ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Last spring, the Elmira College men's lacrosse team won four games, the most by the Soaring Eagles since the 2011 campaign; however, the Purple and Gold have their eyes set on an even bigger 2017.

After dropping the first two games of the 2016 season, EC went on to win four of its next five contests. It marked one of the best runs made by an Elmira team in recent memory, and it was the first time since the beginning of the 2005 season that the Soaring Eagles had come out victorious four times in a five-game stretch.

Despite a strong start, a hard-to-swallow 7-5 loss to Empire 8 Conference rival Hartwick College signaled what snowballed into a six-game skid to end the season. Strong defense was the calling card for the winning run – EC surrendered just 8.00 goals per game during that five-game run, but that figured nearly doubled to 15.50 in its other eight contests.

The backend will be a focus for Head Coach Preston Chapman this season, as he'll be without the services of essentially the entire defensive corps from a year ago. Now-graduated AJ Bourdon '16, Nick Cola '16, Michael Collins '16, and first-year Assistant Coach Bryce Richmond '16 were keystones with the long poles throughout their careers in the Southern Tier. Back in the Purple and Gold for his sophomore season is Kevin Schutt '19, who, during a fantastic freshman season, shuffled between long-stick midfield and defense. Behind Schutt is fourth-year netminder Cameron Prior '17, who'll provide much-needed veteran leadership to the new crop of defensemen from his perch between the pipes.

"It is going to be difficult to replace those guys on defense," Chapman said. "Cam will have to take on a bigger role as a leader this season, because with Bourdon, Cola, Collins, and Richmond on the field he only had to worry about saving the ball. Now with those guys gone, he'll have to fill their leadership roles. Kevin has continued to grow into more of a leadership role as well."

On the other hand, the veteran attack group will feature three of the team's top-five point scorers from last year: seniors Anthony LaRusso '17 and Wyatt Katsos '17, and junior Nevin Olney '18. Olney was tops among the returners with 15 goals – triple his output from his rookie season – and was tied with LaRusso (8g, 11a) with 19 points. Katsos, in his first season on attack after beginning his collegiate career in goal, netted 10 goals and 18 points.

"I see the offense centering around LaRusso, Katsos and Olney," Chapman stated. "They've each had a good preseason, and we are going to need big years out of these three."

Key Returners
NEVIN OLNEY '18 – A
Olney may be small in stature, but this 5-foot-7-inch attackman will be asked to provide a big punch inside the offensive zone for the Soaring Eagles this year. As mentioned, he increased his goal total from five to 15 between his rookie and sophomore seasons, and the Elmira faithful will look for that trend to continue upward for the Rochester, New York, native.

"Nevin has a great work ethic," said Chapman of the junior attacker. "He sees the field very well and he is growing into his role as a ball carrier."

ANTHONY LARUSSO '17 – A
Over his previous three seasons at Elmira, LaRusso has accumulated 47 career points in 39 games. While his goal scoring dipped in 2016, he produced a team-leading and career-high 11 assists as a junior. Whether it's scoring goals or feeding his teammates, the fourth-year attackman from North Conway, New Hampshire, will be a vital source of offense in his final collegiate season.

"Anthony has started to play a little more behind the cage," Chapman stated. "We need him to be more of a ball handler and a feeder. Last season, he worked to become a distributor, to find his open teammates and make the extra pass."

WYATT KATSOS '17 – A
With the emergence of Prior between the pipes in the final game of the 2015 campaign, Coach Chapman could afford to move Katsos to the offensive end of the field. He was fruitful in his debut on the attack, finishing as one of four Soaring Eagles with double-digit goals (10) and was second only behind LaRusso with eight assists. With one year of experience with a shooter's stick, expect the senior Utahan to be a focal point of the Elmira offense in 2017.

"We are looking to Wyatt to have a really big senior season," Chapman said. "Last year was a growing period for him, and as the season progressed he got better. He has unbelievable stick skills and good knowledge of the game. In the long run, we asked him to do something that he has never done before and he did a really good job."

JACOB MAGNOLI '18 - M
In his first two seasons with the Soaring Eagles, Jacob Magnoli '18 made 20 appearances, including a dozen off of the bench last year as a sophomore. Now as an upperclassman, Coach Chapman has increased his expectations for the Harwinton, Connecticut, native. At 6-feet 4-inches tall, Magnoli possesses the size the a breakout player for EC in 2017.

"Magnoli has done a really nice job, not only in fall ball but in the preseason as well," Chapman said.

BLAKE O'NEILL '19 – M/D
Since his arrival on the EC campus, Blake O'Neill '19 has been a mainstay on defense for the men's ice hockey team. Coach Chapman indicated that the Fort Myers, Florida, native will likely shift to a similar role in his second spring season, this after sharing faceoff duties as a rookie. His tenacious hockey mentality makes him a natural candidate to play close defense, and he possesses the athleticism to be a threat in transition.

