Fort Collins, CO - The Colorado State Rams men’s lacrosse team enters the 2008 season with high hopes after a devastating overtime loss to Oregon in the MCLA semifinals last year. While the game was one of the best ever in tournament history, it marked the first time in eight invitations that the Rams did not reach the national title game. After losing nearly 20 players from last year’s roster to graduation, academics or injury, this season’s squad is littered with fresh and hungry faces ready to step into new roles.
The attack is totally revamped and will need to replace the 93 regular season points that graduated with Danny Stevens and Brian Stone. With senior John Tomlinson out indefinitely with an injury, the Rams hope a balanced group of players will be able to pick up the slack. Sophomore transfer Kevin Wolff will team with senior Ben Wallace and freshmen Paul Larson and Cooper Kehoe to form a formidable four-man rotation. Freshmen Jake Flax, Garrett Fugier and David Choi are all skilled and waiting in the wings for their chance as well.
The Rams have a solid stable of middies and will need seniors to lead at the offensive end of the field. Senior captains Dylan Bowman and Ryan MacDonald both have something to prove after last year’s disappointing finish. With juniors Kyle Rosa, Justin Backstrom and Joel Tromburg providing some stability, Colorado State will also need production from younger players to be successful in 2008. Sophomore Luke Miller is back for his second season, but also look for freshmen Luke Cantwell, Ryan Hamerstadt, Clayton Wilbanks and Jameson Keating to make an impact.
Senior captains Dylan Preble and Tom Fender will suit up with sophomore Andrew Stein to form an experienced back line for the Rams, who also feature two senior goaltenders for added comfort. Tyson Ehinger and Garrett Fitzgerald have both proven their worth in the fall and each will see substantial minutes between the pipes in the spring. Sophomore Alex Jacques has shown to be more than capable of manning the nets as well, but he will start the season as a redshirt barring injury to one of the other two netminders. Freshmen Sean Albert, Hunter Jones, Casey Mester and Mark Moskovics will all get some time at close defense as the season wears on.
Colorado State fills in its specialty roles with more youth. Sophomore Chris Rosa looks prepared to take on the role of full time long stick midfielder for the Rams while freshmen Mark Moskovics and Travis Ross will fill in at times as well. It will be face-off by committee again in 2008 as sophomore Will Torres, junior Pat Miller and freshman Scott Gelston will all get their chances at taking draws. Torres will also make an impact as a short stick defensive midfielder, getting help from freshman Scott Disney.
Colorado State is ranked #2 in the MCLA preseason poll behind perennial powerhouse and rival Brigham Young. With their first game on February 23rd against Division III rival Colorado College, the Rams and their youth will have some time to continue to come together. Their first MCLA test is on February 29th against #7 Boston College in Minnesota. The Rams also take on unranked Minnesota and #4 Minnesota-Duluth on consecutive days in what should be a very revealing early-season glimpse at the top 10. CSU’s first home game comes on March 11th against #25 Texas. The Rams face eleven teams in the preseason top 25 and six in the top 10 in one of the country’s most demanding schedules.
