Welsh, Hanley & Capone Selected for 2005 USILA/STX Division III North-South All-Star Game

by Sports Information
5/18/05

LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College midfielder Colin Hanley (Sr., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha), attackman Steve Welsh (Sr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) and face-off specialist Matt Capone (Sr., Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale) have been selected to the South team for the prestigious United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association/STX North-South All-Star Game at SUNY-Cortland in Cortland, New York on June 11.

The selection of three Diplomats marks the second time Franklin & Marshall has garnered more than one North-South participant since 1996 when attackmen Chris Mergadt '96, Don Gervais '96 and midfielder Jeremy Nierman '96 were named to the South team. Last year, midfielder Bas Solleveld ’04 and defenseman Dave Taler ’04 were named to the team.

A two-time All-Centennial Conference selection with first team honors in 2004 and 2005, Welsh was named the Centennial Conference Player of the Year as he became the first F&M player to earn the honor.

The team and Centennial Conference’s leading scorer with 20 goals and 45 assists for 65 points, Welsh concludes his career with 84 goals and 112 assists 196 points as he ranks second in assists and fifth in points in school history.

In Centennial Conference games, he tallied 11 goals and 28 assists for 39 points this year in eight games as he led the Diplomats to a 5-3 record, fourth place in the conference standings and a playoff berth.

A two-time All-Centennial Conference selection with a 2004 honorable mention and 2005 first team selection, Hanley scored 15 goals and handed out eight assists for 23 points as he finished third on the team in scoring behind attackman Cyrus Adams (So., Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell), who led the conference in goals with 41 while dishing out five assists for 46 points, and Welsh.

He tied for the team lead in game-winning goals with Welsh and Adams as he netted the deciding scores against NCAA qualifiers Widener University (7-6 W OT), Denison University (9-8 W).

In Centennial Conference games, he scored six goals and four assists for 10 points.

For his career, Hanley finishes with 79 goals and 30 assists for 109 points.

An alternate selection to the North/South game, Capone led the Centennial Conference for a third straight year by winning 207-of-286 (72.37%) face-offs to raise his career total to 706-for-918 (76.90%).

A three-time All-CC first team selection with honors in 2003, 2004 and 2005, he won 120-of-169 face-offs (71.0%) with one goal in Centennial Conference games this year.

The NCAA all-division record holder in face-off winning percentage after recording an 86.4 percentage in 2003, he concludes his career with three goals and one assist for four points as he scored two goals this season and led the team in ground balls with 81.

The honor caps off a career in which the trio helped the Diplomats to the 2002 Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship as freshmen for the program's first post-season title since claiming the Middle Atlantic Conference championship in 1990.

As sophomores, the Diplomats concluded the 2003 season with a 12-4 record, 6-2 in Centennial Conference play, as Franklin & Marshall finished fifth in the nation, ranked #9 in the final USILA Division III national poll and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament. In the tournament, F&M advanced to the quarterfinals before being defeated by eventual national champion Salisbury University.

The NCAA playoff berth marked the third in program history (1988, 1990, and 1995) as the team recorded the program's best record since the 1988 team went 13-3 and advanced to the "Final Four".

Following back-to-back 9-5 records in 2004 and 2005, the trio concluded their careers with a 39-21 record.

Overall, this year will mark the fourth straight year a Diplomats player will appear in the North-South Game as defenseman Chris Schellhorn '02 appeared in the 2002 game at Johns Hopkins University and midfielder Jon Singer '03 played in the 2003 game at Sacred Heart University.

The Division III contest begins at noon on SUNY-Cortland’s campus, with the Division I North/South game to follow at 3:00 p.m.

2005 North-South Game (South Roster)
Brian Small (M), Ohio Wesleyan
Steve Welsh (A), F&M
Sean McChesney (A), Hampden-Sydney
Jono Linebaugh (A), Messiah
Jon Spivey (A), Washington
James Metelenis (M), Cabrini
Reese Baillie (M), Centenary
Justin Smith (M), Salisbury
Jeff Bigas (D), Salisbury
Reeves Craig (GK), Goucher
Kyle Mitten (D), Washington
Colin Hanley (M), F&M
Jon Sowanick (M), Gettysburg
Josh Scouten (D), Messiah
Adam Chesbrough (M), W&L
John Schlegel (A), Ohio Wesleyan
Greg Vetter (D), Washington
Matt Smith (D), Gettysburg
Gavin Molinelli (A), W&L
Dan Korpon (GK), Salisbury
Chris Sinicola (D), Stevens Tech
Brian Kuttler (M), DeSales
Tim Chryssikos (A), Swarthmore
Ryan Fassnacht (M), Hampden-Sydney
Dan Reed (M), Roanoke
Billy McCulloch (A), Lynchburg

Alternates:
Matt Capone (FO/M), F&M
Chris Weber (D), Goucher
Kevin Gondres (A), Montclair State
Chris Jordan (M), Lycoming
Jeremy Bull (GK), Hampden-Sydney
David Justen (M), Mary Washington
Craig Middleton (M), Drew
Thomas Coughlin (M), Swarthmore