By Alec White

Gettysburg's Robby Maddux was among an elite batch of Baltimore-bred lacrosse players to succeed in their first college season.

As a junior, in 2010, Maddux helped the St. Paul's varsity team capture its 25th title in the MIAA A conference championship. During his senior year, Maddux lead the Crusaders to a semifinal appearance, with 33 goals and 17 assists on a talented team featuring two Under Armour All-Americans in Jay Carlson (Maryland) and Taylor Michel (Virginia).

Maddux had a couple offers from Division I schools but chose to go to Gettysburg because he thought it was the best option for him academically. Rick Brocato, who coaches varsity boys' lacrosse at St. Paul's, said he noticed Maddux's work ethic when he played on the JV team as a freshman.

"When we were practicing on Tullai Field, he was by himself on Thompson Field, no matter what the weather conditions were like, with a bucket of balls working on his game" Brocato said. "He really, really worked hard."

Ranked 16th in Inside Lacrosse's preseason poll. Gettysburg had only five seniors, one of which played attack, Maddux's position.

"I knew going into the season that our team needed to work hard and mature quickly if we wanted to be successful," Maddux said.

He worked his way up the depth chart throughout the season. During the Bullets' seventh game, Maddux got his first point by assisting Martin Manilla for his 20th goal of the season during a 13-5 win against Muhlenberg March 14. He earned his first start March 28, contributing two goals and one assist to Gettysburg's 9-6 win against Widener.

Maddux was in the starting lineup for the Bullets' final nine games, regularly notching a few goals per game. On April 11, he tallied six goals during a 12-9 victory against Eastern University -- the first time a Gettysburg player had scored six goals since 2003.

"I was surprised to have six goals against Eastern," Maddux said. "Things went well for me that day, but the six goals were really just a result of my teammates creating opportunities for me."

This six-goal performance and a hat trick against Washington College led to Maddux being named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week April 15 and the Gettysburg Athlete of the Week for the first time April 16.

"What I admire most is the way he's handled his success, his poise, his character," Brocato said. "It doesn't surprise me, because he's a really classy kid and a hard-working kid."

Maddux's scored three or more goals five games, finishing the season second on the team in points with 35 (28 goals and seven assists), just six points short of sophomore Martin Manilla's 41 points. He also helped lead the Bullets to the NCAA tournament.

During the first round, against Ohio Wesleyan, Maddux netted four goals and Gettysburg won, 7-4. During the second round, despite Maddux's three goals and one assist, the Bullets lost to Stevenson, 13-6.

"I want to be more constant as a team next year," Maddux said. "This year we played the hardest schedule in Division III, but didn't bring our A game to every contest. I also want to keep growing and maturing as a young team, since we return almost all of our starters."

Posted May 22, 2012