By Justin Zackal
Although this is the first year of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championships, the top two teams from last year played in the semifinals of the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference tournament, as Saint Vincent defeated Grove City, 8-6.
“You do have the most recognizable names back for both teams,” said Grove City head coach Alec Jernstedt, referring to his junior attack Henry Brannan and Saint Vincent’s senior attack Jeremy Kennedy, “but for us, there’s a lot of new faces.”
Brannan leads the PAC with 55 goals this year after being named the ORLC Offensive Player of the Year last season with 50 goals. Kennedy is second in the PAC this year with 44 goals.
Beyond that, a lot has changed, including both teams now playing in the PAC. Grove City is the top seed entering the four-team tournament that begins with semifinal matches Wednesday, May 1, and the winners playing Saturday, May 4. No. 1 Grove City (10-5, 7-0 PAC) hosts No. 4 Chatham (9-6, 4-3 PAC), while No. 2 Saint Vincent (8-7, 6-1 PAC) hosts No. 3 Westminster (8-6, 5-2 PAC).
Despite coaching the top seed, Jernstedt said Saint Vincent makes him nervous because of the Bearcats’ experience, having advanced to ORLC championships games in three of the last four years. That, and Grove City is rather inexperienced (15 freshmen, eight returning players and two returning starters), but the Wolverines beat the Bearcats, 15-7, on April 13.
“Every team’s got something that makes you fear them,” Jernstedt, noting the Westminster gave Grove City its closest PAC game, winning 11-8, April 18, and Chatham has the league’s top point-getter, Division I-transfer Kyle Rullan and his 47 goals, 32 assists for 79 points. “The tournament is hard to predict. Our youth could be our Achilles’ heel. But our freshmen’s sense of urgency and attention to detail has been really impressive for a group of guys who are new to college lacrosse.”
Whatever happens in the tournament, the winning team will go down as the first-ever PAC men’s lacrosse champion.
“Everybody gets a fresh start in the PAC, so now it’s a chance to establish where everyone stands going forward,” Jernstedt said. “Everyone wants to start off on the right foot. Now you set the table for where everyone stands and from where everyone moves up or down from for the next decade.”
The winner of the PAC tournament will automatically qualify for the NCAA Division III tournament with pairings announced Sunday, May 5, at 9:30 p.m.
