MSC men's lacrosse season comes to an end
Gretchen Cramer
Issue date: 5/8/09 Section: Sports
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Head coach Patrick Yannarelli said, "We had more talent this year and the sophomores are really starting to grow and gain more experience."
The first victory of the season was the opener against SUNY Cobleskill. The other three victories were won in the middle of the season, against Anna Maria College, Wells College and Cazenovia College.
Midfielder Eric Stein said, "By far, Cortland was the toughest competition we faced. Although Geneseo was a very solid team and I liked their brutality." They lost to SUNY Cortland 22-0 on April 26.
Stein said, "I believe coach Yannarelli put it best when he said he saw "glimpses of greatness," we just need to turn that flip book into a full motion picture." The team faced many teams that will not be in the same league next year.
Attacker Nelson Boyd said he thinks the best team experience was, "Our last game we played against was Medaille because we all wanted a good finish to the season and it seemed we all put our minds in the game although we really didn't play as well as we know we could of. We played for each other for once."
There were a few highlights for the Mustangs throughout the season, including the victory against Cazenovia College on April 1.
"Beating Caz was very important to the team because the history of this program has shown sharp competition with them and it is nice to be on the winning side of that rivalry," Stein said.
Yannarelli said that the team will have a lot to look forward to next year when they make the switch to the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC). He said, "It really fits our profile. It is very different from SUNYAC."
"I personally enjoyed playing Cortland because they have been in the NCAA championship game for three years in a row now and are one of the best teams in the country," Stein said. "Although the scoreboard would say the game was a total loss I like to see how I match up against some of the best players in the country and to me that is invaluable experience."
The team is expecting 18 new recruits for the incoming 2010 season and are only looking to lose five to eight players this year.
At the end of the year awards ceremony, defenseman Tom Longland and midfielder Tom Moore both received awards. Longland received Coach's Award and Moore received Most Valuable Player.