NOTE: The match between Regis and Dean rescheduled for Tuesday, March 5, has been called off once again. It is unknown at this time if another date will be established to play this contest. As of Monday, March 4, the Pride will now open their season at Salem State Thursday, March 7, with a 4 p.m. start time.
WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College men's lacrosse team has been preparing for the 2019 season and is ready to face competition from other schools after several weeks of practice.
Already seeing its scheduled opener against Becker postponed, Regis hopes to open the 2019 season as soon as the cold weather finally leaves New England. Barring any rescheduled contests, the home opener will take place Saturday, March 16, against Lasell starting at 12 p.m.
Randy Fraser enters his fourth season at the helm of the Pride program. Once again, Jared Arntzen and Greg Rogowski will be part of the coaching staff as assistant coaches, and they will be joined this season by long-time coach Tom Keller and new goalie coach Cam Hayward.
Fraser will welcome back 12 players from the 2018 roster and add five newcomers to the program. The Pride ended last season on a positive note with a 17-14 victory over Albertus Magnus, but that was not enough for Regis to qualify for the conference tournament.
"Our biggest challenge this season is our lower-than-ideal number of players. To combat this challenge, the coaching staff has been focused on creating a knowledgeable team of versatile players that can play multiple positions," said Fraser. "We have a solid core group of two-way midfielders that will play some attack as well as both offensive and defensive midfield. Our defenders will be asked to push the ball up the field in clearing situations, creating offensive transition and opportunities to score. Our young men have been working hard and improving every day. Fans are going to witness a team that never gives up on each other and will fight to win every battle we face with PRIDE!!"
Michael Daras (Danvers, Mass.) is the leading returning scorer for the Pride this season after earning 20 goals and 11 assists in his first year of collegiate lacrosse. Brian Wagner (Melrose, Mass.) led the team with 18 assists, plus he scored 13 goals for 31 total points.
Logan Bateman (Claremont, N.H.) led Regis in 2018 by collecting 68 ground balls, plus he was second on the squad with 17 caused turnovers. Both Brendon Donahue (Lynn, Mass.) and Rocco Geary (Salem, Mass.) return to the program after splitting faceoff duties in 2018.
JJ LaRose (Litchfield, N.H.) brings experience to the goalie position after starting six matches and appearing in five others as a freshman, posting a 12.73 goals against average and a .473 save percentage with 71 total saves.
In the GNAC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll, Regis finished in eighth place with 18 points. In a close vote at the top of the poll, Norwich earned four first place votes and 71 total points to emerge as the preseason favorite, just ahead of Lasell with three first place votes and 69 points. Johnson & Wales, the 2018 GNAC Tournament champion as the sixth seed, finished third with the remaining two first place votes and 62 total points, with Saint Joseph's College right behind the Wildcats with 61 points.
The 2019 GNAC Tournament will still feature the top eight teams qualifying for the postseason, with the quarterfinals at the four highest seeds scheduled for Saturday, April 27. The semis will take place on Tuesday, Apr. 30, followed by the title game at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, May 4.