Hampden-Sydney College’s (H-SC) lacrosse team had three players selected to the 2019 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) College Division Men’s Lacrosse all-state second team, including freshman midfielder Sean Duffy, pictured above on right, who was also voted the 2019 VaSID Rookie of the Year for men’s lacrosse in the college division.

Tigers joining Duffy on the second team were sophomore face-off specialist Jake Brummett and senior captain and attackman John Burke, pictured above on left, who was announced in May as having been included on the 2019 U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-America Team as an honorable mention selection.

After a season in which H-SC went 13-6 overall and advanced as far as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament semifinals, Tigers Head Coach Jason Rostan noted being largely pleased with his team’s VaSID all-state recognition.

“We were a young team this year, for sure, but I felt pretty good about what we got,” he said. “I felt like our goalie, Nick Arcuri, really had a great year, was one of, really, the top players on our team, most important guys on our team, and he didn’t make (any all-state team), but other than that, I was really, really happy with (our representation).”

Rostan said he was happy for Duffy, whose state-level Rookie of the Year honor is now paired with his ODAC Rookie of the Year award.

“I felt like there wasn’t a more deserving guy than Sean,” the coach said. “The kid works so hard, and then he was really, I thought, one of the top players in the conference — not just (among) rookies, so I was really happy for him.”

A Hampden-Sydney athletics press release cited that Duffy started all 19 games this past season, scoring 29 goals with 13 assists for 42 points, adding 23 ground balls and one caused turnover.  He was third on the team in assists and fifth in both goals and points. He tied for 25th in the ODAC in goals, tied for 27th in points and tied for 31st in assists. He also drew an All-ODAC second team honor.

Duffy’s tremendous success was a bit of a surprise to Rostan and his staff, but not for any lack of high expectations.

“We knew that Sean was a good player coming out of high school,” Rostan said. “He played at one of the top high school programs — La Salle (College High School in Pennsylvania) — in the country and was big, strong and fast. But what you don’t always know as a coach is what type of competitor a kid is until they step foot on a college field. Sean exceeded all expectations of a freshman as a competitor, leader and as a do-it-all player on his way to one of the best first seasons a Tiger lacrosse player has ever had.”

Burke’s All-American honor helps underscore the significance of Duffy’s achievement by highlighting the richness of H-SC’s lacrosse history.

Another Hampden-Sydney athletics release noted that Burke is the lacrosse program’s 72nd All-American overall.

Reflecting on Burke’s All-American recognition, Rostan said, “That was neat for John, I thought, because you just never know how that stuff goes. The cool thing for us was — and this is going back to my dad’s days — we’ve had I think 27 straight years with an All-American now, which is pretty cool. I was just kind of humbled when I saw that stat.”

Rostan himself helped sustain the 27-year run by earning All-American status during his playing career at H-SC. Much of the run occurred when Rostan’s father, Ray Rostan, served as the leader of the program.

A H-SC release highlighted Burke’s season stats, noting that he started all 19 games, scoring 33 goals along with a new school-record 47 assists for 80 points, adding 19 ground balls and five caused turnovers.