Over the next few weeks, we will be previewing the Top 20 teams in Division III according to Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook rankings. Two teams will be featured each day so be sure to check out the front page for all of the updates as we countdown to the 2014 season. Click here to see a full archive of the Top 20 Countdown.
No. 8 Nazareth
2013 Record: 15-5, 7-0 Empire 8
Last Game: NCAA Tournament Second Round, L 15-12 vs. Western New England
Scoring Average: 13.8 goals per game, 10.1 goals against
Leading Returning Scorer: Luke Wooters, So. – 64 goals, 29 assists, 93 points
The Nazareth Golden Flyers were one of the hottest teams in the country heading into last year’s NCAA Tournament. An eight-game unbeaten streak became nine with a 25-4 first round win over Caselton State, but stopped their when they ran into Western New England and its pumpkin carriage. Luke Wooters paced a high-flying offense with his ridiculous 93-point freshman season, but not far behind him was Troy Haefele with 74 points during his first season. In fact, all five of Nazareth’s top scorers are back in 2014 after accounting for a staggering 203 goals last season. Goalkeeper Scott Brown, also kicking off Year Two, is back between the pipes after posting a 9.83 GAA and 50.9 save percentage as a freshman.
Naz will open its season with a tough non-conference slate, per usual, headlined by Stevenson and RIT. Thrown in there as well are Springfield College, Bowdoin, Lynchburg, and the next team on our countdown….
No. 7 Cabrini
2013 Record: 15-4, 6-0 CSAC
Last Game: NCAA Second Round, L 22-13 vs. RIT
Scoring Average: 16.68 goals per game, 7.47 goals against
Leading Returning Scorer: Corey Elmer, Sr. – 57 goals, 55 assists, 112 points
The one name you need to know here is Corey Elmer. The trendy pick for preseason Player of the Year, Elmer lit the world on fire with 112 total points last season, spearheading one of the country’s best offenses with his balance of passing and finishing. Bobby Thorp is gone, but every other member of the team’s top-five scorers are back in the fold. Goalkeeper Chris Treat is back for his sophomore season after holding down the pipes for almost 800 minutes in 2013.
The issue for Cabrini is that the CSAC’s schedule is one of the weaker in the ultra-competitive South region, meaning they have to bulk up their non-conference schedule to near masochistic levels. Now, Cabrini’s schedule is not quite Roanoke’s murderer’s row, but it’s close. Dickinson, Lynchburg, Gettysburg, Nazareth and Salisbury litter the non-conference slate. A solid record in those games coupled with another unbeaten run through the CSAC might be enough to keep Cabrini from settling in the North region again in 2014.
