Webber Men Press Releases
via Webber website/press releases
Warriors Ranked 3rd in NAIA Poll
Kansas City, MO – The NAIA released its Preseason Men’s Lacrosse Poll Wednesday Morning. After reaching the National Semifinal in the 2023 season, the Webber Men’s Lacrosse team has been ranked 3rd in the initial poll.
The Warriors return the number one scoring offense in the NAIA and look to go to new heights in 2024. Other conference opponents ranked in the poll are reigning champions Keiser at #1, University of the Cumberlands at #4, Reinhardt at #6, and Tennessee Wesleyan is receiving votes. Webber also welcomes #5 Concordia and RV Ottawa to Babson Park this season.
Check out the official poll at https://www.naia.org/sports/mlax/2023-24/Releases/Preseason_National
The Warriors will be back in action in on Saturday, February 17th when they host RV Tennessee Wesleyan on the Warrior Turf Field.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Warrior Athletics. Please visit www.webberathletics.com. Follow us on Twitter- @WebberAthletics, Instagram- @Webber_Athletics, and Facebook by searching Webber International University Athletics.
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Warriors Take Care of Trojans for Third Straight Season Opening Victory
Babson Park, FL – The Webber International Men’s Lacrosse team hosted the Taylor Trojans Saturday afternoon on the Warrior Turf Field. The Warriors dominated both sides of the ball all game and came out victorious with a 21-4 victory to open the 2024 season.
Joshua Cargile won the opening faceoff to kick off the season and Webber got to work. Cade McCarron quickly got to work, firing a shot into the net to start scoring. Starting goalie Ryan Prylinski grabbed his first of 16 saves on the afternoon soon after. Five minutes into the first quarter, the Trojans were able to tie the game on a goal, and that would be the closest they got for the rest of the game. Cargile won another faceoff with Samuel Henry on the ground ball. Blake Nelson took a shot that went high before connecting on his next shot to make it 2-1. Christian Tapia scored the next goal off an assist from Chase Jackson on a man-up opportunity. Bentley King scored a minute later and Jackson found the net soon after, making the score 5-1. King took two more shots that were saved, heading into the second quarter with the score staying the same.
Houston Finlayson found the net early in the second quarter, with McCarron finding his stick for an assist. Jackson and King both scored again for the Warriors, with King’s goal making the score 8-1 Warriors with eight and a half minutes left in the half. Another save from Prylinski set up a Warrior score, as Finlayson and Jackson both took shots at the goal before Jackson found the net again. Prylinksi had two more saves in the second quarter while also conceding a goal to head to halftime with the Warriors up 9-2.
Webber came out of the break with a new fire, scoring right off of the opening faceoff, won again by Cargile. Jackson started a five-minute run where Webber was seemingly able to score at will. Jeremiah Loo scored his first goal of the day off the feed from Jackson, before scoring again a minute later. Nelson scored again for Webber off another Jackson assist. Loo and Finlayson scored again before Taylor was finally able to get a shot off in the second half, which was saved by Prylinski. Nelson raced down the field and scored on the Trojans again before Daniel McClure scored as well. Prylinski got three more saves before the Trojans were able to get another goal, making the score 17-3. Loo found the back of the net once more in the third quarter, taking the Warriors into the fourth quarter with an 18-3 lead.
Riley Graves took over in goal for Prylinski in the fourth quarter, quickly going to work and getting his first save of the day. After multiple shots from the Warriors, McCarron scored again. Loo scored again on a man-up opportunity. Graves made three more saves for the Warriors before Liam Murphy was brought in to close the game. Murphy made two quick saves, before Dillon Ziemba scored the final time for the Warriors. The Trojans found the back of the net behind Murphy for their last goal of the game. The Warriors came out victorious 21-4, starting the season off with a win for the third straight season.
Loo led the team with five goals. Jackson had four as well as five assists to lead the team with nine total points. Nelson had three goals, while McCarron, Finlayson, and King all had two goals. In the goal, Prylinksi had 16 saves, Graves had six and Murphy had two.
When asked about the game, Head Coach Chris Burdick said “We’re excited to get the season started. Our players and coaches have worked very hard to prepare for today and for the most part we played a strong game against a well-coached and athletic group from Taylor. I was impressed with the play of Josh Cargile at the face off and Ryan Prylinski was very solid today in the net. We have some things that need to get cleaned up when we get into the film this weekend for sure but it’s a good start for our squad.”
The Warriors will be back in action on Saturday, February 17th when they host the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs at 1 PM.
