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 Men's Lacrosse Season Preview
Feb. 19, 2010
Outlook The Saints begin 2010 as the team to beat in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and as a program pushing their way onto the national scene. Siena matched a program record with 12 wins a year ago and went undefeated (8-0) in league play. Most importantly, it marked Siena's first league championship since the program joined the MAAC in 1996. "We have 11 seniors this year and all of them have played meaningful minutes," he said. "I think this class can do what last year's 16 seniors did; go out on top with a MAAC Championship." One of Siena's biggest strengths is the man between the pipes. All-American goalie Brent Herbst has the talent to elevate the Saints to a level the program has never seen before. "Brent is one of the best goalies in the country," Brecht said. "He's special. He's a difference maker." Herbst has been the difference in many games during his career. From leading the Saints to their first MAAC regular season championship as a freshman to the 5-4 upset at No. 17 Loyola as a sophomore to an NCAA Tournament game at defending NCAA Champion Syracuse as a junior. He is just the second Siena player to earn All-America honors (Tony Asterino, 1981). Siena returns five starters and all three attackmen from last season. But the MAAC's undefeated champion will need to fill some holes left by the graduation of cornerstones like Kenny Mazzone, MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Chris Viviano, Dan Mulhall and faceoff specialist Scott Montgomery. Attack
Duggan has been a consistent scorer from day one in the program. He's recorded 30+ points each season. He tallied 31 points and earned All-MAAC Second Team honors last year. Sophomore Chris Roth played in all 18 games as a freshman. He scored eight goals and added 10 assists. Freshman Danny Martinsen adds immediate depth to an already strong position. He played four years of varsity lacrosse at Smithtown High School. Bryan Reneissen red-shirted last season after playing two years at Nassau Community College. He was named Team MVP his sophomore year. Midfield
"If Shaun Dunn plays to his potential, he's a Player of the Year type guy," Brecht said. Dunn scored 20 goals and had four assists last year. He scored a hat-trick in the MAAC Championship win over Manhattan. Senior Matt Leithead, a co-captain, is a seasoned veteran who has played in 50 games during his Siena career. He was a second line midfielder last year and will have to help fill the void left by Mazzone and Chris Zarins. Junior transfer Dan Lawson should make an immediate impact for the Saints. He played two years at Herkimer Community College. Lawson tallied 54 points in 13 games last season and helped upset No. 2 Hudson Valley CC on the way to a Region III Championship appearance. John Rogener is an athletic player who always goes at full tilt. He played on the second line midfield last year and totaled eight points on four goals and four assists. In the MAAC Championship game, Rogener showed a perfect example of his game when he received a pass and ripped a shot past the goalie just before taking a big hit. Sophomore Chris D'Alberti started three of 18 games last season. He's a strong player with a high ceiling. His best offensive output from last year was a 3-point day against cross-town rival UAlbany. Mic DeBellis and Kyle Curry add depth to the midfield. DeBellis was a four-year starter in lacrosse at Emmaus High School in Pennsylvania and also played three years of football. Curry was a two-time State Champion in lacrosse at Bishop Guertin. He played one year at Kimball Union Academy. "We have an experienced group with more depth than in years past," Brecht said. "And I'm happy to see the promise in our new players." Defensive Midfielders Senior captain Mike Whalen and classmate Bryan Hale are the team's top short stick defensive midfielders. Whalen has played in 50 games during his Siena career. He tallied four points on two goals and two assists last season. Hale has 24 goals and 42 ground balls in 34 games at Siena. Both players have a good combination of speed and strength. Sophomore Evan Gallina and junior Kevin Cotter will both see minutes at defensive midfield. Gallina has made the move from midfield and will help spell Whalen and Hale. Cotter saw increased minutes in 2009 and at 6-3 stands as one of the biggest players on the team. Defense
