By: Stephanie Savage
Posted In: Sports
Photo credit: Salve.edu
2008 men’s lacrosse team
As the weather begins to warm up and the little bit of lasting snow melts away, the men’s lacrosse team is gearing up for their Spring 2008 season.
Lead by core returning players as well as nine new freshmen, the Seahawks are ready to prove themselves once again. “I’m excited to see what we can do out on the field this year,” said sophomore defender James Baker, a 20-year-old Administration of Justice major. “There is a lot more depth and a lot of new talent out there for us and this season will give us a chance to show everyone what we can do.” After winning their first scrimmage against the University of Rhode Island’s Division I team on Wednesday, February 27th the Salve men are fired up and ready to compete for the CCC championship. Having lost in the playoffs against Endicott College last year, the team hopes to surpass themselves in the upcoming season. “Seeing as how we only lost two seniors from last year and gained a number of strong freshmen, I’d say we can only build off our success from last year,” said 20-year-old Ben Caron, an Interactive Communication Technology major. Senior Phillip Bellafiore, 21, commented that his expectations are also extremely high this year. “We have a strong and experienced senior class, all of whom have been playing with the team throughout our careers at Salve. There is also a lot of talent among the juniors and sophomores, as well as a very impressive freshman class.” The team’s head coach, Patrick Cooney, began his career at Salve Regina six years ago and since then has carried the team a great distance. This season marked the first time that Cooney had enough players show up to make necessary cuts. Among those cut were two veteran players. According to various returning team members, it was a tough decision for the coach to have made but an even harder pill for the veterans to swallow. “We put a tremendous amount of time and effort into this team and we have bonded in many ways,” said 21-year-old Marketing major, Nate Burns. “It’s hard to lose players that have been a part of our everyday experiences, from playing on the field to hanging out together as a team. However, we have to trust that our coach knows what is best for the team and the direction he is taking the program.” The Seahawks, led by captains Nick Clark, Jon Copithorne, Rob Hoffman, Josh Sallese, and Brian Walker will be traveling to Florida for spring break, where they will be scrimmaging and practicing in preparation for their first regular-season game on Wednesday, March 26 against Curry College. For anyone interested in supporting the team, the game will be held at home on Reynolds field at 3 p.m.