"We experimented with moving Blake to close defense at the end of last season and we are going to continue that this year," said EC's bench boss. "He plays defense in hockey and is extremely athletic, and that will make a nice addition to the defensive unit."

KEVIN SCHUTT '19 – D
As a rookie, Schutt was one of the best young defenders in the conference. He led EC with 27 caused turnovers and ranked second in the E8 on a per-game basis with 2.08. He was also top-10 in ground balls per game with 4.54. The Macedon, New York, native measures 6-feet 6-inches tall, and when given a long pole has quite the wingspan. Expect Coach Chapman to utilize Schutt anywhere and everywhere he can on the field, whether it's as an LSM or on close defense.

"This season Kevin is going to play more of a close defensive role," said Chapman when asked about the standout sophomore. "He has an excellent stick and is very good in transition, which will allow us to keep him on the field. He is also one of the best communicators on the defensive squad."

CAMERON PRIOR '17 – G
Elmira's goals-against average may not have ranked highly in the Empire 8, but that surely wasn't the fault of Prior. In his first full season as EC's starter, the Malden, Massachusetts, product paced the circuit and was seventh in all of NCAA Division III with 17.15 saves per game. His save percentage (.578) trailed only Ithaca's All-American, Scott Sidnam, on the league leaderboard. The Soaring Eagles can expect big things from their 6-foot-5-inch, 250-pound goalie again in 2017.

"He's definitely one of the better goalies that I have had in my coaching career ," noted Chapman. "Each year, Cam has progressed, not only in goal but also as a leader. He's being much more vocal than he has ever been and he has to be. He realizes that with a young defensive unit, the more that he communicates, the easier his job will be."

Newcomers to Watch
DAVID KEISLER '20 – M
Winning at the X will be an important benchmark for the Soaring Eagles this season, and with O'Neill taking more of a defensive role, Coach Chapman expressed the importance of filling that void. David Keisler '20 will start the year as one of Elmira's faceoff assets. After a strong career at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, New York, Keisler will be looked upon to make an immediate impact in his first collegiate season.

"David has taken the bulk of our faceoffs this preseason and has done a really nice job," Chapman said. "He has earned some playing time early in the season."

AUSTIN SPIRIDILOZZI '20 & ADAM NEWHARD '20 – D
With the graduation of several key players, Coach Chapman will to look to some younger Soaring Eagles to make an impact on defense. Both Austin Spiridilozzi '20 and Adam Newhard '20 are in line to see valuable playing time to start the year. Spiridilozzi comes to Elmira after a successful stint at Chittenango High School, where he was a Section III OHSL Honorable Mention selection, while Newhard is fresh off of two straight seasons as a District 10 All-Star at McDowell High School in Erie, Pennsylvania.

"Austin and Adam have started to adjust well to the college game, and are vying for one of the starting positions on the defensive end of the field," Chapman stated. "Both of these guys will see some playing time early on. Hopefully they will do some nice things for us because we are going to need them."

General Outlook
Perhaps the most vital area in which the Soaring Eagles need to improve upon in 2017 is at the X. Last year, Elmira ranked last in the conference in faceoffs won and faceoff percentage. As Coach Chapman noted, every win in the faceoff circle will go a long way to relieve pressure on the new-look defensive unit. Among those expected to line up in the faceoff circle is Keisler, who impressed Coach Chapman with his efforts during the preseason, as well as returning draw men O'Neill and Chris Rizzo '18.

"Faceoffs are going to be drastically important for us," Chapman said. "If we are around 50-percent, we are going to be in games, but if it ends up around 25- to 33-percent, we are going to struggle. This will be especially true with our young and inexperienced defensive squad."

If the Soaring Eagles want to improve off of last year's four-win season, they'll need to start 2017 off on the right foot. EC will have the opportunity to do so during a four-game non-conference stretch, beginning with the season-opener on the road against Neumann University on February 24th. Three of EC's first four opponents - Neumann, Muhlenberg College, and SUNY Cobleskill – combined to win just seven of 43 games last season.

Wins against those three opponents could provide a boost of confidence heading into the March 25th Empire 8 Conference opener against the always-tough Golden Flyers of Nazareth College.

"Winning early in the season will go a long way for us in terms of confidence," Chapman explained. "It will teach us how to win. We are going to try to get as many wins as we can to start the year before we go into conference play. It's a long season, and we would love to go into Nazareth with a 4-0 record, but we have to take it one game at a time and that starts with Friday's matchup against Neumann."

Season Opener
The Soaring Eagles will travel to Aston, Pennsylvania, for the 2017 season opener on Friday, February 24th, at 3:30 p.m. against the Knights. It will be just the second meeting between the two programs in their respective histories; EC beat Neumann in the only previous matchup on March 13, 2010, by a final score of 14-6.
 
To view the entire 2017 schedule, click here.