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Roanoke Nets FishHawk Lacrosse Player

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By PAUL CATALA pcatala@mediageneral.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 30, 2009

For over a year, Chris Carter has been carefully looking where he would score a college education.

In December, the Newsome High School lacrosse stand-out selected Roanoke College in Salem, N.C., after being recruited by the men's lacrosse team there.

Carter, a senior at Newsome, chose the school after spending a year mulling over scholarship offers from prestigious NCAA Division III programs, such as Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md., and Division II programs at Florida Southern College in Lakeland and Rollins College in Winter Park.

A midfielder for the Wolves, Carter has spent the past two years playing with the FishHawk Lacrosse Club, where he scored 36 goals and made 40 assists during the 2008 season, making him one of the top scorers in the West Florida Lacrosse League.

Tom O'Grady, president of the FishHawk Lacrosse Club, said Carter is the first player to be a recruited by a college or university since the league began five years ago.

"Chris has real abilities and is a smart player. I think this will work out real well for him," he said.

Carter, 18, said it was Roanoke's status as one of the best teams in Division III, playing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, considered one of the toughest leagues in the United States. Roanoke, located on the North Carolina-Virginia line about 110 miles south of Richmond, has won the conference championship 15 times and is the only team from the conference to have played for the national championship in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Roanoke last won the championship in 1978.

"I really like the school and the location," said Carter, who grew up playing soccer and started playing lacrosse after seeing it played on TV. "The school has also has a strong business program, which is what I plan to major in."

Another consideration is the fact Carter has had team and one-to-one training with Paul Goldsmith, one of the best players to ever play for Roanoke College.

Roanoke College Men's Lacrosse Coach William Pilat, in his 22nd season with Roanoke, said Carter has exceptional athleticism for the sport, particularly since he's fairly new at it. Pilat has the most lacrosse wins in the school's history, with a .663 win percentage.

"Paul has been very impressed with Chris' athleticism, work ethic and overall knowledge of lacrosse and feels he is a very good fit to join our top division III lacrosse team," said Pilat. "Chris shows leadership through being a captain of his team and possesses very good speed that will help him in his transition to college lacrosse."

The decision also pleases Carter's family, especially his father, Chip Carter, sports anchor for WTVT Fox 13 News. He said Roanoke is nationally known for its exceptional lacrosse program.

"This is a really good reflection on the FishHawk lacrosse program. Chris has actually found a program that has a strong lacrosse tradition like Roanoke has," he said. "It's kind of cool, exciting to see him go to Roanoke. For someone coming out of Florida, to be part of that, is really quite exciting."

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