Men's Lacrosse: 2020 Season Preview
Story written and posted by Anthony Perry, Rivier University Sports Information Director
(NASHUA, N.H.) The 2020 Raiders Men's Lacrosse team will take the field returning eight starting players from the 2019 campaign. The 2019 season was the most successful in conference competition in program history posting six regular-season wins against Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponents. The 2019 Team earned a home GNAC Post-Season Tournament game to pave their way to their first conference Semi-Final appearance. The Raiders earned the quarterfinal win over Anna Maria by a 15-5 final score.
The 2020 Raiders will look to improve on that standard, as they are returning two student-athletes which were named to the All-GNAC team in both 2018 and 2019. Those student-athletes are senior defenseman Jack Nordin (Dunbarton, N.H.) and junior attackman Dylan McSparren (Warwick, R.I.). McSparren enters the 2020 campaign as the program's quickest player to reach 100 points. He currently sits at 110 points through his first 28 games played.
The senior class will be expected to continue the brotherhood that the graduating classes before them created. Senior co-captains Luke Surette (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Kyle Newman (Merrimack, N.H.) have been selected by the coaching staff and their peers to dawn the "C" on the uniforms in 2020. Three other seniors round out the graduating class of 2020 and all are expected to be key contributors to the success of the Raiders this spring. Travis Gusikoff (Lagrangville, N.Y.) will be the primary faceoff guy while Joe Yakavonis (Hanson, Mass.) and Drew Fuller (Westfield, Mass.) look the anchor the defensive unit. Kyle Newman will join McSparren in the top offensive unit for the Raiders and help to replicate the success of previous season.
Seven other members of the squad will be returning this season led the junior goalkeeping duo of juniors Jake DeStefano (Peabody, Mass.) and Ben Fitzpatrick (Stoneham, Mass.). The two have combined for 16 saves over their 132+ minutes in net over the past two seasons. Joining the junior goalies are classmate Jacob Enwright (Midfielder/Dracut, Mass.) and sophomores Corey Hicks (Defenseman/Londonderry, N.H.), Nick Ackerman (Attackman/Durham, N.H.) and Patrick Young (Attackman/Johnson, R.I.). All three are expected to earn greater roles this season and expand their individual talents to help their respective units.
There will be six newcomers to the team this season including five true freshmen that look to begin their legacies at Rivier. Freshman Jeffery Potter (North Bennington, Vt.) will be an immediate impact student-athlete on offense for the Raiders in 2020. Daniel Johnston (Salem, N.H.) will provide youth the experienced midfield unit while both Spencer Dougal (Danvers, Mass.) and Jacob Newman (Merrimack, N.H.) will eagerly learn to nuances of the defensive unit from their elder teammates. Providing addition depth in net will be 6-foot, 5-inch Lachlan Rogers (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) as he will also be the tallest member of the Raider Men's Lacrosse team. Sophomore Jack Walsh (Cross River, N.Y.) returns to his lacrosse roots this spring after spending the last two seasons as a member of the Men's Basketball team here at Rivier.
The Men's Lacrosse team opens up the 2020 season on Tuesday, February 25 at Nichols College. The non-conference opener is slated to begin at 6pm.
