The Plattsburgh State men’s lacrosse team is ready to have another successful season, but this time around, they look to win a SUNYAC championship.
Last season, the Cards finished second in the SUNYAC conference. They met Cortland in the conference championship for a third-straight year but could not secure the win, losing a closely contested matchup 14-12.
PSUC comes into the season with a familiar face as their head coach. Joe May, who was the assistant coach for the Cards from 2011 to 2013, will assume the head coaching role for the 2016 season.
May said the Cards are coming in confident and ready to perform their best. He said he is excited for his first year as head coach at PSUC and appreciates the players on his roster, knowing they can be successful.
“I came in the spring, and the guys are coming in excited to play,” May said. “At the end of the day, every single guy on this team loves to play lacrosse, and those are the kind of guys I want to recruit.”
May has high expectations this season, but he is confident the Cards can meet them.
“This could be one of the best programs in history, and this could be the team that could get over that hump and win that conference championship,” May said. “They understand it is going to take a lot of work, but they seem excited and eager to put in that work.”
Senior defenseman Sean Murphy said a new exercise program and head coach helps the team’s potential.
“The way we trained, we had a weightlifting program as opposed to the previous year where we would just go run behind Memorial Hall and do conditioning,” Murphy said. “We put on some size. We have new coach here, and he was here my freshman and sophomore year as an assistant, and the guy knows his stuff. He is the right guy for the job.”
Sophomore midfielder Peter Ciacelli said the Cards are ready for the new season, and they all want to go further than they did last season.
“I would say we are pretty excited about the upcoming season,” Ciacelli said. “We have a lot of big games ahead of us. Hopefully, we make it to the SUNYAC and win the championship after that.”
Ciacelli also said the team has a very strong bond.
“Team chemistry is great,” he said. “It is like having 50 of your best friends with you. Everyone has got your back no matter what you need. That can be school work or anything of course on the field. Any problem you have you can go to your teammates, and they are there.”
The Cards have a SUNYAC championship in their sights but remember they need to remain focused on their upcoming game.
PSUC is on the road for their next game Tuesday night against Clarkson University.
Murphy said the team wants to keep improving with each and every contest.
“We are taking it game by game,” Murphy said. “Our goal at the end of the season is to play our best lacrosse, and we want to keep getting better with every game.”
Email Adonys Temple at adonys.temple@cardinalpointsonline.com
