FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 15, 2005
Men's lacrosse preview:
Men's lacrosse preview:
UMass Dartmouth men's lacrosse team enters 2005
with hopes of moving up in Little East Conference
(Dartmouth, MA) - If UMass Dartmouth men's lacrosse coach Kevin Mahoney has his way during the 2005 season, his UMass Dartmouth Corsairs will be a team on the rise within the Little East Conference this season.
After finishing a surprising second place in the LEC last season with a 5-1 record (7-7 overall), the Corsairs are looking to make a few more steps up the ladder in 2005. Several of the LEC coaches have already noticed the Corsairs' steady improvement, picked UMass Dartmouth to finish third in the coaches' pre-season poll released last week.
"Beating Keene State last year was definitely a statement and proved that we can compete with anybody in the conference," said Mahoney, the LEC Coach of the Year last season. "We have a great returning nucleus and four great captains in junior Dan Buckley (Arlington, MA), junior Rory Hirl (Acton, MA), senior Ryan Laracy (Beverly, MA) and junior Andy Sabourin (Gardner, MA)."
The foundation of the team is going to be the defense unit. Returning starters Hirl, and Sabourin join sophomore J.P. Desjardins (Rutland, VT) to form a powerful starting trio. Starting defensive midfielders Laracy and sophomore John Tisdale (Agawam, MA) return and are joined by newcomer freshman Liam McHale (Wrentham, MA), Dan Gomes (Agawam, MA), and Rob Gumb (Chelmsford, MA). Close defensive newcomers include freshman Ryan Connell (Tyngsboro, MA) and freshman JD DiMenna (Essex, CT), who also has an opportunity to contribute.
For this season's Corsair team, however, the biggest loss from last year's team is the departure of First Team Little East Conference goalie Jay Doyle.
"Luckily, we have two excellent freshmen goalies in Steve Chase (Boston, MA) and Jason Gorgone (Sudbury, MA), who are making great strides and show great stopping ability. " said Mahoney. "Jay was such a great game day goalie and was a veteran with so much experience under his belt. He will be hard to replace."
Midfield will be the strength of this year's offense. Returning midfield players Buckley, sophomores Ryan Darmon (Sandwich, MA), Ryan Trexler (Agawam, MA), and Mark Lapointe (Tyngsboro, MA) will be the backbone of the offense. An added bonus is the return of junior Pat Roach (Billerica, MA), who was lost last year due to an injury. Newcomer Nick McEvoy (Wrentham, MA), a King Phillip High School graduate, "Has been making great strides and looks to add some energy into the midfield mix," said Mahoney, who also mentioned that newcomers Joe Alfano (Braintree, MA), and TJ Gochis (Burlington, MA) were showing steady improvement in the early going.
The attack unit will rely on skills of junior Ryan Leary (Framingham, MA), the lone veteran on the 2005 UMass Dartmouth roster.
"We lost several veterans from last year's squad and Ryan will have to step up" said Mahoney.
Several newcomers are competing for the remaining starting positions, including Kevin Enwright (Burlington, MA), Jared Dube (New Bedford, MA), Bobby Young (Billerica, MA) and Kyle Griffin (Sudbury, MA). Mahoney said the attack unit is expected to gain some punch from Ryan Grant (Framingham, MA), who was joined the lacrosse team at the conclusion of ice hockey season.
"Ryan was a standout at Braintree High School and he will bring more competition to the position when he comes out in March," added Mahoney.
The 2005 season shows potential for the Corsairs who enter the season with a goal of added success in the Little East Conference Tournament in May. To facilitate that goal, the staff has added some games with out of the region teams such as Skidmore college (@Springfield on March 26th, 6pm) and Catholic University.
"To compete with last year's teams in the LEC like Eastern Connecticut and Keene State we needed to improve the quality of our non-league schedule. Also, with the progress of the teams in our conference, we need to improve every game. UMass Boston Beacons and Myles Berry always have good teams; Western Connecticut and Rick McCarthy will be the surprise team of the year; Plymouth State is has improved drastically and are dangerous. This is going to be a very competitive year and UMass Dartmouth look forwards to being a player in this conference," said Mahoney.
