SALEM, Va. -- Roanoke defeated York (Pa.) 20-7 in its season-opener at Kerr Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The win made Bill Pilat only the 13th coach in NCAA Division III history to reach 200 career wins. Roanoke is 1-0 while York dropped to 0-1 on the young season. Pilat, who is the winningest and the longest-tenured coach in Roanoke's storied lacrosse history, is currently seventh among active coaches across the nation. He is also second in ODAC history in career wins.

Roanoke, which is 66-20 in series openers, is also 30-12 in season openers and has won eight of the last nine since 2000. It will be the first of four first-time opponents the Maroons will face this season.

After a 2-2 first quarter score, the Maroons scored the next five goals to give them a 7-2 lead and never trailed the rest of the game. Matt Quinton gave Roanoke the lead for good off an assist from Steve Furdock only 21 seconds into the second period.

The difference was a 52-31 shot advantage in favor of Roanoke, along with a commanding 58-38 total in groundballs. The Maroons were 26 of 34 in clear attempts and 3 of 7 in extra-man opportunities. It was the first time since 1997 that the Maroons scored 20 goals in their season opener and the most since 1995 (22).

The Maroons, ranked #7 nationally (LaxPower.com), were led by Quinton with five goals and two assists. Newcomer Jeff Keating scored three goals along with an assist in his collegiate debut. He is the younger brother of former National Player of the Year Chris Keating '06. Pat March had three goals and two assists in the win, which moves him up to 29th on the all-time scoring list. He is also tied for ninth with Kris Davis '04 in career shots on goal with 115.

Zach Thomas had four goals and two assists in his first game in over a year. He sat out after the first game of last season with a season-ending foot injury. He passed Wil Goldthwait '90 for 11th on the all-time scoring list at Roanoke. He is also now third all-time in career shots on goal with 168. Ashton Hotchkiss had two goals and two assists while Chas Carlson finished with a team-high three assists, one shy of tying Keating for sixth on the career list.

Defensively, Sam Love led the Maroons with 10 groundballs along with an assist. Stephen Simmons had six groundballs and Erik Segasser with five in the victory. Roanoke won 24 of 30 face-offs, led by Greg Khanzadian winning 13 of 16 in addition to collecting eight groundballs.

Jake Dorsey finished the afternoon with 11 saves for Roanoke, earning his 19th career win, which ties Bill Beroza '77 for eighth all-time. Chris Collins had 15 saves in the loss for York. Nick Peck added three saves.

Bradford Blaker finished with two goals and one assist on the afternoon and Brian O'Neill had two goals for the Spartans.

The men will host Greensboro on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Kerr Stadium in non-conference action. The Maroons are 13-1 against the Pride, and the teams have played each other every but last year since 1994. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

2009-02-21