Men’s Lacrosse Set to Open 2017 Season Saturday
WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley men's lacrosse team is set to get its 2017 season going on Saturday when they travel down to face NYIT at 1:30 pm for the first of 13 regular season games.
The Falcons will be looking to crack the top-six of the highly competitive Northeast-10 Conference that features four teams currently ranked in the USILA's Division II poll, three of which are in the top-12. Bentley though has been receiving votes in the poll as they prepare for its season opener.
The team will be captained this season by seniors Max Adler (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Northfield Mt. Hermon), Robert Kramer (Reading/Austin Prep), Derek Osbahr (Nahant/St. John's Prep) and John Wheeler (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough).
Heading into the 2017 campaign, Bentley has six of its top-seven scorers back from last season, two defensemen that started every game, and ace face-off man Adler, who was named a 3rd team All-American.
Senior attack Wheeler led the team in assists (13) and points (33) last year, and ranked 2nd in goals (20). Sophomore Matt Sanford (Stratham, N.H./Bow) led the squad in goals (21), while freshman Alex Astarita (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Guertin) notched 19 goals on his way to being named to the NE10 All-Rookie team. The Falcons also received solid offensive contributions last season from the likes of Sam Hurley (Medfield/Medfield HS) (7 goals, 8 assists), Joe DiRaimo (Huntington, N.Y./John Glenn) (10 goals) and Chris Wiggins (Acton/Acton-Boxborough HS) (7 goals).
Kramer, along with fellow senior Connor Holbrook (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan), were two of three defensemen to start every game last season, and return in 2017 to help lead the defensemen group. Long stick midfielders Ryan Pidgeon (Greenbrae, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) and Elijah Morrissey (Rowley/Governor's Academy) are also back to help bolster the defensive efforts.
Adler was dominant in the face-off circle last season. He won a staggering 72 percent of his draws to rank 3rd in Division II. He also scooped up better than nine ground balls a game, which ranked 4th.
It will be more than a month into the season before the Falcons debut at home. They will play four straight on the road to begin the season, including the first two NE10 games against Franklin Pierce (March 18) and Assumption (March 25). Three days after the Assumption, the Falcons will host Southern New Hampshire on a Tuesday night for its first home game.
The rest of the home slate will see the Falcons host Saint Michael's (April 1), AIC (April 8), Saint Rose (April 11), Adelphi (April 15) and Saint Anselm (April 22). All home games will be streamed on BentleyFalcons.TV