Siena will have to replace all three starters at defense (Viviano, Mulhall and Anthony Nunziata). However, senior Kyle Vercruysse (right) has played significant minutes throughout his career and will be the anchor of this year's defensive unit. He started 12 games in 2008 before injury ended his season. Vercruysse worked hard to come back strong last year and had 15 caused turnovers in 11 games. He is a co-captain this season. Junior Duncan Seale has seen a growing role the past two seasons and will compete for a starting job. He appeared in 11 games off the bench last season. Sophomore Derek Favara was fourth on the depth chart last season. He played in eight games as a rookie and had three ground balls. Senior Faus Bernabo has played in every game (50) since arriving as a freshman. He's been the team's top long pole midfielder and wing on face-offs. Other players challenging for time at the long pole position are freshman Mike Battaglia and sophomore Phil Dumont. Battaglia is a local product from Shaker High School. Dumont appeared in seven games last season. Junior Joe Vaccari is the team's top man-down pole because of his off-ball defense. He played in 17 games last season and along with Herbst and the starting longpoles, helped lead the man-down unit to the second best percentage nationally (.817). "The defense starts with Herbst," Brecht said. "Vercruysse and Bernabo are seasoned veterans and guys are starting to step up and gel with their new roles." Goalie Senior Brent Herbst returns as one of the best goalies in the country. The last two seasons he's ranked in the top-3 in the country in GAA. He is a 2009 USILA All-American Honorable Mention, a 2010 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American Honorable Mention, 2010 Preseason All-MAAC selection and 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award nominee. Junior Tom Morr will backup Herbst. He has played well when given the chance, posting a 7.43 GAA and .559 save percentage in 13 career games. Morr started Siena's 2009 season opener at Johns Hopkins and only allowed four goals in the first half. Junior Bill Kelly has a 5.93 GAA and .716 save percentage in 50 career minutes. Freshmen Matt Sharp and Marc Fiorillo add depth to a strong core of goalies. Sharp earned three varsity letters at Winchester High School in Massachusetts. Fiorillo played four years of lacrosse at Locust Valley and earned All-County Honorable Mention as a senior. Faceoff Siena's biggest question mark is at the faceoff X. With the loss of Scott Montgomery to graduation, the Saints may have to replace him with a platoon. Montgomery won 55.7% of his draws last year and has three of the top-20 single season faceoff percentages in MAAC history. Frontrunners for the position are Hale, Rogener, Gallina and Chris Brancato. Hale has the most experience at the faceoff X. He won 3-of-6 draws as a junior and 17-of-42 as a freshman at Hartford. Rogener's athleticism and hard work make him a viable option at faceoff. Schedule The Saints open 2010 with a difficult non-conference schedule. Siena starts at Stony Brook on February 20 and doesn't play a home game until March 23. For the second straight year, Siena will play at perennial power Johns Hopkins in a nationally televised game on ESPNU on February 28. Hopkins ranked fifth in the USILA Preseason Coaches' Poll. Siena makes the eight-mile trip to play cross-town rival and No. 18 UAlbany on March 2. The Saints lost a heartbreaker to the Great Danes in Loudonville last year. After outplaying UAlbany for much of the game, the Great Danes tallied a last second goal to force overtime and won it on man-up in double overtime. Siena will play a neutral site game against Hartford in Hempstead, N.Y. as part of a doubleheader with Hofstra and Brown. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener is scheduled for March 20 when the Saints travel to Saint Joseph's. Siena plays its home opener against Air Force on March 23 which starts a three-game homestand. The Saints also face Providence (March 27) who just left the MAAC for the newly formed Big East conference and Detroit Mercy (April 3), the Friars' replacement in the MAAC. The Saints finish their regular season non-conference schedule on April 7 at Binghamton. Siena plays its second neutral site game of the season against Wagner on April 10 at Burns Park in Massapequa, N.Y. The Saints host Virginia Military Institute (April 17) and Marist (April 21) before visiting Mount Saint Mary's (April 24) and Canisius (April 28). Siena faces Manhattan in the regular season finale on May 1 in Loudonville. The MAAC Championships are slated for May 7 and 9 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. |
One of the more talented and deeper units on Siena's team is the attack. The Saints return all three starters from last year in sophomore 
Senior 
