GEORGETOWN, Texas – Southwestern University men’s lacrosse Head Coach Joe Ernst announced his program opening 2010 schedule on Friday afternoon. The Pirates will play a 13 game season with three home dates. Highlighting the schedule is a program opening trip to California to play Whittier College, Grand Canyon University and Dominican University. The first home game is March 13th and all home games will be webcast through College TV Ticket www.collegetvticket.com.

The Pirates take the field for the first time ever as an NCAA D-III program at host Whittier College on Thursday, February 25, 2010 in Memorial Stadium. They next face D-II upstart Grand Canyon University on the campus of Whittier University on Friday, February 26th where Coach Ernst pits his new team against one of his graduates from Mercyhurst – North East, Scott Franks of St. Ignatius in Cleveland, OH and his new squad. Saturday is a travel day when the Pirates trek to Dominican University in San Rafael, CA to play the Penguins on Sunday, February 28th. Southwestern next travels to St. Louis, MO to take on Carthage College on March 5th and Fontbonne University on March 7th.

On March 13th the Southwestern Pirates host their first ever NCAA lacrosse game on their campus taking on Trine University. This game will be webcast marking the first time a Texas NCAA men’s lacrosse program has been aired on the web.

Next the boys from sunny, warm Texas travel on their “Spring Break” to blustery Michigan to take on upstart Albion College on March 16th at neutral site Adrian College. They then compete against a strong Adrian team on March 18th.

The next weekend Southwestern hosts their only multiple game home stand when visiting Western Connecticut State University comes to Georgetown, TX on March 26th and the Pirates open their first ever SCAC season hosting Hendrix College on Sunday, March 28th.

The Pirates continue their SCAC schedule the following weekend traveling to power house Colorado College on Saturday, April 3rd. They then finish their inaugural NCAA season traveling to SCAC foes Birmingham Southern College on Friday, April 16th and Sewanee – The University of the South on Sunday, April 18th.

Captains

This year is a historic moment for lacrosse in Texas. As part of the lacrosse tradition Head Coach Joe Ernst has announced his captains for the upcoming inaugural season.

“We are in a unique position for a new program in that we have some young men that have been with the club program for a few years and are in a position to guide our freshmen through their debut in college lacrosse.” said Coach Ernst.

Connor Hanrahan, a senior midfielder from Albuquerque, NM, Thomas Mock, a junior midfielder from Weatherford, TX and Luther Faulk, a junior midfielder from Brownsville, TX have been members of the Pirates’ lacrosse program since being first-year students at Southwestern and will help guide the young ‘Bucs to a successful NCAA season.

“Connor is an outstanding athlete with great speed and is an outstanding young man. He participates in numerous on and off campus activities and is regarded as a leader across the entire campus. His maturity and poise under pressure will be a great asset to the young Pirates team. Thomas is a very charismatic young man with a positive attitude in pretty much any situation and will help keep us on track during both the ups and downs of our first year. Luther is a fiery kid that is an outstand ball player that will help this young team get fired up when the time calls for it.” said Ernst.

“I couldn’t be happier with this group of student-athlete leaders and know that with their help we will have a fun and productive inaugural season. Each brings something different to the table in regards to leadership style and together will form a basis for what it means to be a captain in this program”

Season Outlook

After a successful Fall Ball season and four weeks of spring practice the Southwestern Pirates Inaugural Men’s Lacrosse team is looking good! While the team is small in numbers, they more than make up for it in heart and work ethic.

“These guys are some of the hardest working players I have ever coached. They never quit until I blow the final whistle and then are often eager for more.” said Coach Ernst of his first year NCAA players. “They have had to endure some tough sessions. In addition to practice 6 days a week on the field they are getting up at 6am to run, lift and work on stick skills three days a week. They are hungry, dedicated and are really looking forward to the challenges that this season will bring.”

The Pirates play some pretty tough competition for a first year program. Whittier, Colorado College, Adrian, Birmingham Southern and the rest of their schedule are all very talented programs. Coach Ernst has put together a schedule that combines really tough games and games where the Pirates will be in a dog fight to win. “We looked to challenge ourselves and make our season one where we could also be competitive and I think we accomplished that goal with our 2010 schedule. While we all realize we will take our lumps this year we wanted to give our guys the chance to work hard to earn wins and come away from this year knowing that their hard work paid off.” said Coach Ernst.

