The members of the Gettysburg College men’s lacrosse team have been caught looking too far into the future in the past, but this season the Bullets have refocused on the task at hand and look to build on the things they’re doing now to be prepared for postseason runs in May.
Head Coach Hank Janczyk enters his 33rd season at Gettysburg as the second-winningest coach in NCAA history with 467 wins – 422 of which have come with the Bullets. Janczyk has led the Bullets to a total of 19 conference titles and 26 appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Last season, Gettysburg was pegged No. 1 in the CC preseason poll and was poised for a deep postseason run. Both goals fell short as the Bullets were upset by Ursinus College in the conference title game before being ousted by St. John Fisher College in double-overtime in the second round of NCAAs.
“We’re really slow to talk about expectations,” said Janczyk. “We’re really trying to get better. You know, last year we sometimes talked about it too much. So right now we’ve had about a week of practice, we’re working on fundamentals and we’re trying to figure out who’ll be playing first.”
Gettysburg returns a talent-rich lineup that features five Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-Americans in senior defenseman Mitch Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), senior midfielder Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic), senior attackman Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), junior defenseman Andrew Horn (Bronxville, N.Y./Avon Old Farms), , and sophomore goalie Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga). Wykoff was also named a Preseason All-American by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).
Wykoff, McCormick, Kolen, and fellow senior long-stick midfielder Christian Atalese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) will serve as team captains in 2020. The four seniors have established a strong culture within the program and have served a key role in helping Janczyk and his staff set the team up for success this spring.
“All those guys are good players and they’re all committed students,” said the coach. “They’re good leaders. It’s a good group of four guys that I think we can really bank on when we need to. I like how they’re leading. I like their ideas and what we’re trying to do. I’m excited about working with them this year.”
McCormick is coming off his best season with 63 points on 35 goals and 28 assists. He was tagged first-team All-CC and third-team All-America in 2019. Kolen has posted 150 points over his last two seasons on the attack. The senior posted 60 goals last spring, which was the third-most in program history on the way to All-America Honorable Mention status for the second-straight season.
McCormick and Kolen are the team’s top returning offensive threats along with junior Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence School). Fletcher was third on the squad with 55 points a year ago, including a team-best 35 assists.
The offense took a hit with the loss of All-Americans Andrew Garstka, Jack Harvey, and Tommy Heller, but for the Bullets its next man up and the team has plenty of hungry players waiting in the wings.
“In the fall we felt the loss of guys like Tommy Heller, Andrew Garska, and other guys that were dynamic in our offense and that brought a lot to the table,” noted Kolen. “Over the off-season the coaches took an approach to make our offense more dynamic. We want to make sure we are using the talent on our offense to the best of our ability.”
Adding to the mix on offense are several players vying for significant increases in playing time as well as a talented crop of first-years. Sophomore Kieran Ward (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep) saw significant playing time as a first-year and junior Colin Pavluk (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven) and sophomore Ian Waresk (New Vernon, N.J./Madison) could challenge for increased roles. Additionally, sophomore Spencer Knife (Venice, Calif./Winston Churchill) joins the team after transferring from Towson University following the 2018 season.
“We’re really moving the ball and we’ve changed our offense around a lot,” said Janczyk. “We’re trying to get the kids to take ownership of what we were doing. A lot of the film sessions involves them doing a lot of the talking to each other.”
The defense returns a strong unit in Wykoff, Horn, and junior PJ Dettor (Annapolis, Md./Severn School), each of whom started all 19 games a year ago. Wykoff has been named an All-American and All-CC First Team selection in each of the last two seasons. He posted 92 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers, while scoring nine goals out of the backfield in 2020. Horn quickly took a lead role on the team after transferring from the University of Vermont, piling up a team-high 25 caused turnovers, 66 ground balls, and three goals. Dettor posted 20 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers in his first year as a starter.
Senior Terence McMenamy (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) and junior Pat Cosgrove (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) will also be in the mix for time in the backfield after seeing regular time last spring.
“Defensively, were pretty strong and we want to make sure we are really playing good team defense,” said Janczyk. “Every once and awhile that slipped away from us. We are really going to work on that.”
The defensive midfield took a bit of a hit with the loss of stalwarts Ryan Kelly and Jackson Mumford, but rising veterans return to fill those voids in senior Matt Smith (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape), junior Connor Leach (Wolfeboro, N.H./Brewster Academy) and sophomore Tate Kienzle (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga).
Carrying the long-pole in the midfield, Atalese tied Wykoff with 23 caused turnovers, scooped 47 ground balls, and tallied a pair of goals. Senior Eric Carr (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Academy of the New Church) and junior Kevin Casey (Marblehead, Mass./St. John’s Prep) give the Bullets added depth in the defensive midfield.
“I feel that the defense will not really miss a beat,” said Wykoff. “We’re so deep. We have guys that are ready to take any spot if any guys go down. All the way down to the freshmen class we have guys that I could see playing on day one. I’m really excited with the guys that we have. “
MacMillan returns to goalie duties after starting every game as a first-year in 2019. He led the Centennial with a goals against average of 9.39 and logged a save percentage of .513. The sophomore tallied 10 or more saves in 10 outings, including 13 against No. 19 Stevenson University and Haverford College. Senior Chris Crowley (Madison, N.J./Delbarton) brings added depth and experience with 15 games played.
Senior Connor Hunt (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury), junior Alex Ulrich (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s, and sophomore Joe Persche (Summit, N.J./Summit) all saw significant time on face-offs last season. Ulrich led the trio with a face-off percentage of .563 (103-183), while Persche (.560), and Hunt (.534) were both well over 50 percent.
“I’m the face-off coach for the first time in my life and these guys are teaching me a ton,” said Janczyk. “I’m having a riot with them, and I call them all coaches. Goalie play were in pretty good shape there. Scottie played a lot for us last year and I think will start there.”
Gettysburg was picked No. 2 in the CC Preseason Coaches’ Poll and the Bullets have maintained a spot inside the top 10 in the national polls in the early weeks. The team will face another challenging campaign against some of the nation’s top teams, including three (Salisbury University, York College, Tufts University) ranked among the top 10.
While the team is maintaining its focus on the next day and the next game, the seniors in particular have an inherit desire to go out with a bang. It’s been four years since the Bullets claimed conference gold and reclaiming that prize while making a deep national run remains in the deep recesses of everyone’s mind.
“Our first week on campus we were so excited to win the CC and we thought we could do it each year,” said Wykoff. “We have gotten so close each year, and it’s been decided in the fourth quarter every year, which has been heart breaking, but I think it will only make this year more meaningful if we’re able to accomplish that. I think this senior class this year is the most driven I have ever seen and I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Gettysburg kicks off the campaign at home against Messiah College this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bullets open the Centennial schedule at Ursinus on March 21 at noon.
This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.