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LANCASTER, PA – Face-off specialist Matt Capone (Sr., Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale), attackman Steve Welsh (Sr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) and midfielder Colin Hanley (Sr., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha) are listed on the 2005 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Division III Preseason All-America Team. A 2004 and 2005 third team preseason All-America selection, Capone led the Centennial Conference and NCAA Division III for the second straight season in 2004 by winning 211-of-275 face-offs for a 76.72 percentage.
A 2003 and 2004 All-Centennial Conference first team selection,
he established the NCAA all divisions record for face-off
winning percentage (80.6) by winning 288-of-357 face-offs
during the 2003 season to lead Franklin & Marshall to the
NCAA “Elite Eight”, a 12-4 record and a #9 national ranking.
A 2004 and 2005 Inside Lacrosse preseason honorable mention selection, Welsh earned All-Centennial Conference and All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) first team honors last year as he led the team in scoring registering 20 goals and a season high 32 assists for 52 points to rank third in points (3.71 per game) and second in assists (2.21 per game) as he finished the year ranked 12th in the NCAA in assists. Statistically, Welsh was the team's go-to scorer last season as he scored once and handed out two assists in a 5-3 victory over Washington & Lee at home in Lancaster. The win marked the Diplomats first over the Generals in Lancaster since a 10-9 overtime win on Sponaugle-Williamson Field on March 30, 1996 as F&M improved to 8-10 all-time against the Generals. His most memorable game of the season occurred on April 21 as he scored twice in the final eight minutes of play for the game-winner and an insurance goal as the Diplomats defeated Dickinson 7-5 in Centennial Conference action. Welsh's game-winner with 8:21 left on the clock marked the second year in a row the junior attackman scored the game-winner against the Red Devils as he scored twice and handed out three assists in a 11-9 win in Carlisle on April 19, 2003. Versus Denison at Loyola University in Baltimore, Welsh scored four goals and handed out four assists for a season high eight points in a 12-10 win over the Big Red on March 20, before tallying a goal and four assists in a 10-3 win over Ursinus in the Centennial Conference season opener on March 20 in Lancaster. For his career, he now has 64 goals and 67 assists for 131 points to rank 11th in assists and 10th in points in Franklin & Marshall history. Hanley was also selected to the preseason honorable mention team as he registered 16 goals and two assists for 18 points last season to improve his career totals to 64 goals and 23 assists for 87 points. The selection marks the second straight year Hanley has been recognized as he earned preseason All-America honorable mention honors prior to last season for tallying 29-13-42 in 2003. His most memorable goal occurred on May 12, 2003 at Lynchburg College as he scored an unassisted tally at the 63:19 mark as the #9 Diplomats overcame a two goal deficit with 43 seconds left in regulation to stun #6 ranked Lynchburg 13-12 in overtime in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championships. The game marked F&M's first postseason victory in the NCAA tournament since the 1988 team advanced to the Final Four. Historically, the Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse program is one of the strongest in NCAA Division III as F&M has registered nine conference championships in the last 31 years with a 48-year record of 323-306.
Franklin & Marshall will open the 2005 season on February
26 at Elizabethtown College in the first-ever meeting between
the only two Lancaster County colleges that sponsor NCAA men’s
lacrosse teams.
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