The Pirate’s biggest asset this year is their athleticism and quickness. Transfer goalie, Chris O’Quain said, “At my previous team I was usually in the front group in runs. But with these guys I have a hard time keeping up.”

The Pirates midfield lines are anchored by some club team players and some very talented freshmen. “Thomas Mock (SU Club Team, TX), Luther Faulk (SU Club Team, TX), Grady Sampley (Mater Dei HS, CA), Jamie Long (Capt. Shreve HS, LA), Shane Carney (Anderson HS, TX), Connor Hanrahan (SU Club Team, NM) are our front runners at middie and they can all run like deer. Each also brings something different to the table. Mock is big and strong and can shoot on the run very well. Luther is an incredibly quick dodger and sees the field well. Grady is a kid that can run by you and also post up and dodge you inside. Jamie Long has it all; he can feed, dodge from the outside with his head up, get inside and is incredibly creative in how he gets the ball in the net. I would look at him and say he played box somewhere even though he is from Louisiana. Shane is more of a bull dodger with his size and strength. Connor is just plain fast! The fastest kid on our team with great field vision, he will do great things this year.” said Ernst.

At attack the Pirates have a duo of players that compliment each other very well. Ed Williams (St. Johns School, TX), Nate Carney (Anderson HS, TX) and Elliot Kelly (Keller HS, TX) each bring a particular skill set to the field. “Ed is a big, strong attackman that feels right at home around the crease. This kid is what you think of when you think of Canadian box players, great hands and a knack for finding the back of the net consistently. Nate is a tall attackman that can go to the cage, shoot it from the outside and feed inside. Elliot is the quintessential ‘X’ attackman. He sees the field really well and can just get his teammates the ball. That being said he can also come around from ‘X’ and put the ball in the net.” said Coach Ernst.

The defense is very athletic and tough. Jacob Guajardo (Cinco Ranch HS, TX), Chris Lange (Lamar HS, TX), Sam Marsh (SU Club Team, TX) and Jack Parker (SU Club Team, TX) are all quick and have caught on to the Pirates’ defensive system very quickly. “Anchored by Lange and Marsh these guys will do a really good job of keeping the opposing offenses outside for shots. Lange is a smart, tough kid that does a good job at directing the ‘D’ and Marsh can just run forever which is exactly what you want from a LSM. Jacob has the strength and brains to work his mark very well and keep them guessing about what’s coming next. Jack is very intelligent player that always seems to be in the right place at the right time. While not particularly large these guys are quick, hungry and tenacious” said Ernst of his defense.

Goalie is the most contested spot on the field. Both are transfers and have college lacrosse experience. Donnie Murray (Chandler HS, AZ) transferred in from JuCo Mercyhurst North East where Ernst recruited him as a freshman. And Chris O’Quain (Taylor HS, TX) transferred in this spring from Shenandoah University (D-III). “These guys are both great goalies and are fighting neck and neck for the starting job. I would assume it could be a dog fight each week. Between the two of them they will force shooters to pick their spots in order to get the ball by them.” said Ernst.

Along with the guys already mentioned there are number of other players that have stepped up and helped this program grow in its infancy. Miguel Caballero (TX), Paul Erickson (TX), Matt Flatau (TX), Rory Jones (TX), and John Hieb (TX) are all players that show promise and look to contribute to the Pirates’ success this season.

The first year staff is comprised of four coaches that know the game and each bring something different to the table. Coach Ernst has been coaching for well over a decade at pretty much every level and focuses on the offensive side of the field. Coach Bill Bowman was the club coach here at Southwestern for 12 years is the kind of coach that can bring his teams together as a family. He will focus on the defensive side of the ball as the Defensive Coordinator. Kyle Swarts, who played at the Hill School (PA) and Colorado College, is working with the defense on both team concepts and individual defense. Dan Benson, who was a HS AA at Fairfax High School (VA) and played at Rutgers, works with the keepers.

“All in all we are looking to build something special here at Southwestern University and it will take some time. However, with the backing and support of our Athletic Department, Director of Athletics Dr. Glada Munt, and the entire University we believe Pirates lacrosse will become a known commodity in the D-III lacrosse world in a relatively short period of time.” said Coach Ernst.