A new era begins this spring for the Massachusetts Maritime men’s lacrosse program, as Rory Deegan takes over as the Bucs’ new head coach after serving for the past two seasons as an assistant to Barry Joyce, who resigned after five seasons at his alma mater.  Deegan welcomes back 18 letterwinners and six starters from a squad that posted three overall victories in 2010, including a triumph in the renewed Admiral’s Cup rivalry with Maine Maritime, and he is looking for a solid mix of veteran leadership to blend with 17 newcomers to this year’s roster.

Deegan, a former standout at Manhattan College, will turn to five members of his senior class to provide leadership for the 2011 Buccaneers, as seniors Ryan Delaney (Whitman, Mass./Xaverian), Ryan Linn (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), Craig Nichols (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), Mark Robinson (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) and Max Wigglesworth (Beverly, Mass./St. John’s Prep) will serve as Massachusetts Maritime’s captains this season.  Deegan describes this quintet as “extremely focused on building this program both on and off the field.  They each have different intangible leadership characteristics that will set the positive direction that we want for this year and the future.”

Here’s how things are shaping up for the 2011 edition of Massachusetts Maritime Men’s Lacrosse:

ATTACK.  Linn is the top returning scorer for the Buccaneers this spring, as he netted 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points a year ago and is joined up front by fellow senior Chris Davis (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset), who collected 10 goals and an assist for 11 points in 12 outings.  Sophomore James Burns (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) gained experience by notching an assist in five appearances, while the freshmen trio of Stephen Ferro (South Deerfield, Mass./Frontier Regional), Chris Bergau (Merritt Island, Fla./Melbourne Central Catholic) and Todd Solari (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) will also be vying for spots on attack during their rookie campaigns.

MIDFIELD.  Deegan has solid experience returning in the middle in 2011, led by Nichols, who scored 10 goals and added eight assists for 18 points in 15 outings, and junior Will Doucette (Manchester, Mass./Manchester-Essex), who posted 11 goals and an assist for 12 points and took 187 face-offs for Massachusetts Maritime last spring.  Wigglesworth and junior Ben Wilbur (Sharon, Conn./Housatonic Valley) lend additional experience after combining for 25 appearances a year ago, while the sophomore trio of Kevin Flanigan (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich), Dan Langley (Abington, Mass./South Shore Voke) and Alex Katapodis (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip) combined for a goal and six assists for seven points as rookies in 2010.

The Buccaneers welcome back seniors Jake Bickley (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) and Adam Jaspon (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) to the fold after both missed all of last season due to injury, while junior Matt White (Westwood, Mass./Westwood), sophomores Thomas Lumb (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) and Jake Simpson (Scituate, Mass./South Shore Regional) as well as freshmen Thomas Flynn (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Daniel Sibbald (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth), will look to make an impact in the middle this spring.

DEFENSE.  Delaney, Robinson and fellow senior Matt Donahue (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) lead a veteran defensive corps for Massachusetts Maritime after each appeared in all 15 matches last season, and they are joined by juniors Matt Adam (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Nate Lawson (Middlebury, Vt./Middlebury Union) as well as sophomore Derek Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass./Tri-County), who combined for 35 appearances and eight starts in 2010.  Sophomores William Baribault (Middle Haddam, Conn./Kingswood-Oxford) and Jake Lennon (Bourne, Mass./Bourne) combined to appear in 15 outings as rookies for the Buccaneers, who also welcome sophomores Sean Baggett (Braintree, Mass./Braintree), Austin Waldron (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) and Sean Mahoney (Medford, Mass./Malden Catholic), as well as freshman Wesley Grew (Plaistow, N.H./Timberlane), into the defensive fold.

GOALIE.  The graduation of former standout netminder James Hitchings, who started all but two matches for Massachusetts Maritime over the last two seasons, leaves a void in the Buccaneer cage, but Deegan will look to three newcomers to step up into the starting role in freshmen Jack Murphy (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset), Paul Painten (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and Dan Bourque (Reading, Mass./Reading).

SCHEDULE.  Deegan faces an early test in his inaugural campaign, as Massachusetts Maritime will play five of its first six matches away from Clean Harbors Stadium and eight of its first 10 matches overall through April 7^th.  In addition to Pilgrim League clashes with Wheaton, MIT, Clark, Babson and Springfield as well as the conference’s newest upcoming member in Regis, the Buccaneers will square off in non-league play with the likes of Wentworth, Emerson and UMass Boston while also tangling with rivals New York Maritime in the Maritime Cup contest on March 19^th and Maine Maritime in the Admiral’s Cup clash a week later.

A new season and new challenges await a new head coach as the 2011 edition of Massachusetts Maritime men’s lacrosse is ready to set sail, as the Buccaneers begin the Rory Deegan era on Tuesday, March 15^th with a trip to Boston to take on Wentworth in a non-league match that begins at 7:00 p.m. EST.