Story by Tim O'Brien
WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's lacrosse team travels to Wabash College for the season-opening non-conference game on Sunday afternoon. The game is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
The Teams: The preseason coaches' poll came out last week where Wilmington was picked to finish in a tie for 8th place in the conference. Wilmington finished the season last year with a 5-11 record and 2-6 record in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play. The Quakers faced Wabash last year where they lost a tightly contested game, 10-9. Wilmington looks to rebound from that lost last year and begin this season on a winning note. The Little Giants opened up their season with a 16-6 loss to Trine University at home on February 17th. Wabash will continue their two-game homestand hosting Wilmington on Sunday.
The Coaches: Jeff Arneson is in his first season as head coach of the Wilmington men's lacrosse program. Arneson comes to Wilmington from a seven-year stint as a coach from Thiel College including six years as the head coach. While at Thiel, Coach Arneson took the team from a 2-12 record in his first year to a 10-5 record in 2015. In 2014, Arneson coached the Player of the Year in the President's Athletic Conference (PAC) while also winning coach of the year. Wabash will be competing with Todd Richardson at the helm in his second year as the head coach. In his first year, Richardson compiled a 5-11 overall record while going 1-7 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).
The Players: Jhordan Lang will be returning this season for his senior year leading the offensive attack for the Quakers. During last season, Lang amounted 68 points for the Quakers. Sophomore Connor Judge will add to the attack while totaling 29 points last season. Defensively, Seniors Tanner Diment and Jake Ladendorf will lead the way. Diment will be playing defense and face-off this season and will be looked to for his experience and work ethic from the rest of the team. Ladendorf will move to goalie this season after playing on the offensive side of the ball last season. Wabash will be led by Colin Brennan and Dajon Thomas whom both scored two goals in their previous game.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of the contest will be available - visit the links above.
Up Next: Wilmington will continue its four-game road stretch at Earlham College on Tuesday, March 6th. The Quaker Bowl Rivalry game will begin at 7 p.m.