(Dartmouth, MA) - If UMass Dartmouth men's lacrosse coach Kevin Mahoney has his way during the 2005 season, his UMass Dartmouth Corsairs will be a team on the rise within the Little East Conference this season.
After finishing a surprising second place in the LEC last season with a 5-1 record (7-7 overall), the Corsairs are looking to make a few more steps up the ladder in 2005. Several of the LEC coaches have already noticed the Corsairs' steady improvement, picked UMass Dartmouth to finish third in the coaches' pre-season poll released last week.
"Beating Keene State last year was definitely a statement and proved that we can compete with anybody in the conference," said Mahoney, the LEC Coach of the Year last season. "We have a great returning nucleus and four great captains in junior Dan Buckley (Arlington, MA), junior Rory Hirl (Acton, MA), senior Ryan Laracy (Beverly, MA) and junior Andy Sabourin (Gardner, MA)."
The foundation of the team is going to be the defense unit. Returning starters Hirl, and Sabourin join sophomore J.P. Desjardins (Rutland, VT) to form a powerful starting trio. Starting defensive midfielders Laracy and sophomore John Tisdale (Agawam, MA) return and are joined by newcomer freshman Liam McHale (Wrentham, MA), Dan Gomes (Agawam, MA), and Rob Gumb (Chelmsford, MA). Close defensive newcomers include freshman Ryan Connell (Tyngsboro, MA) and freshman JD DiMenna (Essex, CT), who also has an opportunity to contribute.
For this season's Corsair team, however, the biggest loss from last year's team is the departure of First Team Little East Conference goalie Jay Doyle.
"Luckily, we have two excellent freshmen goalies in Steve Chase (Boston, MA) and Jason Gorgone (Sudbury, MA), who are making great strides and show great stopping ability. " said Mahoney. "Jay was such a great game day goalie and was a veteran with so much experience under his belt. He will be hard to replace."
Midfield will be the strength of this year's offense. Returning midfield players Buckley, sophomores Ryan Darmon (Sandwich, MA), Ryan Trexler (Agawam, MA), and Mark Lapointe (Tyngsboro, MA) will be the backbone of the offense. An added bonus is the return of junior Pat Roach (Billerica, MA), who was lost last year due to an injury. Newcomer Nick McEvoy (Wrentham, MA), a King Phillip High School graduate, "Has been making great strides and looks to add some energy into the midfield mix," said Mahoney, who also mentioned that newcomers Joe Alfano (Braintree, MA), and TJ Gochis (Burlington, MA) were showing steady improvement in the early going.
The attack unit will rely on skills of junior Ryan Leary (Framingham, MA), the lone veteran on the 2005 UMass Dartmouth roster.
"We lost several veterans from last year's squad and Ryan will have to step up" said Mahoney.
Several newcomers are competing for the remaining starting positions, including Kevin Enwright (Burlington, MA), Jared Dube (New Bedford, MA), Bobby Young (Billerica, MA) and Kyle Griffin (Sudbury, MA). Mahoney said the attack unit is expected to gain some punch from Ryan Grant (Framingham, MA), who was joined the lacrosse team at the conclusion of ice hockey season.
"Ryan was a standout at Braintree High School and he will bring more competition to the position when he comes out in March," added Mahoney.
The 2005 season shows potential for the Corsairs who enter the season with a goal of added success in the Little East Conference Tournament in May. To facilitate that goal, the staff has added some games with out of the region teams such as Skidmore college (@Springfield on March 26th, 6pm) and Catholic University.
"To compete with last year's teams in the LEC like Eastern Connecticut and Keene State we needed to improve the quality of our non-league schedule. Also, with the progress of the teams in our conference, we need to improve every game. UMass Boston Beacons and Myles Berry always have good teams; Western Connecticut and Rick McCarthy will be the surprise team of the year; Plymouth State is has improved drastically and are dangerous. This is going to be a very competitive year and UMass Dartmouth look forwards to being a player in this conference," said Mahoney.
UMass Dartmouth is scheduled to open the 2005 season at Curry College on March 19 with the home opener set for March 24 against Roger Williams University.
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