Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Lacrosse team will open the 2013 season on Saturday afternoon at Tibbetts Brook Park when it plays host to visiting Wells. Saturday will be the first of back-to-back home games to start the season.
The Dolphins will return two of their top goal scorers from the 2012 season in
Bruce Pappas (Montrose, N.Y.) and
Matt Desimone (Congers, N.Y.). Pappas finished his sophomore campaign second on the team in goals with 27 and points with 39 and third on third on the squad in assists with 12. Pappas was also among the team leaders in groundballs with 76 in 2012.
Desimone returns after depositing 25 goals in 2012 and handing out five assists. His mark for goals was third on the team and his point total was good for fourth. DeSimone also picked up 24 groundballs for the Dolphins a season ago.
Junior
Derek Wilson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) returns as the team's primary face-off man after winning 123 draws a season ago. He won 55.9-percent of the face-offs he took in 2012 and was won 144 draws over the course of his career.
A pair of sophomores will anchor the defense in 2013 in returners
Frank Maddaloni (Bronx, N.Y.) and
Joe Esposito (Bethpage, N.Y.). As a freshman in 2012, Maddaloni led the Dolphins in groundballs with 86 and in caused turnovers with 26. Esposito finished right behind Maddaloni in caused miscues with 23 and added 22 groundballs.
In goal, the Dolphins return a pair of talented juniors with
Kyle Kalibat (Oceanside, N.Y.) and
Dom Scipioni (Yonkers, N.Y.) each seeing significant time between the pipes in 2012. Kalibat played in all 17 games, making 14 starts, and totaled 179 saves and six victories. He posted a 8.80 goals against average. Scipioni started three times last season and stopped 51 shots for the Dolphins.
With a strong group of returning players and a crop of newcomers expected to make immediate contributions, the Dolphins will look surpass their win total from 2012 and set a program record for wins in a season.
Following Saturday's contest, the Mount will host Cobleskill on March 2 before taking to the road to play New Haven on March 6.
Mount Saint Vincent finished the 2012 season with a 7-10 record overall and a 0-6 mark in Skyline Conference play.