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Warrior Men’s Lacrosse Prepared for 2024 Season
Babson Park, FL – The Webber International Men’s Lacrosse team is preparing for another season in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The 2023 National Semifinal team went 16-4 including an upset over five-time defending champion Reinhardt University in the National Quarterfinals. Fourth-year Head Coach Chris Burdick believes his team, who returns all of the 2023 NAIA #1 ranked offense, will be just as competitive.
Last season’s 16 wins were a program record at Webber, featuring a majority of road games. The Warriors competed favorably against Top 10 competition all season, including wins against #4 Aquinas, #7 Tennesee Wesleyan, #4 Cumberlands, and #4 Reinhardt. Webber started the season 7-0, before a close loss to then #1 Reinhardt. The Warriors finished the season and post-season going 9-3, eventually losing in the National Semifinals to 2023 Champion Keiser.
The Warriors return their entire offense from last season, which was ranked #1 in the entirety of the NAIA. Chase Jackson and Christian Tapia will be the main contributors, with help from Blake Nelson, Houston Finlayson, Alex West, and Jack Ross. Underclassmen Cade McCarron, Connor Herring, Nick Sheaffer, Branden Sheaffer, and Daniel McClure, who returns to the lineup after missing the 2023 season, will continue to bolster the Warrior offense.
The Warriors will be without multiple key players from last year’s team, including standout goalie Alex Cordero, faceoff specialist Hunter Scott, Cade Bullard, Riley Roy, as well as Tampa transfers Austin Schepers and Jordan Elam. Despite losing these contributors from last season’s team, Burdick says the depth is poised to fill those shoes. There is a tight goalie competition between Riley Graves, Ryan Prylinski, and sophomore transfer Liam Murphy. Josh Cargile, Beau Masters, Malachi LaRue, Alan Basic, and Luke Pallone will fill in at the faceoff position for the Warriors.
Defensively, Burdick expects Dane Fasano, Greyson Davidson, Aiden Smith, Jerrin Spann, and Kyle Weigand to continue to be key contributors. In addition to faceoff duties, Pallone will also pull double duty as a short stick mid-defender. Steven Landsman and Jack Polomsky are also expected to take bigger roles this season. Carson Ercoli, Tay’Quan Bryan, Jacob Trickler, Dillon Ziemba, Samuel Henry, and LaRue are also going to take a step up this season. Christian Britton makes his return to the Warriors after missing the 2023 season, while transfers Bentley King, Zach Cordero, and Kye McCarron will also be big parts of the team.
Coach Burdick brought Scott to his coaching staff after graduating in 2023. He also returns Liam Winwood and Alexander Irizarry. He also brought on James Courter and Joe Caputo in limited roles. Tristan Scheller is the strength and conditioning coach, while Lexie Mutillo returns as the athletic trainer.
The Warriors open up their season on Saturday, January 20th against Taylor University, and continue their non-conference schedule with a plethora of teams that are good enough to qualify for the NAIA tournament, including Concordia and Ottawa. In the conference schedule, every team is poised to have a good season. Webber opens conference play against Tennessee Wesleyan. SCAD has a new coach, while Montreat, Point, and St. Andrews figure to be solid teams. First-year program Life will be able to compete as well. With Webber, the top four of the conference will include Keiser, Reinhardt, and Cumberlands.
Burdick said that the team’s focus is to improve every day. To build on the fundamentals and build team chemistry. The team can’t worry about last season and to build themselves from the ground up. Every team right now is finding their identity, and the guys are buying into the process.
This season is for the seniors who committed to the team when there wasn’t one. Their vision has come to fruition and this is their moment. The locker room is ready and committed to the seniors.
If you are interested in learning more about the Webber Men’s Lacrosse team check out www.laxwar.com, to see more about college lacrosse and have workshops with the team.
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Kew Named to NLL Roster
Buffalo, NY – Former Webber International Men’s Lacrosse player Alexander Kew has been announced on the roster of the Buffalo Bandits. The Bandits play in the National Lacrosse League and are currently the defending champions.
Kew was an integral part of the Warriors’ first two seasons as a program. He led the team in goals scored in both 2021 (21) and 2022 (40). Kew finished his senior season in 2022 with 40 goals, tied for 16th in the NAIA, and had a total of 55 points, tied for 23rd nationally. He helped lead the Warriors to an 11-6 season in which they reached the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament and were on the cusp of getting a call for the NAIA Invitational Tournament.
When asked about his former player’s opportunity, Head Coach Chris Burdick said “Our Lacrosse program is extremely excited about Alex’s opportunity to play in the NLL. I know Alex has been up in Canada, working hard on his game as he continues to pursue his professional ambitions and we’re really excited for him to have this opportunity.”
Kew and the Bandits open up their season on December 9th when they take on the Albany Firewolves. To keep up with the Bandits and the National Lacrosse League, head to ESPN and ESPN+ to stream every game.
