Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/13/17
From Press Release
Interim head coach Ed Williams announced seniors Will McCarthy, Scott McAvoy (Wyomissing, Duke’s LC), Matt Close (Wilson, Duke’s LC) and James Roberts as captains for the 2018 edition of Lafayette men’s lacrosse on Monday.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the work that these young men have put forward to get to this point in their careers,” Williams said. “Their attitude, effort and attention to detail is exactly what Lafayette Lacrosse stands for and they live it every day. I could not imagine having a different group at the top leading this program on and off the field.”
All four of the Leopards’ eight-man senior group operate out of the midfield, asked to take on expanded roles on both ends of the field. This season’s Leopards will open play on Feb. 3, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on North Carolina at 12 p.m.
McCarthy put together his best offensive season of his career a year ago, scoring seven goals to go along with nine assists for 16 points. He put 22 shots on target and continued his progression as one of Lafayette’s better two-way players. On the defensive side, he caused a career-high nine turnovers, while picking up a career-high 39 ground balls in his 14 games played.
McAvoy is the most established offensively of this group, scoring 20 career goals, including 11 in just six games in 2016. A knee injury forced him out of the lineup for the final eight games last season, but the senior is poised for a redemption year this spring.
Close was clicking on the offensive end prior to another injury that ended his junior season as well. The Wyomissing, Pa. native scored six goals in eight games after tallying seven goals and three assists in 2016. Close carries a career shots-on-goal percentage of .692.
Finally, Roberts has been a staple of the Leopards’ midfield over three seasons on College Hill, playing in 40 games for the Maroon and White over his three years. He helped out with a pair of assists during his junior year and added six assists and 15 ground balls to his stat line a year ago.
Lafayette is hoping to improve upon a 2-12 overall record last spring, going 1-7 in Patriot League play, with the lone conference victory over Navy.
