2006 Team Preview
After finishing 6-8 in 2005, the Swarthmore College men’s lacrosse team looks to build a strong offense this season and to improve its standing within the strongest Division III men's lacrosse conference. A very young team with eight freshmen and just one senior, the Garnet will bank on new talent and a few talented veterans to compete in a very strong Centennial Conference, which contains four of the top twenty-five teams in the nation.
A big loss for the Garnet was leading scorer Tim Chryssikos, who led the Garnet in both goals and assists last season. Second-and third-place scorers Jeff Donlea and Tom Coughlin also graduated at the end of the 2005 season, leaving Swarthmore looking for new attack players to step up and take charge of the field. Look for sophomore Alex Hahn, freshman Ben Young, and freshman Stelios Wilson to be a presence at attack.
The Garnet has a deep and talented collection of men playing midfield. A trio of juniors fill in the midfield - Ryan McKenna, Gavin Nurick, and Jay Charles all look to make a significant impact on the field in 2006. Charles, who won 56% of the team’s 2005 face-offs, is a team captain in 2006. Charles also had 42 groundballs on the season, and while Nurick tallied 34. McKenna, the other team captain, had a strong offensive season in 2005 with 13 goals and will look to use his strength and strong shot to increase that number. Look for the lone senior on the squad, Matt Perez, and for sophomores Ivano Ventresca, Adam Winegar, and Adam Miller to be dominating forces at midfield as well.
Junior Richard Jaronczyk and a host of sophomore defenders, including Dan Sartori, Drew Bonessa, and Kevin Murphy, will strengthen the Garnet line of defense. Anchoring the Garnet defense will be goalie Frank Mazzucco, a sophomore coming off a strong showing his freshman season.
After a spring break training trip in Orlando, the Garnet will play twelve regular-season games, eight of which will be Centennial Conference match-ups.
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