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MEN'S LAX JOINS GNAC IN 2011, TOPS PRE-SEASON POLL
2011 GNAC MEN'S LACROSSE PRE-SEASON POLL
The six time North Atlantic Conference (NAC) champion Mount Ida College men's lacrosse program will venture into their first year as a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) this 2011 season. The Mustangs, who spent seven years part of the NAC compiling an impressive 54-1 (.981) regular season conference record, will bring their talents and solid reputation to the GNAC under the direction of ninth year head coach Andrew Fink. Fink and his team leave an impressive mark in the NAC; along with their six conference championship titles, the Mustangs qualified for three NCAA post-season tournament appearances from 2007-2009. Mount Ida will look to continue their legacy heading into the GNAC this season.
"Our expectation is to make a name for ourselves in conference play," said head coach Fink. "We hope to make the playoffs and start a new legacy, competing is our number one goal right now."
The Mustangs finished their legacy in the NAC with their only conference championship loss in the history of the program to Castleton State College falling 11-5 on a saturated, rain soaked field back on May 8, 2010. Although Mount Ida was a titan in the NAC and over the Spartans record wise (10-2), Castleton State became the Mustangs conference rival due to the fact that these squads faced each other seven years in a row in the conference title game.
Mount Ida will have another rival to grapple with heading into the GNAC against neighboring Lasell College. The Lasers have always been a big foe of the Mustangs due to their close proximity also residing in Newton, Massachusetts. Along with the Lasers, Mount Ida will face some familiar GNAC opponents who the Mustangs have faced in past years including Emerson College, St. Joseph's College (ME), and Becker College. The rest of the conference schedule will round out with Rivier College, Norwich University, and Daniel Webster College.
"Right now it's about establishing our name and starting strong going into our first year as a member of the GNAC," said Fink. "Again, competing is our number one goal but if we get back to a championship that would be even better."
Along with their conference schedule, the Mustangs will again have another difficult non-conference slate facing Eastern and Western Connecticut State University, and UMASS-Dartmouth from a very strong Little East Conference (LEC) for the second year in a row. Fink and the Mustangs will also travel to non-conference Curry College for the season opening Third Annual Frostbite Classic. The Mustangs will also face Babson College for the fourth consecutive season. Mount Ida will see three new out-of-conference teams in Clark University, SUNY-Maritime, and Merchant Marine Academy.
"We are excited about the new teams we have never faced before," said Fink. "All-in-all we have a strong non-conference schedule and we'll see some great games and great competition."
The loss of a handful of key defenders will have Coach Fink turning to younger veteran players that have been grooming the past year or two following the departure of alumni Kevin Mulvey '10 (2010 Most Valuable Player), Bryan Seaman '10, and Dan Kelley '10 who anchored the defense last season. Also, the loss of alumni and former faceoff specialist Matt Vernik '10 will have Fink turning to other players to run the middle circle.
ATTACK
The attack will see some familiar faces this season only losing Brandon Keith '10 to graduation who was the team's third highest scorer with 23 goals.
Mount Ida College fourth all-time leading scorer senior Matthew Savage (Peabody, MA/Peabody) returns for his final season after leading the Mustangs last year in goals scored with 44 and nine assists good for 53 points. He is the most experienced attacker and will be looked upon, as in past years, to get the ball in the back of the net.
Senior third year captain Derek Broughton (Peabody, MA/Peabody) also returns for his last hurrah with the Mustangs. Broughton does a little bit of everything for the Mustangs playing attack and midfield last year but will be looked upon to balance out the offense up front for 2011. Although Broughton does not stand out in the statistical aspect of the game, he is a true leader in the highest sense and a workhorse leading by example for the younger players.
Junior Zach Jacobson (Shoreview, MN/Moundsview) has had an injury ridden career with the Mustangs is coming into 2011 with high expectations starting the year healthy. Jacobson is a highly skilled and talented attacker who Coach Fink hopes to come out of the gate strong to be an immediate impact offensively for the Mustangs. Jacobson only saw action in seven games last year notching two goals and three assists for five total points.
Sophomore Nick Yacuzzi (Worcester, MA/St. John's-Shrewsbury) had an impressive freshman year scoring the second most goals on the team tallying 30 scores dishing out 28 assists for a team leading 58 points. As one of Mount Ida's fastest players, Yacuzzi will be looked upon to be one of this year's top performers and biggest offensive threats.
