Feb. 24, 2006

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University men's lacrosse team will open the 2006 season the same place they ended last year, on Stiles Field. The fifth ranked Panthers will play host to tenth ranked Notre Dame De Namur at 1:00 pm and will be looking to open their third straight season with a win.

Adelphi has hit a dry spell over the last few seasons. From 1995-2001 the Panthers won four national championships and appeared in six national title games, since that stretch Adelphi has not appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament.

After 2005's 4-6 campaign, Adelphi Head Coach Sandy Kapatos is confident that the Panthers can begin a revival in 2006. "We need to take steps forward to get back to were we traditionally belong in the division, [which is] competing for a National Championship." Kapatos said.

The Panthers are using a youth movement this season, featuring a completely new defense and several new faces at both the attack and midfield. Adelphi brings in 20 new faces this season thanks to an increased emphasis on recruiting. " Tim O'Meara's effort, the whole process and the way we recruited last year is a benefit of bringing him here," Kapatos explained.

"Our goal for this season is to improve upon last year's finish, which we were disappointed in." Kapatos stated.

Adelphi will be looking to build upon last season's average of 11.71 goals per game and coach Kapatos feels they have the personnel in place to do so, "We should be more well rounded and deeper then last year. We will run two to three midfield lines and we feel like we have the best attack in the division," Kapatos remarked. "With three number one attackman this is potentially the best group of attackman we've ever had at Adelphi. They're all unselfish."

Attack

Senior Wes Green, a familiar face in the Adelphi line-up, will lead the attack. 2005 Division II attackman of the year, Green returned to the form that made him an All-American in 2003, leading the team in goals (37) and points (49). "Wes is arguably the best attackman in the country," Kapatos said. "He is a starter for Australia's world [championship] team and that's quite a statement."

Joining Green in the starting line-up will be junior transfer Michael Gongas and senior transfer Brendan Morgan. Gongas comes to Adelphi from the University of Massachusetts, where he gained Division I playing experience. "Gongas was a high school All-American and didn't see the field much at UMASS, so he's hungry and ready to play," Kapatos said.

Morgan, a NJCAA Player of Year while at Nassau Community College, played one season at Drexel where he led the team in scoring. Kapatos feels that these three athletes are the hardest working and most unselfish group of attackman ever to come through Adelphi.

Kapatos also made an off the field acquisition over the summer that should help the offense, bringing back assistant coach John Laden. "Having Laden back is big," Kapatos explained." The last two seasons I've had to split my attention between both the defense and the offense, but having Laden back is like having an extra head coach, it allows me to turn my attention to the defensive end."

Dale Pescitelli collected 12 assists as a freshman.

Senior Chris Rufle and freshmen Chris Albanese and Matthew Harter will offer a change of pace and the opportunity to give the trio of Green, Gongas and Morgan a breather from time to time.

Midfield

The Panther midfield will be one of their deepest and most experienced groups, with five returning midfielders and one returning attackman converted to midfield. Heading the group will be sophomore Dale Pescitelli. Pescitelli, one of the most athletic players on roster, was fifth on the team in points last season (16) and tied for second in assists with 12.

Pescitelli will team with junior Stephen Mortimer and junior transfer Jonathan St. Jules to form the first midfield line.

Mortimer, set career-highs in every offensive category, finishing 2005 third in points (22) and goals (17), while St. Jules comes to Adelphi from Nassau Community College, where he appeared in two NJCAA National Tournaments.

"Our first line has great chemistry and are all very athletic," Kapatos remarked. "They are all very capable individually and have a tendency to be selfless,"

Sophomores Andrew Ashkenazy and Brady O'Malley return after combining for one goal and two assists in 2005. Kapatos calls Ashkenazy one of the best split dodgers he's ever seen and he is also a solid defensive midfielder. O'Malley is healthy this season after playing most of last year with a stress fracture and capable of playing both ends of the field.

Adelphi's other two returning players are juniors Liam Cerveny and Matt Price. Cerveny was also injured last year, scoring three goals and collecting an assist, but is healthy and will add depth to the midfield. Price was moved from attack to midfield so that Kapatos can take advantage of his athleticism and give the midfield more flexibility.

