Guilford Men’s Lacrosse Opens Season Saturday Versus Lynchburg

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford men’s lacrosse team begins its 2021 season on Saturday, March 13th when it plays host to Lynchburg in a 1 p.m. contest at Armfield Athletic Center.

Guilford has won three of its last four games, dating back to a 17-10 triumph over Methodist on February 25, 2019. The Quakers followed that performance with a 20-5 win against William Peace and a 16-8 defeat of Pfeiffer, which proved to be the last game of the 2019 campaign. The only loss (20-5) in that stretch came at Washington & Lee on March 7th.

Head Coach Maxx Aiken has 13 seniors on his roster, including leading goal scorer from a season ago Brennan Sweeney. Sweeney netted 22 goals and handed out 17 assists, which was second-most on the team, to finish with 39 points. He scored multiple goals on six occasions, netting a single-game season-high five in a 19-5 win over Sewanee in the 2020 season opener.

Aiken will also have the luxury of returnees Connor Sweeney and Derek Zacatenco in his offensive arsenal. Sweeney, the top assist artist in 2020 with 21 for the Quakers, netted 20 goals and tallied 41 points. He came through with five multi-goal contests, including a single-game season-high five in a 16-9 win over crosstown rival Greensboro.

Zacatenco also tallied 20 goals and along with six assists finished with the third-most points (26) on the team. Like Brennan Sweeney, Zacatenco tallied five goals versus Sewanee, which marked a single-game season-high.

Senior Jack Rogers returns to Guilford after notching a team-best 84 saves in eight games in 2020. Rogers logged 391:39 minutes in net and finished with a 5-2-0 record and .522 save percentage.

Lynchburg kept its perfect record intact on Wednesday afternoon with a 20-9 victory over St. Mary’s (Md.). The Hornets, who opened the campaign with a decisive 24-0 win over Randolph, capped off February with an 18-8 win against Southern Virginia. March began with a 10-8 win over No. 1 ranked Salisbury and continued with the 11-point win on Wednesday.

Kyle Lewis leads the offensive attack with 11 goals and 16 points, by virtue of five assists. Teammates Colin Dean and Brett Rogers have scored nine goals each for the Hornets with Rogers leading the team in both assists (nine) and points (18).

The trio of Patrick Moore (26 saves), Zach Phillips (seven) and Tyler Hadley (three) have combined for 36 saves for Lynchburg this season. As a unit they have a .590 save percentage in 240 minutes of play.

For more information on Guilford men’s lacrosse check out www.guilfordquakers.com.