Angelina WagnerAlthough spring won’t officially start until March 20, spring sports are already preparing for the upcoming season. The men’s and women’s lacrosse teams are already hard at work in preparation for what they hope to be a winning season
Men’s lacrosse is preparing for yet another exciting season facing tough competition such as McDaniel College and Ohio Wesleyan University, both of whom are ranked in the top 20 of division three schools.
“We’re going to face off against tough conference competition since we are the returning PAC champions,” said assistant coach Ryan Greer. The offense this year will be led by senior Mike Pape, who is a pre-season All-America, junior Mike Piccoli, and sophomores Rory Friel and Justin Gray. The defense will be led by junior Antonio Masone in goal, senior defenseman Tom Grosse, senior David Johanson, and senior Brandon Lawler with help from junior Mike Cottone, and sophomore Brian Felice.
Pape says that even though he is in his last year, it won’t stop him from playing his best. “I expect nothing less than another PAC championship. We all want to go one step further in the NCAA tournament,” said Pape. “Although we are the PAC champions, that doesn’t mean we can slack off during practice. We still have our 6 a.m. practices and are working twice as hard,” said Lawler.
The men’s team was eliminated in the first round of the National College Athletic Association last season by Washington College. The men will start their season on Saturday, March 1st at Mary Washington College.
As far as the women’s lacrosse team goes, this season is expected to be one filled with new and returning talent. “This year our team is much younger,” said Cabrini’s women’s lacrosse coach, Jackie Neary. “There are nine freshmen on the team and that’s a big change, but we still have a lot of key players.”
Looking back on last season, Neary is hopeful that sophomore goalie Jamie Knobler and senior Colleen Conner will continue their hard work into 2003. Another bonus to this season’s team is the addition of senior transfer student, Amanda Swoyer, an all-conference competitor last season at Shippensburg University.
Returning this year to lead the offensive front are sophomores Maureen McQuade and Anne Dougherty. Covering the defense are junior Kelli Romano and sophomore Missy Modesti. However confident with her veteran players, Neary is “curious to see what the freshman can contribute this season.”
The team will attend training camp in Florida throughout the first week of March. The season is officially scheduled to begin on March 18 when the Lady Cavs take on Drew University.