The newcomers include freshman Matthew Theberge, sophomores James McNamara and James O'Sullivan and junior Drew Smith. The coaching staff has high expectations for Theberge, an athletic player with Division I size. McNamara has similar size to Theberge but is offensively polished and could surprise some people this season.

O'Sullivan comes to Adelphi from Molloy College and is one of the fastest players on the team. He should develop into a solid midfielder. Smith will be a defensive specialist who can play with a short stick or a long pole.

Specialist

"We need to play good defense, get up and down the field and finish when called upon in order to be successful this season," -Sandy Kapatos

Sophomore Jesse Corben took 189 face-offs a year ago, winning 93 of them. He will split time in the face-off circle this season with Ashkenazy. "Corben and Ashkenazy need to do a real good job for us in the face-off circle," Kapatos said. "If we can win the face-off and get the ball we're going to score."

Freshman Larry Anderson has shown potential in the face-off circle and will compete for time with Corben and Ashkenazy.

The long stick midfield will consist of freshmen Benjamin Zils and Chad Cobb. Both players are athletic and have outstanding sticks, but will have to mature quickly for Adelphi to succeed.

Defense The only returning defender with significant starting experience is senior Matt Baccarella. The Panthers lost three defensemen with starting experience including two-time All-American Frank Canizio. "We're gonna play as many kids as we can," Kapatos said." We have two upperclassmen at defense and the rest are newcomers."

Freshmen Luke Prattico, Matt Giordano and Ryan Kelly along with junior transfer Chris Mahaffy are currently competing for starting minutes. The coaching staff has high expectations for Prattico and expect him to have an immediate impact with the starting group.

Goirdano is a solid positional defenseman and is buying into the system, while Mahaffy brings a big physical presence to the field and has good footwork. "What our defense may lack in experience they make up for in effort," Kapatos remarked. "They are all buying into the system and the quicker they get comfortable the better we'll be."

Baccarella will be counted on to lead this young and untested defense, having made six starts a year ago and appearing in seven games. Freshmen Christopher Baiocco and David Campbell and junior Peter Ruff will also compete for minutes and add quality depth to the Panther defense.

Goal

Returning to patrol the Adelphi net after a one-year hiatus is senior Brian Volpi. In 2004 Volpi posted a record of 6-4 with an impressive 7.79 goals against average. "Volpi is back in goal and very motivated," Kapatos stated. "He's a warrior back there [in goal]. He doesn't back down and he'll never give up."

Brian Volpi posted a 7.79 goals against average in 2004.

Volpi will be looked upon to add some guidance to a very young defense. "Volpi needs to help toughen up the defense and keep them positive," Kapatos explained. "He also needs to teach them to have a short memory and to quickly move on to the next play."

Freshman Matt Billia and sophomore John Gherlone will back-up Volpi. Gherlone has been in the Adelphi program a year, while Billia comes to the Panthers from Baldwin High School where he earned all-county honors.

Schedule

Adelphi opens the season on February 26 when they host regional opponent Notre Dame De Namur in their home opener. The Panthers follow that up with three more home games against, St. Andrew's, 2005 National Semi-Finalist LeMoyne and St. Michael's. Adelphi will also face 2005 National Finalist Limestone away before opening their conference play on April 8 at Mercyhurst.

"We play the strongest schedule in the division," Kapatos stated. "We have nine teams ranked in the preseason top-10 nationally on our schedule and that is how it'll always be."

The New York Collegiate Athletic Conference is one of the top conferences in the Division, boasting six teams ranked in the top-10, including defending national champion NYIT. "C.W. Post is going to be an exciting team this season and Dowling and Molloy both proved they'll be tough teams this year with their play in 2005," Kapatos said. "Mercyhurst and Limestone both lost some solid character kids and are rebuilding but will still be dangerous."

"We need to play good defense, get up and down the field and finish when called upon in order to be successful this season," Kapatos concluded.