Washington College Shoremen lacrosse

Washington College Men's Lacrosse team " The Shoremen " are a highly noted Men's Lacrosse team at the Division III level reigning out of Chesterntown,MD. The team competes in the Centennial Conference which is one of the top athletic conferences for Division III lacrosse. The team competes against ranked opponents such as Gettysburg College and Salisbury University, where they once too sat in Division III. They have made 28 Appearances in the NCAA National Tournament. Washington College Men's Lacrosse competes in Roy Kirby Stadium, on Kibler Field, which has been voted a Top 10 colligiate lacrosse facility by Lacrosse Magazine. In 1998 Washington college won its first National Championship.

History

Washington College introduced lacrosse to their athletic program in 1929. The team played five seasons until 1934 when the school decided to drop the program. In 1948 the program was started up again by Charles Clark, as he became the founder of the Shoremen's "Tradition of Excellence". Washington College then joined the USILA, a premier lacrosse organization, in 1950. In the first season upon entering the USILA, the team posted a record of 10-3. This started the yearly tradition of Washington College being at the forefront of the collegiate lacrosse scene. By the late 50's and early 60's the college became one of the top 5 teams in the nation of colleges competing in the sport. The team continued their success and made it to their first National Championship in 1972 against the local Baltimore, MD lacrosse team the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays. Washington College lost 15-12, after putting up a second-half rally but falling short in the end to the Blue Jays offense. The college made it to the National Championshipi Game again in: 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1997, where they lost every time to rivals Hobart and Nazareth. In 1998, however, Washington College won its first ever National Championship 16-10 against Nazareth College. The team finished with a solid 14-4 record and boasting seven All-Americans and nine Centennial Conference All-Conference selections.^[1]

Coaches

Washington College has had 11 coaches since its existence as a team, including current Head Coach Jeff Shirk. Charles Clark, Don Kelly, Terry Corcoran, and John Haus round out a highly noted group of Head Coaches at the school.

• William Beatty
  • 1929-1930 (2-11)
• Omar Crothers
  • 1931 (1-6)
• George Ekaitis
  • 1932-1934 (2-15)
• Charles Clark
  • 1948-1957 (79-37)
• Don Kelly
  • 1958-1977 (161-91-1)
• Mickey Dimaggio
  • 1978 (10-4)
• Bryan Matthews
  • 1979-1982 (30-24)
• Terry Corcoran
  • 1983-1994 (125-57)
• John Haus
  • 1995-1998 (49-21)
• J.B. Clarke
  • 1999-2010 (138-63)
• Jeff Shirk
  • Present Head Coach

War on the Shore

The War On The Shore is an annual lacrosse game between Eastern Shore rivals, Washington College and Salisbury University. Former Coach Charles Clark, after leaving Washington College, began coaching at Salisbury University. The game is played in Coach Charles Clark's honor, deeming the winner of this match the holder of the Charles B. Clark Cup. This is one of the biggest rivalry matches in all of Division III lacrosse, and is played at the end of each teams season. This match draws crowds up to a few thousand people. The match in the 2011 Lacrosse Season will be played at Washington College in Roy Kirby Stadium.

Awards and recognition

Washington College Men's Lacrosse team has had plenty of outstanding athletes on their team. Year after year they are producing All-Americans and All-Conference selections.

1. All-America Notables (Grieves, Cheek, Kauffman,Berger, Shriver, Tibal)
2. All-Centennial Selections

References

1. "Washington College Athletics" (PDF). Washingtoncollegesports.com. Retrieved 2010-11-22.