D-II Round 1: Wake Forest at Dayton

DAYTON, Ohio – Wake Forest has been part of the SELC awakening over the past three seasons in Division II.

The Demon Deacons haven’t parlayed it into the kind of success that Kennesaw State, Florida Gulf Coast and North Florida have amassed, but they have provided needed depth – a tide that has raised all ships.

In his sixth season in Winston-Salem, Brett Hewitt has been able to build a roster from some pretty big high school brands to give them a fighting chance every weekend.

Sophomore faceoff man Shannon Keegan has been superb in his first two season, winning 69-of-73 draws (94.5 winning percentage) and giving the Demon Deacons needed extra possessions.

D-II Round 1: Wake Forest at Dayton | https://t.co/rhyo91i5Fe #virtualmcla20
— MCLA Tournament '21 (@MCLA_Tournament) March 20, 2020

Wake doesn’t score a ton of goals, but they get decent goaltending and a backline that gives it a chance.

“Getting Dayton is never a good draw, but this will only improve us,” said Hewitt*.

The margins will be small against the Flyers.

Coming off last year’s near-miss for a second national title, Dayton hasn’t lost a step and appear to have the talent to make a return run to virtual Championship Saturday.

Attackman Nathan Criss built off a solid sophomore campaign while classmate Ryan Lamoree improved by the game with a blend of scoring and feeding.

Senior John McGovern was one of those rare feeders out of the midfield.

Fellow senior Douglas Greene was carrying the bulk of the time in goal with very strong results (60.9 save percentage).

“We can beat anyone in MCLA Division II and we can lose to a bunch of them, as well,” said Dayton coach Joe Venturella*. “It’s a simply a matter of the players being mentally prepared.”

[*- The coach didn’t really say this. This is all made up. It’s fake]