Pride pay tribute to their fallen Captain #18 with win over Warren Wilson, 29-3
Greensboro, NC – It is hard to imagine the pain the Greensboro College Men’s Lacrosse team has endured over the past 10 days. In fact, it is hard to imagine the pain the entire Greensboro College and Barton College communities, in addition to family and friends, have had to face over the untimely death of their teammate, son and friend. However, in a tribute to their Captain, the Pride took the field against Warren Wilson University with #18 in their hearts on Wednesday evening at Pride Field.
As the team took the field, prior to face-off, they came out with a Canadian Flag (Seth’s home country) and his green #18 jersey. He would be honored with the playing of O’ Canada, followed by a moment of silence. In addition, as the starting lineups were introduced, Graduate Student Seth Mandryk’s (Stonewall Manitoba, Canada) name would be introduced in the Attack position and his jersey was carried to midfield. The game began with Greensboro playing a man down.
The Pride started the first quarter scoring seven straight goals, as Senior Austin Abourjilie (Greensboro, NC) and Junior William Beyer (Greensboro, NC) each found the net four times, in addition to goals from Junior DJ Johnson (Greensboro, NC) and Freshman Bryson Thorpe (Mebane, NC) to grab the lead, 10-1. In the second quarter, Abourjilie and Beyer would score two more times, while Junior Aaron Larios-Neubert (Beaverton, OR) added two of his own, to go along with goals by Junior Chase Henderson (Greensboro, NC) and Sophomore Leo Ringelberg (Waxhaw, NC), ending the half with the advantage 18-2, which Head Coach Nate Bates and his team were proud of, as the 18 goals represented Mandryk’s number at Greensboro.
In another tribute to Mandryk, the Pride would score six goals in the third quarter, with Sophomore’s William Phinizy (Graham, WA) and Caelen Young (Linthicum, MD) joining Abourjilie, Beyer and Ringelberg on the scoreboard to end the quarter leading 24-2. The 24 represented the number that Mandryk wore when he played at Barton. The fourth quarter saw Greensboro find the net five more times, with Sophomore Jack Martinez (Maitland, FL) getting his first goal of the game, and as the final horn sounded the Pride would earn the win over the Owls, 29-3.
Greensboro was led by Abourjilie and Beyer who combined for 16 goals, scoring eight each, while Beyer also dished out six assists for a total of 14 points. In addition, Ringelberg added three goals and Henderson dominated the face-off circle winning 13 of 16. Freshman Collin Henry (Greensboro, NC) got his first start in goal this season and withstood 16 shots, while only giving up three goals.
After the game, both teams, along with the Pride community, fans and family gathered at midfield to listen to Coach Bates pay tribute to Mandryk and thank everyone for their support during this difficult time. He reiterated the point that everyone is loved and it is important to talk to someone about any issues you are dealing with. The talk was concluded with a prayer from the College Chaplain and then both teams huddled together in solidarity.
Greensboro will return to action on Saturday, April 1st when they host LaGrange at Pride field. Face-off is scheduled for 1:00pm.