After making history by winning the inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference tournament as well as hosting an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 1996, fourth-year head coach Mike Plantholt and the Battling Bishops hope to reclaim the NCAC title, repeat as NCAC tournament champion, and return to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
"We're hoping to repeat," Plantholt said. "We lost a lot of experience and leadership from last year's team, and we're hoping to replace that experience and leadership with new talent."
The Bishops return plenty of firepower on the attack line. Senior Casey Helms (Sandwich, Mass./Bridgton Academy), who scored a team-high 35 goals on the way to second-team All-NCAC honors, and junior John Umbach (Montclair, N.J.), an honorable mention All-NCAC pick who ranked third in the league with 31 goals, are returning starters.
Junior Tommy Minkler (Oakton, Va./Landon School), a second-team all-conference selection in 2012, looks to reclaim a starting spot after missing most of the 2013 season with a knee injury.
Sophomore Bud Graham (Chestertown, Ontario/Culver (Ind.) Academy), a transfer from Division I entity Hobart, also will be part of the Bishop rotation.
Sophomore P.J. Beach (Huntington, N.Y.) returns, and freshmen Derek Todd (Edina, Minn.), an all-state selection in high school, and Mario Vezza (Glen Head, N.Y./Chaminade) will provide additional depth.
Senior Spencer Schnell (Dublin/Jerome), an honorable mention All-America selection in 2013, is the top returning midfielder. Schnell tied for fourth in the NCAC with 28 goals a year ago.
Junior Kyle Foster (Medfield, Mass./Avon Old Farms (Conn.)), who tied Schnell with 28 goals last season, gives the Bishops additional scoring from the midfield.
Freshmen Matt Maier (Summit, N.J.) and Robbie Fiamengo (New Fairfield, Conn./Berkshire (Mass.) School), both all-state picks in high school, will look to contribute immediately, as will junior Brendan Bouchard (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), a transfer from Division I Bryant.
Sophomores Zach Friedman (Libertyville, Ill.) and Sean Roskamp (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway West) also will be in the mix.
In the defensive midfield, junior Chris Schwanz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) is back. Sophomore George Rice (Baltimore, Md./Boys Latin) and freshman Reece Andrews (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) also will contribute.
Sophomore John Griffin (Oceanside, N.Y./Northfield Mt. Hermon (Mass.)), a second-team All-NCAC pick last season, is back at the long-stick defensive midfield spot. Freshman Jordan Carlson (Delaware/Hayes), an all-state pick in high school, and Chandler Rendl (Tustin, Calif./Foothill), an All-America choice in high school, look to make an impact.
Junior Sam Gioseffi (Harrison, N.Y.) is back at the face-off spot after winning nearly 60 percent of his face-offs last year. Sophomore Eli Merritt (Lenox, Mass./Berkshire School) also returns.
Senior Stephen Coyne (Huntington, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor), a second-team all-conference pick back for his fourth year as a starter, and junior Steve Barnett (Columbus/Upper Arlington), an honorable mention All-NCAC selection in 2012, will anchor the close defense.
Sophomores Ben Danieli (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Paul Anderson (Amherst, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) also will be in the Bishop rotation.
In goal, junior Ryan McMahon (Springfield, Va./The Bullis School) returns after ranking second in the league in saves and receiving second-team All-NCAC honors in 2013.
Freshman Ben Rigger (Decatur, Ga.) will serve as McMahon's understudy.
Ohio Wesleyan will face a demanding schedule. The Bishops open with a regional test against Mount St. Joseph before heading to Otterbein, a 2013 NCAA Division III playoff team. St. Vincent comes to Selby Stadium for the Bishops' home opener, then Aurora, another 2013 NCAA Division III playoff team, heads to Delaware.
Next up is the Bishops' spring trip to Maryland to face fifth-ranked Salisbury and Hampden-Sydney, which received votes in the USILA preseason poll, before ninth-ranked Washington (Md.) visits Selby Stadium.
The NCAC title chase begins at Oberlin on March 22. Contests against 2013 tournament semifinalists Kenyon and Wooster lead into the annual skirmish with traditional arch-rival Denison, ranked 15th in the 2014 preseason poll, on April 16. The regular-season finale will be against Wittenberg on April 19, with the NCAC tournament the following week.
