2008 Dominican College Men's Lacrosse
Season Preview
The Chargers start the 2008 season coming off their most successful campaign in team history. The Chargers schedule is composed of some of Division II's most powerful teams including ECC conference foes #2 NYIT, #3 Mercyhurst, #5 Dowling, #6 CW Post, #8 Adelphi, and #10 Molloy. They also play 4 teams from the competitive NE-10 including St. Anselm, Franklin Pierce, Pace, and Assumption and have added DII newcomers Briarcliffe and Rollins to the schedule.
The Chargers will have a new look attack this season which includes three freshman and two transfers who will all see significant playing time while fighting for the starting spots. The group is led by junior transfer James Murphy and sophomore transfer Pat O'Shea. Murphy brings good size and finesse while O'Shea brings speed and quickness to the group. They will be accompanied by a trio of freshman who proved this fall that they are all capable of starting. David Marrese and Andrew Rendine have a strong work ethic and great hands, while Jimmy Tancredi provides the ability to carry and shoot the ball.
The midfield unit returns every point from the previous two seasons and look to be a strong point for the 2008 season. The group is led by sophomore Alex Jones, who set the school record for goals in a season while on his way to becoming the teams first All-ECC selection earning 2nd team honors in 2007. He will look for support from senior captain Joe Cobis and junior captain Remo Montalbano. Cobis is a hard-nosed two-way midfielder who provides speed, quickness, and experience to the group. Montalbano looks to have a breakout season after making the move from attack to midfield midway through last season. A pair of sophomores who had a strong fall season will look to push into the rotation. Sean Murphy finished last season strong and has improved all aspects of his game while Dan Celebre looks to solidify the unit with his stick skills and speed. Junior Jeremy Arcaro will be attacking the goal from a different position this year, making the switch from attack to midfield and so far has proven he is capable of putting the ball in the back of the net. Freshman Jesse Peterson had an outstanding fall and his proven quickness and stick skills will get him quality runs from up top. Senior Kyle Miller, junior Paul Ocana, and freshman Danny Servelli will all be competing for playing time.
The defensive midfield will be led by two seniors, Kris Hayes and captain Tom Walters. Both players have excellent footwork and body position and will look to mark the oppositions best midfielder. They will be working with a group of talented short sticks led by junior Steve Polizzi. Junior Frank Vermeylen, sophomores Mike Flynn and Corey Luksch, and freshman Chris Jones are all competing to move into the rotation and all have shown that they are capable of playing.
The close defense will be led by junior Christopher Butts, who has started every game of his collegiate career. Three players are fighting for the right to step into the starting lineup alongside Butts; they are junior Ben Bradley, sophomore Chris Krutzler, and freshman Kyle MacDonald. Bradley has shown much improvement in his all around game, Krutzler has great on ball skills, while MacDonald brings a hard hitting intense style of play to the unit. The group is rounded out by three freshman, Chris Berlingeri, Alex McKenna, and Sean Slinn.
The Chargers have three goalies with the ability to start. Junior captain and two-time team MVP Joe Assante is the front-runner after an outstanding fall. But after a great performance in the fall contests freshman Tim Manzella is not far behind. The biggest mark is freshman Brendan Bonacum, a transfer from Limestone with great potential.
The Chargers open up the 2008 season at Tappan Zee High School
against the St. Anselm Hawks at 2:00 pm and will be traveling to
Florida for their annual spring trip to face Pace, Rollins, and St.
Leo.