College Men’s Lacrosse News – Guilford Pair Lands All-ODAC Recognition

FOREST, Va. – Guilford College seniors Aswan Bland (Mableton, Ga./Milton (Shorter)) and Will Forrestal (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) earned Second Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) lacrosse honors Thursday according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.

Bland, a 5-11, 190-pound attackman, scored a goal in all 17 Quakers’ contests and led the team with a career-high 40 points, which ranked 16th in the ODAC. Bland also paced Guilford with a personal-best 40 goals, sixth-best among conference leaders. He also contributed 37 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Bland netted a career- and game-high five goals in the Quakers’ 22-6 rout of league-rival Randolph College April 14. The contest marked one of Bland’s four games with five points this season. He had four goals and an assist in wins over Pfeiffer University, Cazenovia College, and in an ODAC loss at Bridgewater College. He scored back-to-back goals five seconds apart in Guilford’s win over Westminster College March 4, which set the school record for quickest consecutive scores.

Aswan Bland - Guilford 2018

Bland, who graduated Saturday with a business administration degree, contributed 77 points in his two years with the Quakers. He scored 65 goals and 12 assists in 33 career appearances.

Forrestal, a 6-2, 210-pound defenseman, becomes Guilford’s sixth two-time All-ODAC men’s lacrosse student-athlete. He contributed three goals and one assist but made his mark as Guilford’ leader with 28 caused turnovers, the ODAC’s second-highest figure. Forrestal also paced the Quakers with a career-high 59 ground balls, which stands ninth among league leaders. He anchored a defense that yielded 9.77 goals per game, the second-best figure in school history. Forrestal caused five miscues and collected eight ground balls in Guilford’s win over Westminster (Pa.). He had four forced turnovers and six pickups one month later in a road loss to nationally ranked league-rival Roanoke College.

Will Forrestal - Guilord 2018

Forrestal won Guilford’s 2018 English Athletic Leadership Award, the school’s highest athletics honor, as well as the 2018 George Wynne Most Improved Athlete honor. After starting his career as a reserve attackman, he switched to defense as a sophomore and started every game in his final two years. Forrestal ranks second in school history with 79 career caused turnovers. He also had 19 points (10g, 9a) and 123 ground balls in 65 appearances. A regular on the dean’s list, Forrestal earned his degree Saturday in criminal justice.

Bland and Forrestal helped coach Tom Carmean’s Quakers to a 9-8 overall record (3-6 ODAC). Guilford set four school records this season, enjoyed the second-longest winning streak in school history (7 games), and may return as many as 29 letter winners in 2019.