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   Corsairs Look Back on 2007: A Season of Change

Dartmouth, MA. 05/24/2007 -The UMass Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse team’s 2007 record of 6 wins and 9 losses appears to some as a disappointing season but not to one biased viewer. Head Coach Kevin Mahoney sees the season as an example of how “hard work and enthusiasm” can change the culture of the squad.

“We were a competitive team in 2007 and surprised a lot of teams with our spirited effort. We had the most competitive game in the Little East Conference with the #1 team, Keene State and lost only by three goals” says Mahoney. There were 16 first year players and only 10 returning players with only three offensive returnees. “We had to establish a new team ethos with a new attack unit and three new midfield lines. We had to start from scratch” says Mahoney. The turnaround was dramatic and “planned”.

After two years of disappointing seasons, the Corsairs coaching staff came up with a strategy to change the culture of the team and improve the team’s competitive nature. With the help of the university’s Health & Fitness Center staff (Greg Homol, Don West and Matthew Ducharme), the team was introduced last October to a high-intensity workout program that is similar to one used by the university’s hockey team, which is to date the most successful sports program at UMass Dartmouth.

“Team-culture and player mentality is not something that changes over night. Dedication, perseverance and sportsmanship need to come from within each player as well as the overall  organization.  The challenge lies in the truth that in a lot of cases it does not exist in all players and has to be developed” observes Mahoney.

Upon introduction to the new ideal last fall, the immediate effect was the natural downsizing of the team roster. Almost overnight, the number of players dropped drastically from the initial count of over 55 (recruits and returners from 2006) to a final spring roster of 30 players by the start of spring-preseason in February.

Offensively, the Corsairs were led by a pair of freshmen: Andrew Foster (Danvers HS/Danvers, MA) and Matt Leary (Framingham HS/ Framingham, MA). Foster was the leader of the attack unit (9 goals, 32 assists) and initiated most of the team’s offensive from X.  Out on the wing, was Leary who became the main benefactor of Foster’s giving nature finishing with 26 goals, 15 assists on the season.

Other key contributors included Jeff Pelton (Lowell HS/Lowell, MA) with 17goals, 10 assists; Andrew Lewis (Longmeadow HS/Longmeadow, MA) for 17 goals, 9 assists; team captain Mark Lapointe (Tyngsboro HS/Tyngsboro, MA with 18 goals, 6 assists, and Matt Swirlabus (Weymouth HS/Weymouth, MA at 12 goals, 2 assists.

“Offensively, we improved dramatically from last year and increased our shots-on-goal count by almost 10 shots a game. Our next step will be to improve our scoring percentage on shots”, said Mahoney

In the defensive unit, the Corsairs were led by senior defensemen John Tisdell (Agawam HS/Agawam, MA) and team captain Jean-Paul Desjardins (Rutland HS/Rutland, MA).  As a unit, this group helped reduce the team’s overal goals-against average by more than 2 goals per game.

 “Defensively, we had excellent season and were able to do a lot of things we set out to do earlier on in pre-season –including the reduction in our count of forced errors & mental mistakes”. Helping to drive that improvement were Ryan Teves (Woburn HS/Woburn, MA), Andrew Getto (Westfield HS/Westfield, MA), Sean Perry (Brewster Academy/Pace University/Nantucket, MA), Jason Febo (Canton HS/Canton, MA) and Tarek Donnelly (Danvers HS/Danvers, MA). In the cage, Craig Britton (Ashland, MA) and Steve Chase (Boston, MA) –both excellent stoppers- split goal-tending duties.

“Graduating five seniors will certainly hurt and be felt by the Corsairs next year -especially with 4-year players Mark Lapointe, John Tisdell, Jean Paul Desjardins, and captain Ryan Trexler (Agawam HS/Agawam, MA). Together, they brought a great combination of enthusiasm, talent and desire that will be tough to replace next year” says Mahoney.

The nucleus of the team will return to Little East play in 2008 with one of the largest and talented recruiting classes that UMass Dartmouth has ever had. “We look forward to building on the success that we have had in 2007, and with continued hard work in the off-season, our entire crew looks forward to the 2008 campaign with optimism,” says Mahoney.