WESTON, Mass. - Despite brutally cold temperatures, the Regis (Mass.) men’s lacrosse team held its first practice of the 2017 season on Monday evening under the lights at Regis Stadium.
The team opened practice with a fitness test, followed by passing drills designed to keep the ball (and the team) moving to keep the blood flow going in the cold. The opening practice concluded with sprints and a full-team plank that burned a little bit more than usual in the sub-freezing temperatures.
“It’s great to be back out here with everybody,” said senior goalkeeper D.J. Barille (Medford, Mass.). “It’s cold, but we can’t wait for our first game.”
For the second consecutive year, the Pride will open their season by hosting SUNY Polytechnic. The meeting will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25. Last season, the Wildcats got the best of Regis by a score of 8-4, after the Pride led 3-2 at the half.
Saint Joseph’s (ME) will be the first of five Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponents the Pride will face in 2017, the final season before making the leap into the conference, as the two sides will meet in Standish, Maine on Saturday, Mar. 11. Regis will also face off against GNAC schools Johnson & Wales, Mount Ida, Norwich and Rivier in 2017 non-conference action.
The Pride will open its final season of New England Collegiate Conference play on Tuesday, Apr. 4 against Daniel Webster, a rematch of last year’s NECC Semifinal that saw Regis come out on top by a score of 17-7. Eight days later, Regis and Becker will meet in a rematch of the 2016 NECC title game, in which the Pride prevailed by a score of 10-6. The rematch is scheduled for Wednesday, Apr. 12 at 4:00 p.m.
Regis will close out its regular season on the road against Mitchell College on Saturday, Apr. 22. In the teams’ lone meeting last season, the Pride earned its first ever win over the Mariners in six attempts, winning 10-8 on Apr. 23.
“We have a challenging schedule,” said Pride head coach Randy Fraser. “Everyone’s going to be gunning for us this year because we’re conference champs. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
#RegisMLAX