Men's Lacrosse Gearing Up For 2005

December 17, 2004

SMITHFIELD, RI - While it will certainly be tough to replace an all-American on defense and one of the nation's top scorers from a year ago, but Bryant men's lacrosse coach Rory Whipple will return plenty of offense and a solid lineup throughout the midfield and on defense in 2005.

Whipple, now entering his sixth season as coach of the Bulldogs this spring, welcomes back a total of 16 letterwinners from last year's squad that posted a 12-5 overall record and reached the finals of the Northeast-10 Conference tournament championship. There, the Bulldogs fell to eventual Division II national champion Le Moyne 7-6.

But 2005 is a new season and the future looks bright for Bryant lacrosse.

Building the men's lacrosse program from scratch, Whipple has turned the Bulldogs into a competitor, not just within the Northeast, but nationally as well. He enters the 2005 season with an overall record of 53-29, but for Whipple to continue rack up those wins, he'll need to find a scoring replacement for all-American Jon Yuengling who graduates as the school's all-time career scoring leader with 215 goals in four seasons.

The Bulldogs will welcome back second team STYX All-American Steve Coppinger (Bethesda, Md.) who was second on the team in scoring with 35 goals and 19 assists last season. A crafty playmaker up front, Coppinger and frontline teammate Andrew Serge (Albany, N.Y.) have the ability to score quickly and use their skills to get everyone involved on the offensive side.

With excellent speed and quickness, the 5-foot, 8-inch Serge is tough to defend against due to his ability to split the defense and finish. All of which will be critical as the Bulldogs will need solid point production from the senior line this year to make another run at the Northeast-10 Conference championship.

Serge saw action in all 17 games last season, netting 20 goals while handing out 21 assists.

In the midfield, the Bulldogs will return perhaps the top face-off standouts in Brian Healy (Lynbrook, N.Y.). A hard-nosed and rugged middie, Healy sets the tempo for the Bulldogs on offense while giving the team a solid presence on defense. Healey won 62 percent of faceoffs last season (174 of 283) and led the team in ground balls with 68.

The Bulldogs also return a solid stopper in net this spring in senior Matt Lovejoy (Thorton, Pa.). A transfer from West Chester University, Lovejoy played in all 17 games last season between the pipes, registering a 7.79 goals against average and 12-5 record on the year.

Defensively, Bryant will lose four-time all-American Nick Allegretti, but will have veterans Tim Duffany (East Falmouth, Mass.), Matt LaBarera (Belle Terre, N.Y.) and Ryan Rodriguez (Fairfield, Conn.) back on defense to help protect Lovejoy.