Stags featured as No. 31 Inside Lacrosse Preview

courtesy of Inside Lacrosse

For Fairfield's men's lacrosse team, 2010 is about continuing on a positive trajectory.

The rubber hits the road in southern Connecticut next Monday, coach Andy Copelan's squad opens practice. They're set for three scrimmages, first on Feb. 6 when they host Bucknell, and then on Feb. 13 at Harvard against the Crimson and Siena.

After finishing 7-6 last year, Copelan says the Stags will set out on a new campaign with a host of new challenges. Outside of the obvious (a schedule with nine new faces - including the first four - and replacing a handful of senior leaders lost to graduation), Fairfield will have to replace the new energy of a first-year coach with consistent vision of a second-year coach, a transition that's already clearly underway.

A Changing Emphasis

Attackman John Snellman's 18 goals tied for a team-high in 2009.The differences between the fall of 2009 and the fall of 2008 were pretty dramatic for Fairfield's practices, and it sounds as though the Stags have hit their stride. "I thought the fall was a success," Copelan said. "I thought we practiced well, showed just ok [in scrimmages]."

Expect to see more guys getting runs and a more consistent strategic output from the Stags in '10.

"I felt like last year we were a jack-of-all-trades, master of none kind of team," Copelan said. "That was intentional; we felt like constantly changing played to our strengths and that strategy helped us win the most. This year, we're deeper tried to emphasize our bread and butter."

Copelan's staff emphasized individual development in the winter, telling their team that if they weren't getting better, they were getting worse.

It's all a part of a large-scale plan for lacrosse at Fairfield. Situated in midst of a thriving prep lacrosse scene, the makings are there for Fairfield to make a jump similar to its 2001 and 2005 ascendances, when the program first joined the GWLL after dominating the MAAC, then made the tournament and made the leap to the ECAC. While consistent NCAA Tournament appearances are the goal and Final Fours in the discussion, Copelan says his team knows you eat an elephant one bite at a time, and at this stage in the game, his program is "just looking to get the right people on the bus."

New Faces, Two Personnel Battles

Freshman Marshall Johnson is old school throwback middie who likes to play at both ends and face off. Copelan calls attackman Sam Snow, a athletic Canadian/American hybrid style player from Seattle, a diamond in the rough from last year's recruiting class. He adds defenders Matt Rubertone from Manhasset and Matt Callahan from Phillips Exeter as the new arrivals most likely to make an impact this year.

"The nice thing for playing our freshman is that last year we had some seniors we could build around, and we played a number of freshmen and sophomore," Copelan said. "No doubt that created an experienced, young team."

With guys like attackmen John Snellman and Doug Kuring and midfielder Nick Baglio getting good playing time, Copelan expects to rely less of freshman contributions, instead utilizing them for their strength in spots.

Expect to see some competition in goal and at the face-off X in 2010, however. Despite goalie Charlie Cipriano's winning the starting spot as a freshman and carrying it through the season, he'll again be pushed by a pair of upperclassmen that help to make goaltender a deep position of strength for the Stags. Johnson will be in the mix at the X with sophomore middie Steve Golmont.

Star in the Making?

With midfielder Chris Ajemian's graduation, the Stags lose a reliable playmaker and leader on the offensive end. In 2010, that's likely where sophomore midde Brent Adams comes in. He came in a bit undersized at 6-1, 205 lbs., but used his speed and quickness to put 16 goals and 11 assists, enough to finish as Fairfield's leading scorer.

A true middie that's at his best when he's running by people, Adams missed the fall with a broken foot that he injured during a summer league game, but is back and ready to go.

"He's going to be on the field as much as he'll allow," Copeland said. "He's terrific, remarkably athletic and remarkably competitive. And he's as athletic of a kid as I've coached, and that's up against some pretty good players at the University of Maryland. Right now, he's more of an athlete than a lacrosse player. - still pretty raw, but he's made of the right stuff."