Feb. 15, 2008

2008 Men's Lacrosse Preview

Under the direction of first-year head coach Jason Rife, the Wagner College men's lacrosse team opens its 2008 season on Saturday with a 1:00 pm face-off at Quinnipiac.

Energized by the new coaching staff and with several key contributors returning from last season, the Seahawks are approaching the 2008 campaign with tremendous enthusiasm.

The Seahawks will be led by tri-captains Brian Poissant (Manilus, NY/ Fayetteville-Manilus), Mike Hess (Potomac, MD/ The Heights School) and Drew Mueller (Severna Park, MD/ Severna Park). Rife has been impressed with the leadership and athletic ability that is being exhibited on a daily basis as Wagner prepares for the season opener on Feb. 16 at Quinnipiac.

Poissant had the highest face-off percentage last season, as the junior midfielder won 53-113 faceoffs (.469) while tallying nine goals and assisted on four others last.

"Brian is an excellent leader who possesses tremendous stick skills, speed and has a very high game IQ," said Rife. "He'll have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders this season and he welcomes that responsibility.

Hess is another tough, competitive midfielder who was also a top face-off man a year ago, winning 63-168 faceoffs (.375) while adding six goals, one assist and 19 groundballs.

"Mike is entering his fourth year in the program and is a very hard worker with a great knowledge of the game," said Rife. "He has the ability to make those around him better and he is an important member of our team. Mike's a great communicator and serves a conduit to the coaching staff, as he really has a feel for the pulse of the team.

Mueller is a leader on the field from his defenseman position. Starting all 15 games a year ago, Mueller scooped up a team-leading 38 groundballs.

The Seahawks return six of their top seven scorers from a year ago in senior midfielder Ryan Martin (Florham Park, NJ/ Bayley Ellard), junior attack Jeff Policiccho (Noci, MI/ Novi), senior attack Andrew Daly (Jamesville, NY/ Jamesville), junior attack Evan Shull (Port Jefferson Station/ Comsewogue), along with midfielders Poissant and Hess.

Freshman Will Macumber (Manorville, NY/ East South Manor) is also expected to make an offensive impact from his attack position. Also vying to be in the mix on attack is junior Michael Schaefer (Weston, CT/ Weston) and sophomore Dylan Fodel (Boulder, CO/ Boulder).

Bolstering the midfield will be junior Joe Kross (Colonie, NY/ Colonie Central) and sophomore Chris Ridente (Cranford, NJ/ Cranford). Others expected to add depth to the midfield are senior Anthony Camacho (Farmingdale, NY/ Farmingdale) and sophomore Sean Travis (Calverton, NY/ Riverhead) freshman Alex Smith (Schecksville, PA/ Parkland), along with freshmaen John Aragona (Rockville Centre, NY/ South Side), Sam McGrail (Wayland, MA/ Wayland) and Tim Schweitzer (Babylon, NY/ East Islip).

Joining Mueller on defense will be junior James Okun (Long Valley, NJ/ Long Valley), sophomore John Fiorini (Dix Hills, NY/ Half Hollow Hills East) while the long-stick midfield candidates are sophomore Greg Trenti (Skaneateles, NY/ Skaneateles), freshmen Will Grosskaus (Aquebohgue/ Riverhead), Colin Shaw (Malvern, PA/ Archbishop Carroll). Others expected to compete for playing time on defense include senior Scott Leung, a local product from Tottenville HS on Staten Island, senior Al Staab (Bayville, NY/ Locust Valley) and sophomore Larry Dilione (Oceanport, NJ/ Red Bank Catholic).

In goal, junior Brandon Waszak (Frederick, MD/ Linganore) has the inside track at the starting position but there is plenty of competition there as several players are right on his heels. Matthew McVie (Westbury, NY/ L.I. Lutheran) has plenty of potential while sophomore Michael Gutkin (Freehold, NJ/ Freehold) is challenging in practice.

Rife, whose wife Karen is the first-year head women's lacrosse coach at Wagner, is well aware of the team's recent struggles but firmly believes the Seahawks have all of the pieces in place for a winning program.

"People know about Wagner College. People may have heard about Wagner but they maybe have not heard about the lacrosse program," said Rife. "I think part of my charge here is not only to change the personnel, to change the discipline, but to gain exposure for the program.

"The next step is to make these young kids realize what a special program this can be. I think the reception that Bryan (assistant coach Bryan Molk) and I have had out on the road has been great," he added. "We signed 10 student-athletes in the early signing period and we hope to add four or five more in April that will bring our class to about 15."

Rife knows building the program will take time but is confident that Wagner College has all of the resources necessary to be a successful program.

"What my approach has been about and what my intensity is about is changing the culture of losing," Rife said. "I tell them `We're going to win or lose, guys, but the effort that you make and the path that you take to get there, is going to lend itself to winning as opposed to concentrating on the win itself.' There are smaller bricks in that wall to put up before the wins actually happen."

In the short time he has been heading the Seahawk program, Rife has been impressed with the student-athletes he has inherited.

"They're a great group of young men - very coachable, very hard-working. I think there are a lot of kids who crave the structure that we have in place," he said. "Brian Poissant, our top midfielder, is excellent. He's probably our most complete player but that's not to say there aren't other guys who have excellent attributes. Our depth is going to be an issue at every position and certainly our depth can be exposed a bit more in the midfield.

We have a lot of good athletes, but need a little more repetition to be good lacrosse players," he said. "How quickly we will be ready in the spring, time will tell."