2013 SEASON PREVIEW: MEN'S LACROSSE

WESTON, Mass. - Coming off its third season in school history and the program's first venture in to conference play as members of the Pilgrim League, the Regis College men's lacrosse team is set to begin their 2013 season on Saturday, February 23. The Pride, who finished with a 4-11 mark last spring, open their 16-game schedule with an 11 a.m. home matchup against fellow New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) opponent Becker College.

Leading Regis this spring will be its four captains - senior Stephan Bottex (Norwood, Mass.), junior Chris Campbell (South Hadley, Mass.), junior Breandan Crane (Billerica, Mass.), and junior Brian Cidado (Easton, Mass.).

Bottex was named Regis College Junior Athlete of the Year after ranking first on the team with 51 groundballs and 69 faceoff wins. Campbell was third in total points with 15 goals and four assists. Crane started every game between the pipes but one for the Crimson and Gold last season, turning away 129 shots and maintaining a 9.96 goals against average. Cidado anchored the Pride defense after starting in every game but one, while also scooping up 26 groundballs and being among the leaders in penalty minutes.

Also returning on offense this season will be sophomore Peter Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.), who led the team in scoring last season with 21 goals. Juniors Billy Stewart (West Roxbury, Mass.) and Matt Vogan (Belmont, Mass.) should also contribute offensively this spring after totaling 24 and 16 points, respectively, in 2012.

New additions to the team include freshman attackman Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.), freshmen midfielders Zach Goodsell (Rochester, N.Y.), Andrew O'Reilly (Hollis, N.H.), Jack O'Brien (Milton, Mass.), freshman long stick midfielder Michael Emanuelson (Silver Lake, N.H.), junior Dan Hammond (Mansfield, Mass.) and freshman goalie Morgan Ford (Smyrna, Ga.).

Rounding out the stringent defensive unit will be senior Andrew Goldberg (Solebury, Pa.), last season's team leader in takeaways (21).

Now in his second season at the helm of the program, Josh Blumenthal has lined up a tough schedule for the coming season. In addition to Becker, Regis will face nationally-ranked Springfield College (#14) on April 3 along with the last two Pilgrim League finalists, Wheaton College (April 6) and Babson College (April 19). The Pride will also travel to Texas during spring break, where they will take on Southwestern University and the University of Dallas.

The squad will compete as members of both the Pilgrim League and NECC, with the latter of the two being highlighted by a March 23 tilt with Mitchell College inside famed Michie Stadium on the campus of the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.