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Coach Sothoron’s Outlook on the 2011 Season
Wheeling,WV, November 30, 2010--- The Wheeling Jesuit Men’s Lacrosse Team finished fall ball on a positive note, welcoming twelve new freshman. The Cardinals began to build chemistry this fall as the freshman mixed well with the upperclassmen.
The attitude was great and the leadership was very good all fall. Jesuit looked very sharp during their fall scrimmages, defeating all but one of its competitors.
The 2011 season should be exciting seeing many new faces on the field.
Attack Unit:
The attack unit showed great promise this fall. Nothing is set in stone as far as starting positions. Most of the fall four freshmen shared time. Freshman Brian Frank showed flashes of brilliance shooting the ball. He is a strong player that can take a beating while scoring goals. Frank can dodge and feed but his #1 strength is his powerful shot.
Freshman Landon DelPrince showed he could be an immediate impact playing at the X. He is a very smooth player who is very good creating off the dodge. He is going to be hard to stop as his confidence grows.
Freshman Jared Sims complimented DelPrince and Frank on the left side. He is a hard working player that is very well rounded. He has a good shot with either hand and he can beat you off the dodge as well. He is a versatile player that might see time at midfield as well.
Freshman Kevin Figaniak started the fall off slow adjusting to college lacrosse but he really showed promise towards the end of fall. Figaniak has gained confidence and showed why he has the potential to be a starter. We expect to see him be a major factor in the spring.
Rounding out the attack unit is Senior Dan Petraglia who will see some time this season, and freshmen Bryce Pfeiffer and Brian Tran will look to improve adjusting to the college game.
Coach Sothoron on the attack unit: “I am very pleased with how the attack played this fall. Starting three freshmen is hard but we have kids with talent. They play hard and are very good. I think our youth will surprise a lot of people. The more they play together the better they will be.”
Midfield Unit:
Much like the attack unit the Jesuit midfielders are very young starting three freshmen, a sophomore and two seniors. Freshmen Rob Mills, Tyler Johnson, and Aaron Gutentag are all very athletic and play like upperclassmen. They showed they will be very important for our success this spring.
Sophomore Ricky Rano should be a key factor this spring. He is very athletic and is always a threat to create offense off the dodge. Roundig out the midfield unit are seniors Colin Jack and Charles Joyce. Jack is a player who has been converted from an attackman to a midfielder. He looks like he feels more comfortable in this role. We look for Jack to have a great year as a key leader at the offensive end.
Joyce is a scrappy player that works hard. If he can refine a few things he could be a threat at the Midfield.
Coach Sothoron on the midfield unit: “Much like our attack we are young at the midfield. I think our freshmen middies will be very hard to stop. I also think our older midfielders will have break out seasons. They all have good speed and attack the goal well. We can hurt teams with our speed and versatility.”
Face–Off Unit:
At the face off X we have two good face-off men that will split time this year. Sophomore Josh Lambert and Junior Andrew Moretz will both be taking draws.
Coach Sothoron on the face-off unit: “We are very lucky to have two good face-off men. Lambert and Moretz have the potential to be game changers.”
Defensive Midfield Unit:
The long pole middie position has been very good for us all fall. Austin Grimes is #1 on the depth chart at LSM. He had a good fall and should be very hard to beat this spring.
Sophomores Matt king and Ed Monohan will be seeing time behind Grimes. These guys are great compliments to Grimes. They give us consistency and depth in that position.
Freshman Anthony Ferrono will also be fighting for playing time. The short stick defensive middies will be Senior Captain Phil Mergner and Sophomore Evan Johnston. These two guys had a great fall and really proved how important it is to have talented players at this position. They are very good cover guys that did a great job creating transition.
Freshman Aaron Gofreed will also take some runs in this position. He showed how effective he can be with his speed and knowledge of the game. Senior Will Walton, Sophomore Devin Kennedy, and Sophomore Andrew Tran will also be trying to break into the starting lineup.
Coach Sothoron on the defensive midfield unit: “This fall we proved that we finally have depth and talent in this position which will cause problems for other teams midfielders.”
Close Defense:
Senior Captain Nate Nelson and Sopmore Captain Matt Maccario will lead the defense this season. These two are very good defensemen and leaders on the field. They are both good inside as well as good cover guys.
The third spot at defense is still wide open. We have three good defensemen battling for that spot. Senior Mark Davitt has the experience and has had a pretty good fall while Sophomore Andrew McMannis has improved greatly and had a real consistent fall. McManis is very good inside and on the man down unit.
Freshman Steven Kurth showed the coaching staff that he has the tools to be a starter. He did very well on ball and gets better every day. He is a very big athletic kid who will push for that third spot.
Coach Sothoron on the close defense: “We are very athletic at the defense position. Our defense is the strength of our team. I think we are going be a difficult defense to beat. I look for our defense to be a key factor with our success.”
GK Unit:
Sophomore Goalie Jim LaPenna has done very well this fall. As a freshman, LaPenna took over the second half of the season and became the starter. He seems very comfortable leading the defense. He should have a great year being very confident game in and game out.
Freshman Goalie Joe Amsler has worked hard all fall and has gained valuable experience. He has a great attitude and we look for him to improve everyday.
Coach Sothoron on the Goalies: “I was very pleased with both goalies this fall. I think LaPenna is going to have a great year showing that he is a top level D2 goalie.”
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