Men’s lacrosse hoping for rebound season

With the University at Albany men’s lacrosse team set to make its 2010 season debut this Saturday at Denver, the Great Danes will look to rebound from arguably their most disappointing season since joining the America East Conference.

   UAlbany ended the 2009 season with a loss to Stony Brook in the America East semifinals. It marked the first time they were kept out of the conference championship game since joining the league in 2002. They finished the season at 8-8.

   “When you end the season like we did at 8-8, something didn’t go right,” said UAlbany coach Scott Marr. “I knew things needed to be changed heading into this season.”

   Marr held true to his words, revamping the team’s spring practice regimen, focusing more on conditioning than anything else to start things off. The team did very little lacrosse-type work through the first two weeks of practice.

  “Last year we focused on conditioning in November and December, so by the time the season came along all that work was wasted,” Marr said. “Lacrosse-type activities come second nature to these guys. Getting them in the weight room and conditioning their bodies has helped us get going.”

   Included in Marr’s new practice philosophy was a weekend visit from former Navy defender Eric Kapitulik. Kapitulik played defense for the Midshipmen in the early 1990’s, playing a key part in three NCAA appearances for Navy.

   Kapitulik now heads up “The Program,” which the Great Danes took part in. “The Program” focuses on team-building skills and leadership.

   One of the exercises included in Kapitulik’s session involved spending several hours at the university pool. During that time the team was asked to tread water in a full sweat suit, at one point exchanging their sweat suits with a teammate in the water.

   “It was tough, but a really good experience for us,” said sophomore attacker Joe Resetarits. “It showed us how important it is to work together as a team.”

   With the team’s first non-conference game right around the corner, Marr has switched gears, now focusing on lacrosse. He said the key to this season is consistency.

   “We need to come out prepared every game like it’s the playoffs,” Marr said. “We gave up way to many goals last season which made it very hard to win. Consistency is the key.”

   Averaging over 11.5 goals per game against them last season, defense was an area of struggle for UAlbany. They will look for leadership in the backfield from senior defender Mark Kelly, who started all 14 games and collected 30 ground balls last season.

   Between the pipes, sophomores John Carroll and Drew DiCioccio have been competing for playing time. According to Marr, Carroll looks to have the upper hand to start.

   On the offensive side, UAlbany will look to attackmen Brian Caufiled and Resetarits. Caufield was the team’s leading scorer with 51 points last season, while Resetarits was the leading goal-scorer contributing 34 goals and nine assists.

   “I think both Joe and I are looking to taking a leadership role this year,” Caufield said. “Many players are stepping up this year and taking different roles on this team. If we all stay focused I think this team is capable of beating anyone.”

 With the 10th hardest schedule in the country, UAlbany will have to prove itself early and often. The Great Danes are scheduled to play away games at Denver, UMass, Ohio State, Delaware, Johns Hopkins and Syracuse. With UMBC and Stony Brook expected to compete with Albany for the conference championship, their conference schedule is not much easier.

   “We have the opportunity in front of us to be a top-10 team in the county if we can beat some of these top teams,” Marr said. “If everything works out right, we would love to be at home for the first round of the NCAA tourney.”

   UAlbany ranks third in the pre-season America East polls behind favorite UMBC and Stony Brook. It’s the lowest pre-season ranking for the Great Danes since 2002.

   “It’s expected after the way we finished last season,” Marr said. “We want to use it as motivation and prove to the conference we are a better team than last year.”

   For now, Marr said the team is excited to get going and put last season behind them.

   “We are ready to just go out there and compete,” Marr said. “We have a list of standards we’re setting out to accomplish. We’re very excited.”