2021 RECAP
It wasn't the best season for men's lacrosse in 2021 as the team finished 4-11 and went 0-6 in MIAA play. Due to an unusual schedule due to COVID-19, the MIAA did a double round robin with only the second contest counting towards the conference standings.
Adrian's wins came early in the year defeating Trine 11-10, Concordia Chicago 14-10, Anderson 18-7, and Kalamazoo 17-15.
TOP GUYS BACK
A trio of top guys returns for the Bulldogs in Peyton Gasche, Chris French, and Travis Fox the three seniors look to put Adrian in the top of the standings during their final season.
Gasche led the team last season with 69 points in 15 games. He totaled 48 goals with 21 assists with 88 shots on goal. Seven of his goals came on the man-up advantage while one game a man down. He was second on the team with 40 ground balls and caused three turnovers.
French locked up 46 points last season with 21 goals and 25 assists. HE totaled 48 shots on goal with 30 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. Five of his goals came on the man-up.
Fox appeared in 12 games last season totaling 19 goals with six assists for Adrian. He ranked third on the team in ground balls with 35 on the year.
THE FACEOFF DOT
A key returner for the Bulldogs is faceoff man Max Leventis.
Leventis' name is all over the Adrian College men's lacrosse record book as he owns the record for career faceoffs won and ground balls.
He also recorded the single season ground ball record and the career ground ball record.
In 2021, Leventis won 189 faceoffs and picked up 114 ground balls to lead the team. In his career of 33 games, Leventis totals 509 faceoffs won with 338 ground balls.
WORDS FROM COACH WETZEL
"Our pre-season segment was all about getting this group to become as close-knit and tight as possible. With such a large first-year class, we expected that to be a whole lot more daunting than it turned out to be. Our upperclassmen did a great job taking the young guys under their wings and showing them how we want to do things in our program here at Adrian College. We have fully embraced a true no-frills attitude for this season and are ready to show that the Bulldogs are back. Everyone on this roster is ready to embrace their role and do their part to help us get back into the MIAA Playoffs. We are ready to prove the doubters wrong and show that we can play with the best of the best."
"We have talented guys in our Senior class returning that everybody knows about, French, Fox, Gasche and Leventis have all proven to be All-MIAA caliber players. The difference this season will be the First-Years that we anticipate to play huge roles for us. We are not going to be shy about playing these young guys and anticipate having a large number of them either in the starting line-up from game to game or playing valuable minutes in important games."
OPENING UP THE YEAR
Adrian scrimmage Lourdes University to start the year who ranks No. 8 in the NAIA. The Bulldogs came out ahead by a score 12-5.
The real test comes on Saturday, February 26 as the Bulldogs take on Siena Heights University in the first competition of the season. From there, Adrian will travel to Lake Forest for a road contest against Lake Forest before heading home to host Earlham and Chatham.
The Bulldogs are tasked with Kenyon College this season who ranks towards the top in the country in Division III. The team will wrap up the nonconference season against Wabash, Heidelberg, Hanover, and Thiel before beginning MIAA conference play.
In the MIAA, the Bulldogs will host Kalamazoo, Calvin, and Albion while facing Alma, Hope, and Trine on the road as they look to crack the top-4 for the MIAA Tournament.