Depth and experience are two intangibles that any coach would welcome to their program, and the Massachusetts Maritime men’s lacrosse team has both heading into the 2012 campaign.  Head Coach Rory Deegan looks to build on the momentum of last spring’s strong finish in welcoming back 17 letterwinners and seven starters for his second season in Buzzards Bay.

Senior leadership has been a staple of Buccaneer men’s lacrosse throughout the years, and this spring will be no exception, as Deegan has tabbed four veterans in seniors Will Doucette (Manchester, Mass./Manchester-Essex), Nate Lawson (Middlebury, Vt./Middlebury Union), Jake Bickley (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) and Peter Menard (Somerset, Mass./Bishop Connolly) as Massachusetts Maritime’s captains.  Deegan says this quartet “has demonstrated full commitment and leadership on the field, in the classroom and in the regiment, and they will set an example for their teammates to emulate.”

Here’s a look at how things are shaping up for the 2012 edition of Buccaneer Men’s Lacrosse:

ATTACK.  Deegan welcomes back a solid quartet of sophomores up front this season, as Chris Bergau (Merritt Island, Fla./Melbourne Central Catholic), Daniel Sibbald (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth), Stephen Ferro (South Deerfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) and Todd Solari (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) combined for 25 points during their collective rookie campaigns, including seven goals and three assists from Bergau and eight markers from Sibbald.  Freshmen Drew Prowse (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield), Adam Palilonis (Hightstown, N.J./Peddie School), Dylan Freudenberg (Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) and Jay Sousa (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) will look to make similar contributions in their first seasons for Massachusetts Maritime this spring.

MIDFIELD.  Experience runs deep in the middle for the Buccaneers, as Deegan welcomes back his top two point producers from a year ago in Doucette (26 goals, five assists) and Bickley (20 goals, 11 assists), who each tallied 31 total points.  Juniors James Burns (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) and Kevin Flanigan (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) combined for 14 goals and 23 total points for Massachusetts Maritime, which also welcomes back Menard, juniors Dan Langley (Abington, Mass./South Shore Voke) and Jake Simpson (Scituate, Mass./South Shore Regional) as well as sophomore Thomas Flynn (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) to the fold.  Senior Kyle Scannell (Tierra Verde, Fla./Lakewood) also returns after a two-year hiatus for the Buccaneers, who will also look for contributions from junior John Hojnoski (West Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) and freshmen John Forcier (Medford, Mass./Medford), Mike Raskin (Westwood, Mass./Westwood), Derek Damon (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), Patrick Coonan (Grafton, Mass./Grafton), Colin Hecklinger (Salem, Conn./East Lyme) and Kyle Nickerson (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional).

DEFENSE.  Lawson and fellow senior Matt Adam (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) combined for 27 appearances on the defensive side of the ball for Deegan in 2011, and fellow senior Nicholas Bronski (Needham, Mass./Needham) returns for the Buccaneers after a one-year hiatus to an additional veteran presence.  Junior Jake Lennon (Bourne, Mass./Bourne) started in 15 of 17 matches last spring for Massachusetts Maritime, while fellow juniors Sean Mahoney (Medford, Mass./Malden Catholic) and Sean Baggett (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) lend additional experience to the lineup.  Sophomore Fernando Harrington (East Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and freshmen Joshua White (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), Michael Neas (Old Saybrook, Conn./Old Saybrook) and Kyle Gavoni (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) will also be vying for spots on defense for Deegan in 2012.

GOAL.  Sophomore Paul Painten (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) returns to the Buccaneer cage after appearing in six matches as a freshman last spring, as he collected a victory to go with a 9.60 GAA and 23 saves in 150 minutes of play.  Freshman Eric Kuehn (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) will compete with Painten for the starting spot in net.

Massachusetts Maritime begins Rory Deegan’s second season at the helm on Saturday, March 10^th by heading to Waterville, Maine to take on Thomas in a non-league match that begins at 3:00 p.m. EST.  The Buccaneers open their home slate on Wednesday, March 14^th by entertaining Wentworth in a non-league clash at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST.