Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/10/10
From Press Releases and Staff Reports
The Lehigh University men’s lacrosse team opens its 2010 season on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Philadelphia to meet St. Joseph’s University at 1 p.m.
With a large roster consisting of many returning players, as well as an exciting group of newcomers, the Mountain Hawks are looking forward to the 2010 season under third-year head coach Kevin Cassese
Senior Brian Bienemann leads the attack after being shifted from midfield during the off-season. Bienemann is Lehigh’s leading returning scorer (21 goals and six assists). Classmates Taylor Castagna, Chris Lubin, and John Henry McNierney give the Mountain Hawks a strong senior contingent of attackmen. Castagna missed all of last year with an injury, but impressed the coaching staff during the fall season and individual workouts with his progress. Lubin showed he is a more than capable scorer last season with 14 goals and two assists, while McNierney has shown potential in his 20 games.
Other members of the attack include sophomores Adam Johnston and Kevin Donovan. Johnston made a splash last year for the Mountain Hawks, appearing in all 15 games and scoring 15 goals to go along with five assists and 29 ground balls. The newest members of the Lehigh attack include Alex Drake, Dante Fantoni, and Kyle Stiefel.
The Mountain Hawks return a large group of midfielders that saw plenty of time in 2009, as well as a talented group of newcomers. Seniors Kyle Gentile, Andrew Horgan, and Chris Linko lead the group.
Juniors Will Scudder (Haverford School), Jonathan Stumpf, Dustin Clark, Tom Hueber (Malvern Prep), and Chris Ryan (Haverford School), along with sophomores Cameron Lao-Gosney, Roman Lao-Gosney, Trevor Stapleton, Matt Fullam, and Dana Frye comprise the remaining members of the upperclass midfielders.
Scudder returns as the Mountain Hawks’ face-off man after winning 56 percent of his draws last year, good for 17th best in Division I. Stumpf sat out last season, but made an impact as a freshman when he started 12 games, scored 10 goals and earned a Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor.
Cameron Lao-Gosney got his career off to a fast start as he appeared in 15 games as a freshman, starting nine along the way. His best game came in Lehigh’s upset of Army when he scored five goals, including the game-winner in overtime. For his efforts, Lao-Gosney was chosen as the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, and following the season Inside Lacrosse named him one of the nation’s top-20 freshmen.
The freshmen midfielders are a large and talented group that includes Derek Bogorowski (La Salle), David DiMaria, Carlton Fisher, Brian Hess, Bryan Hopper, Noah Molnar, Devin Pullara, Chris Rinaldi and Ryan Snyder (Duke’s Lacrosse Club). Bogorowski was an All-State selection in high school where he helped lead La Salle to a pair of state championships.
Assistant coaches Taylor Wray and Brendan Callahan will once again mentor the Lehigh defense in 2010. Wray is a member of the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, while Callahan is a former NCAA save percentage champion from Stony Brook University.
That pair will look to senior captain Evan Guerrero, a 2009 All-Patriot League selection, to anchor the Mountain Hawks defense. A native of California, Guerrero has started every game the last two seasons and last year he scooped up 42 ground balls and caused 39 turnovers, including a career-best nine in the opener versus Saint Joseph’s. Playing alongside Guerrero is fellow captain, junior Richard Bradley. Bradley has been a mainstay on the Lehigh D since his freshman year and last season he totaled 31 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers.
Other returners on defense are juniors Ryan Brown and Chris Rhodes and sophomores Blaise Fullen (Penn Charter) and Gaige Flint. Fullen had a strong freshman campaign for the Brown and White, starting 11 games.
Rounding out the defenders for Lehigh is a large and talented group of freshmen that consists of Nathan Hunt, Ben Kelley, Baxter Lanius, Mike Noone (La Salle), and Kyle Sheridan.
At the goal keeper position Cassese has four players to choose from, including junior Morgan Haller, and sophomore Conor Murphy, as well as freshmen Dan Carr (Penn Charter) and Griffin Farha. Carr posted a 71 percent save percentage as a senior and sent back 461 shots during his career. Farha meanwhile started for three years at Winston Churchill High School in Maryland and earned team MVP honors as a senior.
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