 19, the Red Men defeated Hendrix College (0-6), 8-4, at Warrior Field in Conway, Ark.
The Coach: David Neff (3-7, 1 year), who was hired by Carthage College on Sept. 1, 2007, completed his first season of varsity competition in 2009. Neff served as the coach of the Benedictine University (Ill.) club team in 2007, as well as an assistant coach for Team Illinois in both 2006 and 2007. From 2005 to 2006, he coached the club team at St. Charles High School in St. Charles, Ill. Prior to that, he coached the club team at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill., from 2000 to 2004 and was named the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association “Coach of the Year” in 2002. Neff received a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Illinois in 1995 and a master’s in business administration, also from Illinois, in 1998. Neff was a member of the Illini club lacrosse team and a 1997 United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association all-star. He has been active in several Chicago-area summer camps, including Lacrosse America youth clinics. His father, John Neff, graduated from Carthage in 1963 and was a 1997 inductee into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
The NCAA Division III Lacrosse Picture: As of the 2007-08 academic year, 140 NCAA Division III institutions sponsor men’s varsity lacrosse, with 169 sponsoring women’s lacrosse. For the moment, the Ohio-based North Coast Athletic Conference is the nearest league to sponsor the sport. In the Midwest, the only current varsity programs are at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich., Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Mo., and Tri-State University in Angola, Ind. All three lacrosse program play as independents.