Poughkeepsie, NY – The Vassar College Men's Lacrosse team is set to begin its sixth season under the direction of Head Coach John McCreery when it opens the 2024 season with road games at Lasell on Wednesday and #16/16 Swarthmore Saturday afternoon. Live Stats and Video will be available for both contests for those unable to attend.
 
Quick Hitters
Vassar is coming off a 2023 season that saw it produce a 7-9 overall record. The Brewers welcome back 2023 All-Liberty League Honorable Mention selection Solomon Hess (Brewster, NY) on defense and 10 of their top 11 point produces from a season ago.
 
Including Hess, who totaled four goals and six assists, the Brewers return 10 players who finished with double digit points in 2023. Senior Troy Santise (Washington Township, NJ) led the way in 2023 with an even 50 points while also pacing the squad with 21 assists.
 
Attack
Santise finished the 2023 season with a team-high 50 points on the strength of 29 goals and a team-high 21 assists. In addition to scoring prowess, Santise collected 16 groundballs for the Brewers and forced four turnovers.
 
Ian Zumpano (Towson, MD) completed a junior year in 2023 with 24 goals and 29 points to go along with 26 groundballs and five caused turnovers. Sophomore Baker Morton (West Hartford, VT) burst onto the scene in 2023 as a First Year with 17 goals and 24 points for the Brewers.
 
Jon Bradbury (New Rochelle, NY) supported the offensive attack a season ago with seven goals and 10 points with TJ Carl (Rochester, NY) totaling five markers as a First Year.
 
Dylan McFarland (Hickory, NC), Nate Kratovil (Stevensville, MD), Hayden Baranker (Toms River, NJ) and Jack Rufa (New Milford, CT) will all look to increase their offensive output in 2024 for the Brewers.
 
A pair of newcomers will enter the fold in 2024 and look to make an immediate impact on Attack for Vassar. Gavin Arcuri (Westhampton, NY) comes to Poughkeepsie after being named All-Division in Suffolk County as a junior and a Mercury All-Area team following the 2023 season.
 
Declan McGrath (Watertown, CT) joins the Brewers' attack corps after being named All-Conference twice while playing at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, CT.
 
Midfield
Shane O'Hara (Warrenton, VA) is one of a trio of Brewers to return after scoring at least 20 goals in 2023, potting 20 markers and finishing with 27 points as a sophomore. Of his 20 tallies in 2023, O'Hara led Vassar with five man-up goals.
 
Dan Negron (Mahwah, NJ) supported the offense in 2023 with 13 tallies and 19 points to go along with 10 groundballs, while Anderson Eads (Brightwaters, NY) closed a First Year season in 2023 with 10 goals for the Brewers.
 
Nate Johnson (Brentwood, TN) tallied eight goals and finished the 2023 season with 15 points, while Ryan Metz (Kenmore, WA) returns after totaling 12 points in 2023. Luke DeRosa (Centerport, NY) recorded seven points as a First Year with Hayden Stoltzfoos (Tampa, FL) scoring three times as a First Year in 2023.
 
A deep position group for the Brewers in 2024, Vassar also welcomes back senior Jordan Scherer (Tarrytown, NY), junior Henry Richard (Pepperell, MA) and sophomores Liam McGuire (Rochester, NY), Colin Patchet (Petaluma, CA), Will Martins (Pittsford, NY), Jordan Roesch (San Diego, CA), Henry Shell (Colts Neck, NJ) and Win Metcalf (San Francisco, CA).
 
A talented group of newcomers joins the position group for the 2024 season with Benjamin Thompson (Cheshire, CT), Beckett Wolf (Park City, UT), Patrick Egg (Pittstown, NJ) and Peyton Kassay (Tampa, FL) set for their collegiate debuts on Wednesday.
 
Wolf begins his Vassar career coming off two straight state championships at Park City High School and consecutive All-Region and All-State selections. Egg was a two-time All-Conference pick at North Hunterdon High School and was named Third Team All-State in 2023 and Kassay was an All-State and All-American pick as a senior while playing at Alonso High School.
 
