June 8, 2008

Defense wins championships. It might be one of the most well worn phrases in sports and with good reasonThe Upper Arlington Mens Lacrosse team put the clamps on rival Worthington Kilbourne Saturday, stifling the Wolves prolific offense en route to their fifth straight Division I Ohio High School Lacrosse Assocation title. The UA victory was its third over
Kilbourne this season.

The Bears led 3-0 early thanks to goals from Cal Case, Alex Drake and Eric Hanover. The score was 4-2 at halftime but Kilbourne's talented senior attackman Nick Beattie scored his second and final goal in the third quarter to cut the lead to 4-3. Drake, who has a knack for scoring timely goals, gave the Bears a 5-3 lead with 1:52 left in the three quarter and started a run of four unanswered UA goals to end the game. Senior captain Adam Donahue had two in the spurt, Nolan Kleinhenz the other as UA won 8-3 to finish its championship season 19-3.

Ohio Player of the Year Grant Oliver was matched up with Beattie while fellow senior captain Alex Benedick was a wall in goal, finishing with 11 saves. "It's hard to beat a team twice and a third team is even harder so we had to make the right adjustments and we got it done," said Benedick, who was named the Defensive MVP of the game.

Wolford agrees with the axiom of defense wins championships. "There's no doubt about that and that's really how we have lived all of our years," said the 17-year UA Head Coach who captured his 11th state title. "Guys like Grant and Alex really stepped up big, doing the right thing and playing hard. It was a hot sticky day and we were constantly under the gun but we kept coming back and shining the whole time."

Kilbourne Head Coach Mike Riffee credited the Bears defensive scheme for limiting his team to its lowest goal output of the season. Oliver and Beattie offered mutual respect post-game. "They're a great team," Oliver said. "We came and played real hard today and came out with a win." Beattie tipped his cap to UA "It's a really big game every year...Upper Arlington is a great team. They deserve all the credit. They did a really great job playing against us and played a flawless game."

Amid the post-game jubilation there were hugs and team pictures with the championship trophy and former players congratulating the caretaker of the program. "It's not about me or the coaches," Wolford said. "It's new for a lot of our guys. It's all about them anyways. You get rewarded as we say every year with smiles. To see them smile and jump up and down that's the payoff right there."

June 3, 2008

The Golden Bears wil get a chance to win their fifth straight state title thanks to a convincing 14-6 win over visiting Cincinnati St. Xavier. The Golden Bears jumped to a 9-2 halftime lead en route to their fourth straight win. UA was led in scoring by a pair of senior attackman. Adam Donahue and Eric Hanover each scored three goals against the Bombers.

"We had a quick start," Wolford said. "We jumped out quick and got some good looks and then put it on cruise control and forgot what had gotten us there."

The Bears took a 13-5 lead after three quarters. The final goal of the period came off the stick of freshman Luke Treece thanks to an assist by senior captain and close defenseman Grant Oliver. Senior Trip Taylor scored the Bears' final goal with 4:33 left. UA senior captain Alex Benedick played the first three quarters. Junior Teddy Dugger played all but the final minute and half of the fourth quarter before giving way to sophomore Daniel Kloos.

"We got everybody in the game," according to Wolford. "That's good since those guys practice all season and I was
glad we got them a chance in a big ballgame."

June 2, 2008

The Upper Arlington Mens Lacrosse team will host Cincinnati St. Xavier Tuesday night at 7 with a berth in the Div. I State Final on the line.

The Golden Bears defeated the Bombers 11-5 May 9th during a two-game road trip to Cincinnati. "We know their personnel well and that's the big thing," UA Head Coach Ted Wolford said. "They have good athletes and we have to be prepared to make adjustments on the fly."

Wolford was asked about the mentality of his team during the stretch run of the playoffs. "Our seniors are out of school and energy wise they are very high," said the 17-year head coach of the Golden Bears. "We are anxious to get after it."

May 6, 2008

The Upper Arlington lacrosse tradition carries on in this week's NCAA Division I and III tournaments. The Golden Bear program will send ten former players into the Div. I tournament this weekend with four playing for Ohio State in

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its first tourney appearance since 2004. Senior midfielder Peter Schell leads the quartet with junior Cory Bentine and freshmen Scott Lathrop and T.J. Powell giving the Buckeyes a strong UA presence.

Cornell is the Bucks opponent Saturday at 5 pm in Ithaca, New York and there might be a small reunion post-game as Big Red goalie Kyle Harer will suit up for the home team. Harer transferred to the Ivy League school after Butler shut down its program with little notice last year.

"Kyle Harer is a story that jumps out at you," UA Head Coach Ted Wolford said. "After his program folded he finds himself in an Ivy League school and a chance to play Ohio State from his hometown." Harer did play at Jesse Owens Stadium against OSU as the Butler goalie in 2006.

The rest of the D-1 UA grads are spread throughout the field with Maryland represented by sophomore Chris Rhine and freshman Max Schmidt, who was last year's Player of the Year in Ohio. Schmidt was also chosen to play in the International Lacrosse Federation U-19 World Championships this summer in Canada.

Sean Hecker is a junior defenseman for Loyola who plays its first round game at Duke, last year's national runner-up. 2005 Golden Bear graduate Joe Dewey has already won a National Championship ring at Virginia and is back in the tournament for the Cavaliers. Dewey has won 11 of 20 faceoffs in limited duty for UVA due to injury. 12th-ranked Colgate will take a former Bear to 6th-ranked Notre Dame for its first-round game Sunday. Senior midfielder Brian Lombardo will be playing in the program's first ever post-season game. The Red Raiders are the Patriot League champs.

Wolford was disappointed for Clayton Hall and Eric Reinhardt who play at 4th-ranked Georgetown. The Hoyas finished the regular season 9-4 with an overtime loss at Penn State but claim the only victory this season over top-ranked Duke. "I feel horrible for those two, especially Clayton who is a senior. They deserved to be in."

The Div. III tournament begins Wednesday with North Coast Athletic Conference champ Denison hosting Widener. The Big Red have made great use of junior Nate Hall who has started all 15 games and is the team's fourth leading scorer
with 34 points.

Ohio Wesleyan has a trio from UA in sophomore defenseman Lee Catt and freshman goalie Jud Hall and freshman midfielder Kyle Smith. The Battling Bishops travel to Kenyon in a rematch of a regular season game won by the Lords.

"I'm awfully proud of these kids," said Wolford. "The goals that they have set on the field, some as starters andothers in back-up roles, and the commitment they have made proves they are quality individuals."

April 28, 2008

Head Coach Ted Wolford reached another career milestone in his Upper Arlington tenure by winning his 300th career game Saturday, 15-2 over visiting Westerville North.

The Bears led 6-0 after a quarter but only 6-1 at the break. Wolford credited the "young kids" for making a big contribution
in the second half. Nine players scored goals and 15 had a goal or an assist.

As for the impressive win total, an average of nearly 18 wins a year, Wolford says he's not counting. "It's behind me already. You're always looking at the next game and not really setting sights on those kind of goals. It just happened.
There's been a lot of great people who have been a big part of making that happen."