Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/5/10
From Press Releases
The 2010 St. Joseph’s men’s lacrosse team kicks off the college lacrosse season today by hosting Delaware at 2: p.m.in a non-conference game. the Hawks return their three leading scorers, a trio that accounted for 75 percent of the scoring last season in hopes of capturing the programs second MAAC title in its final season in the league.
The 2009 contingent saw the departure of Hawk Hill mainstays such as goalkeeper Erik Hotaling, Alex Lopes, Tom Wengenosky, Pat Williams, Ryan Tessler, R.J. Bopf, Drew Mandela, and Chris O’Neill, but the prosperity of talent that will be featured on Hawk Hill for head coach Pat Cullinan this spring is one capable of competing with the best.
Led by the top three leading scorers a season ago, senior captain Sean Evans (Henderson), junior Scott Cullinan (West Chester East), and senior Charlie Gorman, the SJU offense will be one of its strongest in years.
Evans was named the team’s 2009 Offensive Player of the Year, leading in goals (24), assists (13) and points (37).
Cullinan, the coach’s son, earned All-MAAC Second Team honors as a freshman and was named to the 2009 Inside Lacrosse Magazine All-MAAC Preseason Team, scoring 21 goals and dishing five assists.
Joining Evans and Cullinan in the attack will be Gorman, who was second on the team in points (29), tied for second in assists (12), and was third on the team in goals (17), while senior captain Joey D’Avanzo was fourth on the team in scoring (eight goals, four assists) from the midfield.
Contributing to the scoring will be senior Geoff DeSoye, sophomores Matt Dougherty (Conestoga) and Jack Spallone, and freshman Kyle Williams. Senior captains Peter Slowik and D’Avanzo will control the midfield, as the duo will provide vocal leadership and stabilization to the young group of midfielders. Veterans junior Kevin Wadach and sophomores Brendan Burke (Conestoga), Daniel Lieb, Pat Kenville, and Trevor Dougherty worked hard in the off-season and look to be strong contributors in the midfield line.
Freshmen Artie Marrapese and Steve Dunn (Malvern Prep) have been consistent in preseason workouts and will bolster the offensive side of the midfield while sophomores Justin Rogers and Colin Roemer and junior Pat Carrigan will hold the defensive midfield together.
The heart of the defense will revolve around a trio of juniors, captain Rob Saraceni (La Salle), Pat Harner and Keith Belson (Strath Haven), and sophomore Matt Germain.
In goal this season will be sophomore Griffin Ferrigan who saw action in six games last season and has improved significantly in the off-season. Backing up Ferrigan in goal will be senior Chase Stewart (Springfield-Delco), sophomore Brendan Tully, and freshman Chris Moffa.
A group of newcomers, which includes two transfers sophomore midfielder Mike Begg (Stony Brook) and junior midfielder Chris Moore (Loyola), along with freshmen Kyle Mahoney, Peter Ingrasci, Mark Anton, Keith Preston, Pat Dispirito, Shane Flannery, Mike Lutes, Chris Moffa, and Mike Ryan look to crack the starting line-up and provide flexibility and depth to the coaching staff.
The Hawks face a challenging schedule as they host Delaware today to start the season and play Lehigh and Bellarmine before hitting the road with difficult matches at Drexel, Rutgers, and Penn. The Hawks return home to face Brown and then open MAAC play on Finnesey Field with a tough match against the 2009 conference champions Siena.
The squad then plays back-to-back weekends traveling to Marist, returning home to host Canisius and head back on the road to play VMI before a set of home games against new MAAC member Detroit and Mount St. Mary’s. The Hawks wrap up the MAAC slate and regular season play with trips to Manhattan and Wagner while the MAAC Championship is set for May 7-9 at Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
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