Junior Billy Gerke (Essex, VT/Rice Memorial), along with Jacobson, spent a lot of last year in the training room recovering from injuries only seeing action in eight contests scoring five goals. Along with Gerke is junior's Ian Saunders (Glens Falls, NY/Glens Falls) and Cody Collard (North Haven, CT/North Haven) who will bring more depth to the offensive side as well as newcomers David Greenleaf (Gloucester, MA/Gloucester) and Kyle Danehy (Marlborough, MA/Marlborough) who will look to contribute when called upon.
MIDFIELD
Mount Ida returns two key offensive midfielders coming into the 2011 season with senior captain Dan Harrington (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and senior Paul Battapaglia (Clinton, CT/The Morgan School) looking to finish their careers on a high note.
Harrington has been solid throughout his four years as a Mustang scoring 19 goals and dishing out 14 assists good for 33 points for the highest totals of his career last year. Harrington, who needs 23 points to become a member of the 100 point club, has enjoyed a solid career and looks to be an impact on a consistent basis.
Battapaglia will also be another key element to the success of the offense this season as the fifth leading scorer for the Mustangs in 2010 netting 19 goals and dishing out seven assists for 26 points off 129 shots, the most taken out of any player last year. Battapaglia, who has been a starter for every season he's played at Mount Ida, is one of the strong shooters on the team. Coach Fink will look for another solid year out of Battapaglia in 2011.
Sophomore's Jake Davis (Chester, NH/Pinkerton Academy) and Mike Durand (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) return for their second season as a Mustangs as two very talent young midfielders. Although both of these players did not tally many points last year, they saw action in almost every contest played and will be looked upon to generate more offense. Coach Fink will look for them to step up following a strong freshman campaign now having much more experience under their belts.
Junior Sean Slattery (South Burlington, VT/South Burlington) will have to step into a different role as a more offensive midfielder than his more familiar spot as a long stick midfielder. Slattery saw action in 11 games last season and will look to make an immediate impact for Mount Ida.
Freshmen Zach Rosen (East Greenwich, RI/St. Andrews School), Zach Davis (Old Lyme, CT/Xavier), and J.T. Hoyt (Westfield, MA/Westfield) will step in and get some time in the rotation as three talented newcomers.
Another very strong area for the Mustangs will be the defensive midfield controlled by junior Brendan Hylan (Clinton, CT/The Morgan School) and sophomore Ryan Tirelli (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown). These two players will be a problem for opposing team's offenses and will help the defense step up against tougher offensive teams.
DEFENSE
With the loss of three key defensive players (Kelly, Seaman, Mulvey) the Mustangs will need junior's Carl Grimo (Bristol, RI/LaSalle Academy), Sean Maher (Ashland, MA/Ashland), and senior Bill Eagan (North Andover, MA/North Andover) to continue to make huge contributions defensively. Grimo will anchor the defense once again after starting in every game played last season.
Junior Stephen Tomasco (Milton, CT/Trumbull) and sophomore Nick Maurais (Peabody, MA/Peabody) will need to step up and become impact players for Mount Ida after seeing limited action in 2010. Also, junior Riley O'Brien (North Kingston, RI/North Kingston) and senior Pat McGovern (Bristol, RI/Mount Hope) will also be in the mix defensively both bringing depth to the unit. McGovern will hopefully be healthy for the first time in his career coming into the season.
The Mount Ida defensive unit led all of NCAA Division III in man-down defense with a .907 percentage in 19 games played.
GOALTENDING
Mount Ida junior transfer Jimmy McAllister (Smithfield, RI/LaSalle Academy) will be between the pipes for the Mustangs for the third year in a row as the general of the team. McAllister saw the bulk of the minutes in net last season making a total of 184 saves with a goal against average of 8.04 in 16 games. The .632 save percentage was good for seventh in the NCAA Division III national statistics.
"Jimmy is an impact player that has another year under his belt in the system," said Coach Fink. "He is looking to have a bigger year than last year. It's nice to have your goaltender come back to solidify the defense."
Junior Craig Naftal (Bellmore, NY/JFK) returns for his third year with the Mustangs and will see time behind McAllister after an increase in minutes last season playing in eight games with 25 saves and a save percentage of .735.
Freshmen Craig Bray (New Canaan, CT/Vermont Academy) and Anthony Genualdo (Peabody, MA/Mystic Valley) come in for their first season as Mustangs and will see some time at some point during the year.
"A new year, a conference, and a new opportunity," said Fink. "The team is very eager to rebound from last year's disappointing championship loss. It was the first title loss we had after winning six straight. The entire team is ready to prove themselves in conference play and look to able to host the championship game."
The Mustangs kick off the 2011 season at non-conference Curry College on Saturday, March 5, 2011 in Milton, Massachusetts with the opening face-off slated for 12:00 noon.
