A combination of veteran experience and talented youth looks to serve the Massachusetts Maritime men’s lacrosse team well during the 2014 season, as the Buccaneers return 17 letterwinners in Head Coach Rory Deegan’s fourth year at the helm and seek to build on the late season success they enjoyed as part of a five victory campaign last spring.

Leadership has always been a staple of the men’s lacrosse program at the Academy, and this year will be no exception, as Deegan will look to seniors Paul Painten (Walpole, Mass./Walpole), Thomas Flynn (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Stephen Ferro (South Deerfield, Mass./Frontier Regional), along with junior Dylan Freudenberg (Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony’s), to provide leadership as Massachusetts Maritime’s captains, as Painten and Freudenberg return to those roles for a second straight season.  Deegan, a former standout at Division I Manhattan, describes this quartet as “completely committed to the overall success, both on and off the field, of our program.  They are proven leaders by example who will set a high standard for their teammates to emulate.”

Here’s a look at how things are shaping up for the 2014 edition of Buccaneer Men’s Lacrosse:

ATTACK.  Freudenberg and fellow junior Drew Prowse (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) provided a solid one-two scoring punch up front for Massachusetts Maritime once again last spring, as Prowse led the Buccaneers with 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points while Freudenberg added a team-leading 30 goals to go with 11 assists for 41 points.  Sophomore Sean Staples (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) enjoyed a solid rookie season with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points a year ago, while sophomore Hayden Lynch (Dunstable, Mass./Groton-Dunstable), along with freshmen Ryan McNeill (Burlington, Mass./Burlington) and Conor Greaney (Milton, Mass./Milton), will compete for spots on Deegan’s attack unit during their first seasons of play.

MIDFIELD.  Sophomore Anthony Kurylak (Exeter, N.H./Portsmouth) leads an experienced group with great depth in the middle for Massachusetts Maritime, as he ranked fourth on the team scoring list with 17 goals and 10 assists for 27 points as a freshman.  Fellow sophomore C.J. Hanson (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) chipped in with nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points as a rookie for the Buccaneers, who also received a marker each from sophomores Matthew Montouri (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) and Nicholas Defuria (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury), who won 93 faceoffs in 2013.  Flynn (15) and fellow senior Chris Bergau (Merritt Island, Fla./Melbourne Central Catholic) combined for 24 appearances last spring, while sophomores Nicholas Foley (Kingston, Mass./Silver Lake) and Conor Boudart (Myersville, Md./Middletown) appeared in a combined 11 contests for Deegan’s crew, which will also look for contributions from sophomore Reed McLean (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) and freshmen Patrick Kearney (Scituate, Mass./Boston College), Peter Usalis (Danvers, Mass./Bishop Fenwick), Joseph Landy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham), Steven Anderson (Crownsville, Md./Annapolis Area Christian), Kevin Collins (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) and Sam Jarvis (Laurel Springs, N.J./Paul VI).

DEFENSE.  Ferro and fellow senior Fernando Biwer Paz (East Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) anchor the Buccaneer defensive corps, as Biwer Paz started in 12 matches and collected 20 ground balls to go with 10 caused turnovers while Ferro registered eight ground balls in 13 contests.  Sophomore Cody Cafarelli (Burlington, Mass./Masconomet Regional) picked up eight ground balls in 11 outings during his freshman season for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received four appearances from fellow sophomore Jamie Foy (Holden, Mass./Wachusett Regional) in the backfield.  Sophomore Ian Monfils (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson), along with freshmen Andrew Lawrence (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial), Eric Murphy (Danvers, Mass./Malden Catholic), Joe Starkey (Burlington, Mass./Burlington), Alec Plotnikiewicz (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley) and Konnor Scarponi (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) will be vying for roles on the defensive side for Deegan in 2014.

GOAL.  Painten returns as the last line of defense in the Buccaneer cage, as he registered solid numbers once again last spring with 202 saves for a .566 saves percentage and a 10.93 goals against average in 15 contests (14 starts) while picking up all five triumphs along the way.  Sophomore James Klose (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) gained valuable experience with 12 saves in 52-plus minutes of play for Massachusetts Maritime, while freshmen Jacob Brennan (North Reading, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) and Keison Cunningham (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) will look to gain similar experience during their inaugural collegiate campaigns this spring.

SCHEDULE.  The 2014 season will certainly provide plenty of home cookin’ for Deegan’s squad, as Massachusetts Maritime will play 11 of its 15 regular season matches in the friendly confines of Clean Harbors Stadium, including a 10-match homestand that begins on March 18^th and goes all the way to April 16^th.  The Buccaneers will move from the Pilgrim League to the newly-formed New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), which includes all former Pilgrim League schools with the exception of Regis, which has been replaced by Emerson.

The aforementioned 10-match homestand includes league outings with Babson, Emerson, Springfield and Wheaton and will also see Plymouth State, Wentworth, Anna Maria, Salem State, Regis and UMass Dartmouth pay visits to Buzzards Bay.  Massachusetts Maritime will head to Castine, Maine during the third weekend of March for the two-day Maritime Classic with rivals SUNY-Maritime and host Maine Maritime, and Deegan’s crew will also travel to Clark and MIT for their final two regular season NEWMAC clashes.

The Buccaneers begin the new year on Saturday, March 8^th when Massachusetts Maritime hosts Albertus Magnus in a non-league outing at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at 2:00 p.m. EDT.