Defense
Hess anchors the defensive unit in 2024, following a 2023 season that featured 10 points on the strength of four goals and six assists, while leading the team in both caused turnovers (36) and groundballs (72). Hess led the Liberty League a season ago in caused turnovers per game (2.25) and finished the year ranked seventh in groundballs per game (4.50).
 
Dan Bader (Forestdale, MA) rounded out a First Year season in 2023 that featured 14 caused turnovers and 26 groundballs with Jack Palmer (Atlanta, GA) totaling 10 forced miscues and 29 groundballs. Drew Amirsakis (Darien, CT) appeared in 16 games in 2023 and produced three caused turnovers and 12 groundballs.
 
Vassar will also return Aiden Santoro (Watermill, NY), Austin MBaye (Slingerlands, NY), Andrew Halesworth (Medfield, MA), Weston Keenan (Easton, CT), Zack Taylor (Saint Petersburg, FL) and Tom Cottle (Towson, MD) to the position group in 2024.   
 
A trio of Long Stick Midfielders will also support the defensive effort in 2024 in Kieran Chai-Onn (Rockville, MD), Michael Barbera (Sausalito, CA) and Matteo Roman (Arlington, VA).
 
Newcomers Hayden Sofield (Long Beach, NY), Noah Harcek (Niles, MI) and Ari Krane (Atherton, CA) join the defensive corps as First Years in 2024.
 
Sofield was an All-County pick as both a junior and senior playing at Long Beach High School. Harcek was an Honorable Mention All-State pick at West Linn in 2023, while Krane was a First Team All-WCAL pick as a senior out of Atherton.
 
Goalie
Vassar returns a pair of goalies with experience and brings in a pair of First Years as the Brewers look to replace Drew Bagin who played 782:22 of a possible 957:22 in the cage in 2023.
 
Drew Quinn (Garden City, NY) appeared in four games in 2023 and made one start, stopping 12 shots. Danny Goldman (Commack, NY) saw time in one game and made one save as a junior in 2023.

Andrew Timson (Babylon, NY) and Cam Reisz (Indianapolis, IN) will vie for time in net in 2024 as newcomers for Vassar. Timson comes to Poughkeepsie after his team at St. Anthony's was ranked third in the nation on 2023, while Reisz was named the State Championship MVP and Defensive Player of the Year while at Brebeuf Jesuit.
 
Face-Off
Holden Anderson (Windham, ME) and Eli Sherman (San Francisco, CA) each saw significant time at the 'X' a season ago. Anderson won 119 draws for the Brewers to go along with 58 groundballs, while Sherman finished the year with 31 wins and 10 groundballs.
 
First Year Evan Sardina (Boston, MA) joins the Brewers following a High School career at Boston Latin School. Sardina was named All-Conference as a senior after totaling 53 points and posting a 91-percent face-off win percentage.
 
Preseason Prognostications
The Brewers were selected eighth in the Liberty League preseason poll.
 
RIT, who won its 11^th straight league title and appeared in its third consecutive National Semifinal, is the unanimous pick to the win the conference, followed by RPI, Union, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Skidmore, Ithaca and the Brewers.
 
Head Coach
McCreery is back on the sidelines for a sixth season and enters the 2024 season with 24 victories, including seven in each of the last two seasons.
 
The Schedule
The Brewers will play a challenging schedule that features four conference games against teams currently ranked in the Top-25. Vassar also takes on Swarthmore who stands #16 in both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse Top-25.
 
Following two straight road games to begin the year, Vassar opens the home schedule on February 28 against Keene State and will welcome Emerson to Poughkeepsie on March 2. The non-conference schedule also features games against Southwestern and UMass Boston in Texas as well as a trip to Hartford and a home tilt against Stockton.

Liberty League play commences on March 16 at RPI with other conference road games at RIT, St. Lawrence and Union. Home Liberty League games include Ithaca, Skidmore and Clarkson.