|
LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College attackman Steve Welsh (Sr., Lewes, DE/Cape Henelopen) and face-off specialist Matt Capone (Sr., Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale) were both named to the 2005 STX/United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division III Men’s Lacrosse All-America Team. Welsh and Capone, who made the organization's honorable mention squad, are the 34th and 35th players to garner All-America status while in the blue and white uniform of Franklin & Marshall College. Further, they are the fifth and sixth F&M players in five years to earn the award as goaltender Dave Kahn '01, defenseman Chris Schellhorn '02, midfielder Jon Singer ’03 and attackman Bryn Nolan ’03 also earned honorable mention status following their senior seasons. 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 selection to the prestigious United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association/STX North-South All-Star Game at SUNY-Cortland in Cortland, New York on June 11, Welsh tied for the team lead in game winning goals with teammates Colin Hanley (Sr., Davidsonville, MD/DeMatha) and Cyrus Adams (So., Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell) as he netted the deciding scores against Muhlenberg College and Ursinus College. 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 duo 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, Welsh and Capone concluded their careers with a 39-21 record.
|
