By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/16/11
Four Philly seniors have committed to play lacrosse at the University of Richmond, which is moving up from club status to the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division I level next year.
The players include Malvern Prep goalie Ryan McDevitt, Allentown Central Catholic LSM Brian Topper, Germantown Academy defenseman Sean Robins.and Haverford School midfielder Nate Volpert.
Richmond is coached by former Ursinus College mentor and Henderson High graduate Glenn Carter, who headed the club team this spring (as a member of the National Club Lacrosse League) and has been recruiting heavily to bring his team to the MCLA level.
The Spiders will play next year in the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference with the likes of Florida, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Carter, who was an all-conference player at Neumann, also was top assistant at Neumann from 1999-2001 and served as head coach at Friends’ Central before then. He was head coach at Ursinus from 2001-09.
Carter, also the founder of Black Bear Lacrosse Club, was an assistant for the Philadelphia Barrage in 2008.
Carter said Richmond is researching the viability of moving Richmond to the NCAA Division I level.
He said he was thrilled to bring in four Philly players.
“I am very excited to get four kids from the local area,” he said. “I feel Philly kids have a great mixture of toughness and finesse. I plan to continue bringing them down.”
This year, in their final season as club team, the Spiders featured freshman attackman Austin Helm, a standout from Berks County’s Wyomissing High.
Here is a recap of the four Philly recruits:
McDevitt has split the goaltending duties for Malvern Prep, helping the Friars finish second in the powerful Inter-Ac League and gain the No. 2 seed in the Inter-Ac Invitational.
“We’re excited about Ryan,” Carter said. “He came on strong and has a quick left with a great outlet pass. I run the fast break style, so he fits in well.”
Topper was a First Team Lehigh Valley Conference pick this year for a club that is playing tonight in the league championship game.
“I love his quickness, and he has a great stick on the face-off with the long pole or short stick,” Carter said. “He will help us out a lot.”
Robins helped GA finish 14-4 in the regular season and earn a national ranking in the top 25 for several weeks.
“He is a big strong disciplined defenseman who has good feet and is always in the right place at the right time,” said Carter.
Volpert has seen time for the 20-0 Haverford Fords, who are ranked No. 1 in the nation. And have 19 Division I players.
“I am excited to get someone with his strong fundamentals,” Carter said, ”he has size and good skills.”
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