By Darryl Grumling
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/29/10
Episcopal Academy goalie Mac Lee has committed to play Division III lacrosse at Bates College (MA).
Despite seeing limited time playing behind All-American Matt Lerman (now at two-time defending national champ Syracuse), Lee was on the radar of college coaches thanks to his play for the Rebel Elite Club – which recently finished sixth in the prestigious Dick’s Tournament of Champions in Tampa, Florida.
“I decided on Bates because I was looking for a smaller D-III school that has strong academics, but also plays in a competitive league,” said Lee, whose other top choices were Randolph-Macon and the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. He said he will likely major in English.
Lee, who honed his skills at the Top 205 camp in Maryland and the Peak 200 camp at Springfield College last summer, will join fellow Episcopal Academy grad Reid Whalen (sophomore) on the squad. Shipley School grad Luke Strathmann is a senior.
Lee joins an impressive list of Churchmen who will play at the next level, including Bryson Craft (UMass), Andrew Gordon (Bucknell), Jackson Place (Bucknell) and Gerry Smith (Bryant) in Division I and Elliot Albert (Wesleyan), Chase Growney (Trinity) and Tyler Olsen (Washington College) in Division III.
Under ninth-year head coach Peter Lasagna, Bates went 2-7 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference and 4-9 overall last year. Prior to getting the Bates job, Lasagna guided Brown to three NCAA Tournament appearances during his nine-year tenure there.
“Coach Lasagna is obviously a great coach, and he had a lot of success at Brown,” Lee said. “It seems like he is dedicated to building Bates up to be a good competitor in the NESCAC.”
For the near future, however, Lee is eager to carve out his own identity in the cage for the Churchmen, who went 5-3 in the Inter-Ac and 13-8 overall last season.
“Not playing a lot was tough,” Lee said. “But I learned a lot being behind (Lerman). I think we have a very solid defense that’s been playing together for three years, and we have some underclassmen that are going to surprise some people. Our goal obviously is to win the Inter-Ac.”
