POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 22, 2013) – The weather might still say winter, but the calendar says spring, and that means lacrosse season is upon us. On Saturday, the men's lacrosse team opens its 2013 campaign hosting Maritime College at Weinberg Field at 1:00 p.m.

The game will have live stats coverage. Click here for live stats.

The Brewers welcome back eight returning players from last years' team that compiled a 3-10, 0-6 record, but lost three games by one goal. In that mix was a narrow 8-7 loss to Western Connecticut, 13-12 against Utica and 8-7 against Morrisville State.

The exciting scenario for second year head coach Marc Graham is the influx of ten freshmen that comprises one of the biggest groups of new recruits in school history. The Brewers have only one senior on the roster, midfielder Ryan McCarthy, two juniors (attack Max Herman, goalie Andrew Nicol) and five sophomores (midfielders Sean Brazier, Scott Brekne, Jesse Hartman, Ben Rung and Dylan Staub).

“With hard work, we can be competitive in any game,” says Graham. “We can get ourselves more competitive this year.”

The backbone of the team will be Herman, Nicol and McCarthy. Herman led the team in goals (27) last season, and was named Second-Team All-Liberty League in voting by league coaches. Since joining the Liberty League in 2000, Herman's 27 goals are tied for the most in a single season with Zach Winkler, who set that mark in the 2003 season. Herman had 34 total points, 6th best in a single season. “Max is hard working,” says Graham, “and one of our best offensive players. Max put up strong numbers averaging two goals per game by scoring 12 goals in Liberty League play.  I truly believe that Max is just scratching the surface of his potential and I am excited to help him continue to develop as a player and as competitor over the next two years.”

McCarthy is the second leading returning scorer, notching six goals and six assists for 12 points. His best game of the season came when he tallied a goal and two assists with seven shots against Morrisville State. “As our lone senior, Ryan is doing a great job in pre-season,” says Graham. “He's positioned himself to have a strong year.”

With Nicol in goal, the Brewers have one of the best in the League. He recorded double figures in saves in every game but two last season. In Liberty League action, he made 20 stops against St. Lawrence and Rochester Institute of Technology, both of which represent career highs. Nicol also had 19 saves against Utica and 17 vs. Western Connecticut. 

“Andrew was very well respective when I got here,” says Graham. “He was a very easy pick, a unanimous decision actually, to be our captain this year.”

In terms of offense, Brekne returns with a strong nose for scoring, earning four goals and 13 assists, tops among returning players. “He looks to continue building on his progress from last year,” says Graham. “He has made tremendous strides in terms of his maturity in terms of offense and at the face-off circle.”

Brazier is also counted on to have a presence on face-offs as well as lead the offensive transition.  “Sean has picked up where he left off last year and taken over the offense,” says Graham.

The Vassar defense is in the capable hands of Hartman. “Jesse is a converted goalie and has picked up the leadership role after we lost two starting defensemen from last year's team,” says Graham.

The Brewers play in one of the toughest lacrosse leagues in the country and this year will be no different. RIT is nationally highly-ranked and there are no easy games, with several teams (Union, RPI, Skidmore to name a few), always in the national picture.

Outside of Maritime, Vassar faces top competition with Kean, Montclair, Drew and familiar opponents such as Manhattanville and Utica. Mount St. Mary College dons the schedule this season.

“We increased our out of league schedule. I didn't want to wait until we started getting more competitive in the league before we scheduled harder opponents out of the Liberty League.

We know what we have to do to get our level to the level of everyone in our conference. If you can be competitive in this league, you can be competitive in the nation. If you could be ranked top two or three in this League, you should be able to get to the NCAA tournament and those are our goals.