VIENNA, WV – The Ohio Valley University lacrosse team is gearing up to begin their very first varsity spring season after being added to the OVU athletic roster in 2010.

“Lacrosse is a spring sport so the fall helped us to get our feet wet and prepare as a team for things to come,” said Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Carl Anderson. “Being a first year program at OVU we really have to build chemistry from the ground up as none of our players have ever played on the field together. We are working on establishing who we are both as players and as a cohesive team.”

Anderson, an alumnus of OVU, began the Fighting Scots lacrosse program as a freshman in 2005. He competed on a varsity level in high school in Newington, Connecticut and has since worked to lead and play for the Fighting Scots’ club team and now coaches the men’s varsity lacrosse team at OVU.

The team is relatively new, but has already garnered national attention in an article featured on Lacrosse Magazine’s website, www.laxmagazine.com last December. Lacrosse Magazine is the publication of US Lacrosse, a 300,000-member nonprofit organization that serves as the sport’s national governing body. The magazine is now in its 33rd year of production and is the most widely-read lacrosse publication in the world.

The article “Holler at Your Hollow: OVU Repping West Virginia” focused on both the many local West Virginia recruits the new program would bring as well as recruits from as far away as California. As the University’s inaugural season begins OVU is looking forward to being a strong competitor with the NCAA Division II lacrosse leagues.

“It was a huge deal for our team to be featured on Lacrosse Magazine’s website and will definitely be a recruiting tool for our program,” Anderson said. “It will provide a new avenue for us to get the word out about our program. It’s also a nice bragging right that even though our Division II lacrosse program is brand new we have already been featured in a national publication.”

While the lacrosse team finished their 2010 season 0-1, Anderson is looking ahead to their spring season which includes one pre-season game and 15 scheduled games.

“It is hard to judge a team and the upcoming season on just one game alone,” said Anderson. “We have a mix of athletes who have extensive playing experience and one or two that are brand new to the sport. This season we will play competitors that have been around and are highly ranked, like Mercyhurst College. There are also a few teams that are first year programs that will be favorable matches for us.”

2011 OVU Men’s Lacrosse Schedule
February 5 - Thiel College (Away) - TBD
February 19 - American International College (Home) - 1:00 p.m.
February 24 - Mercyhurt College (Home) - 4:00 p.m.
February 26 - Catawba College (Away) - 2:00 p.m.
March 1 - St. Andrews Presbyterian College (Home) - 3:00 p.m.
March 5 - Lees-McRae College (Away) - 1:00 p.m.
March 14 - Shorter University (Home) - 4:00 p.m.
March 19 - Chestnut Hill College (Away) - 1:00 p.m.
March 26 - Bethany College (Away) - 1:00 p.m.
April 2 - Grand Canyon University (Home) - 3:00 p.m.
April 5 - Lake Erie College (Away) - 6:00 p.m.
April 9 - Belmont Abbey College (Away) - 2:00 p.m.
April 12 - LaRoche College (Home) - 3:30 p.m.
April 15 - Wheeling Jesuit University (Away) - 7:00 p.m.
April 26 - Seton Hill University (Away) - 4:00 p.m.
April 30 - Lenoir-Rhyne University (Away) - 1:00 p.m.

To learn more about OVU athletics, visit www.ovu.edu/athletics, or contact Coach Carl Anderson at carl.anderson@ovu.edu or call 304.865.6179.

Photo Caption – OVU Freshman and Men’s Lacrosse player Stan Mackey, of Howell, Minnesota, makes a play during a fall game against the Morgantown Lizards.