Sun shines on Maroons' lacrosse team in NCAA tournament

The biggest upset Wednesday in rain-soaked Salem was the arrival of the sun at approximately 5 p.m.

There were no surprises on the artificial turf at Donald Kerr Stadium.

Roanoke College had plenty of fun in a 21-4 victory over Centre in the first round of the Division III men’s lacrosse playoffs but the celebration didn’t last long past nightfall.

The Maroons’ second-round opponent Saturday in Salem is Lynchburg College, which rallied with four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter for a 6-5 win over visiting St. Mary’s. Roanoke was a 9-8 winner at Lynchburg during the regular season.

“I thought that [Lynchburg-St. Mary’s] game was the best game of the first round,” Roanoke coach Bill Pilat said. “St. Mary’s just beat [2012 NCAA champion] Salisbury.”

Roanoke College’s game against Centre (11-4), which didn’t have an intercollegiate program until 2011, followed a predictable script.

The Maroons (16-3) led 7-1 after the first quarter, increased the spread to 14-2 at the half, took out No. 1 goalie Charlie Pease midway through the third quarter and sat the starting attack for the fourth quarter.

“You’re allowed 32 players on your tournament roster and all 32 played today,” Pilat said. “We actually have 38 players in our program and we would have played 38 if we could.”

The 17-goal winning margin was topped only by the spread in Roanoke’s 22-3 victory at Bridgewater last month, but Centre coach Bert Severns was pleased with the experience for his team.

“Who would have thunk it, three years ago, that we would playing in the NCAA tournament here today?” he said.

There is one senior on the Centre roster, as opposed to the 10 seniors that Roanoke carries.

“And especially since we didn’t make the NCAA tournament last year, we’ve got all the motivation you would ever want,” said Kyle Smith, a senior midfielder who played at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke.

Centre has 18 players from Kentucky and none from the states of Maryland and New York, long known as lacrosse hotbeds.

“I’d rather have Maryland and New York ... always,” Pilat said, “but I’m keeping my eyes open.”

Centre, located southeast of Lexington in Danville, Ky., also draws from the neighboring states of Ohio (five players) and Tennessee (four).

Pilat has three players from Ohio on this year’s roster, including junior midfielder Spencer Parsons, whose three goals tied him with senior attackman Richard Lachlan for the team high in that category.

Tyler McWilliams, a freshman attackman, had two goals and three assists for the Maroons.

Severns, a former assistant at Army and Navy, had a good idea what to expect. His boss at Army was hall of fame coach Jack Emmer, who previously was the head coach at Washington and Lee, Roanoke’s Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival.

Severns spoke with Emmer this week.

“… He told me, ‘Roanoke always likes to run,’ ” Severns said.

In fact, that was Pilat’s strategy Wednesday. He was going to substitute liberally in the midfield with the idea that he would tire out the Colonels.

As Centre and its Southern Athletic Association brethren become more established, future meetings should be less lopsided.

“We’ve got some kids coming from Connecticut next year,” Severns said. “So, we’re reaching out. That’s one of the reasons [Centre] started the sport, to increase the demographic with kids from outside the region.”

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