WESTON, Mass. – With a new head coach, the Regis College men's lacrosse team embarks upon the 2020 season with new expectations, taking advantage of a warm winter to accelerate its preparations for the upcoming schedule.
Matthew Sweeney begins his first season as head coach of the Pride men's lacrosse program after four years at Division II Rollins College, helping the Tars post a 34-25 overall record as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. Cameron Glover is also in his first year as an assistant coach after a stellar playing career at Springfield College, while Greg Rogowski comes back to the coaching staff and DJ Barrile returns to his alma mater to help coach the goalkeepers.
Senior co-captain Brian Wagner (Melrose, Mass.) led the team last season with 16 assists and 31 total points, plus he scored 15 goals, while junior Michael Daras (Danvers, Mass.) collected 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 total points. Brent Young (Feeding Hills, Mass.) contributed 16 goals and 17 assists to the Regis attack during the 2018 season.
Junior Brendon Donahue (Lynn, Mass.) took the majority of the faceoffs for Regis in 2019, including a 12-for-16 performance in the Pride's 10-3 victory over Thomas College. Junior co-captain Logan Bateman (Claremont, N.H.) led the Pride defense with 18 caused turnovers last year, plus he collected 44 ground balls to help his team gain possession at key times.
JJ LaRose (Litchfield, N.H.) started 10 matches in goal during the 2019 campaign, picking up victories over Becker and Thomas with save percentages above 70 percent in each win. Nick Penta (Andover, Mass.) returns to the team after starting nine contests as a freshman in 2018, collecting a season-high 17 saves against Anna Maria April 7, 2018.
The Pride has 13 matches scheduled for the 2020 regular season, beginning with road contests at Maine Maritime Feb. 29 and at Thomas College March 4. Regis opens its home slate against Mitchell Wednesday night, March 11, with the Pride's GNAC opener taking place in Maine against Saint Joseph's College Saturday, March 21.
There are now 10 teams competing within the GNAC for men's lacrosse with the addition of University of Saint Joseph as a first-year program. In the preseason poll, Regis finished 10th with 18 points, just behind eighth place Albertus Magnus' 25 points and the ninth place Blue Jays at 23 points. Defending GNAC champion Norwich received eight first place votes to end up atop the poll with 98 points, followed by Lasell with the other two first place votes and 92 total points.
The top eight teams in the final regular season standings will qualify for the 2020 GNAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament, starting with the quarterfinals hosted by the top four seeds Saturday, April 25. The semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, with the championship match at the highest remaining seed set for Saturday, May 2.