Philadelphia, Pa. – (2/24/2017) – "We are excited for the upcoming season," proclaimed Head Coach Brian Dougherty, who enters his seventh season at the helm of the Chestnut Hill College men's lacrosse program. "We return a lot of players on both offense and defense, hopefully that can provide us with a balance and success this year." Experienced the Griffins are with 13 seniors, seven juniors, and 10 sophomores rejoining a roster that finished 2016 at 6-7 overall and 4-4 in the East Coast Conference (ECC).  
 
Leading the Scarlet and Gold are seniors, attack Alec Dambach (Howell, N.J.), midfielder Andrew Dooley (Monroe Township, N.J.), and defenseman Daniel DePasquale (Livingston, N.J.). Dambach was the star of the show for Chestnut Hill College in 2016, collecting the team's Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors and a selection to the All-ECC Second Team. En route, he tied Scarlet and Gold great Michael Melnychenko '14 for the program's all-time single-season point total of 57 with a career-high 37 goals and a career-high, tying 20 assists. Dooley, who Coach Dougherty sees as poised for a "breakout year", offered 21 points (13 goals, eight assists), 15 ground balls, and two caused turnovers in his first season with the Griffins after transferring from Brookdale County Community College. DePasquale and the graduated, four-time All-ECC Derick Darnulc '16, anchored the Chestnut Hill College defense a year ago. In 2017, DePasquale will be charged with leading the group and improving on a stellar 2016 that included 10 points (five goals, five assists) and team-highs in ground balls (42) and caused turnovers (16).
 
Joining Dambach on attack are sophomores; Troy Ellers (Wantagh, N.Y.), Michael DelGiorno (Floral Park, N.Y.), and Casey Brown (Havre de Grace, Md.), junior Dylan Klusaritz (Slatington, Pa.), and fellow senior Tanner Fisher (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia). Klusaritz has made an immediate impact on the Griffin offense since joining the team in 2015. In just two seasons in the Scarlet and Gold, he has totaled 74 points (47 goals, 27 assists), 40 ground balls, and 10 caused turnovers. Fisher has offered 65 points (42 goals, 23 assists), 30 ground balls, and four caused turnovers in his first three seasons on The Hill.
 
In the midfield, Dooley is joined by freshmen; Jake Smith (Delran, N.J.) and Carson Rees (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia), sophomores; Daniel Vilardi (Little Silver, N.J.), Tyler Howe (Bowie, Md.), Ausar Wright (Ewing, N.J.), and Matthew Anderson (Yardley, Pa.), juniors; Nicholas Webber (Westwood, Mass.), Gerard Lyle (Baldwin, N.Y.), and Joshua Pope (Schnecksville, Pa.), and fellow seniors; Justin Albarran (Freehold, N.J.), Devan Martinez (Binghamton, N.Y.), and Timothy Vilardi (Little Silver, N.J.). Albarran offered 14 points (seven goals, seven assists), six ground balls, and a caused turnover in his sophomore campaign, while Pope showed steady improvement from his freshman season with 10 points (six goals, four assists), 19 ground balls, and seven caused turnovers as a sophomore.
 
Face-off duties will be handled by a trio of possession control specialists in freshman Blake Turner (Tampa, Florida), junior Joseph Pozniak (Berkeley Heights, N.J.), and senior John McCullough (Floral Park, N.Y.). They will look to improve on Chestnut Hill College's 39.1% (124-of-317) 2016 faceoff win percentage. Pozniak won 42.4% (84-of-198) of his face-offs a year ago and will be asked to mentor Turner as the Scarlet and Gold faceoff man of the future.
 
DePasquale is joined on defense by freshman Steven Venango (Philadelphia, Pa.), sophomores; Christopher Dachowski (Sellersville, Pa.) and Connor Crawford (Limerick, Pa.), junior Ryan Seely (Little Silver, N.J.), and solid core of fellow seniors; Andrew Hildebrand (Horsham, Pa.), Kyle Newman (Plainsboro, N.J.), James DeCarlo (Conshohocken, Pa.), and Mark Pascetta (Milmont Park, Pa.). DeCarlo and Pascetta combined to recover 26 ground balls and force 13 turnovers last season.
 
Behind them, the goalkeeping depth chart includes freshman Stephen Hogan Jr. (Doylestown, Pa.), junior Matthew Pedrick (New Milford, N.J.), and senior Thomas McDermott (Ridley, Pa.). Pedrick and McDermott combined for a 5-6 record in 2016. McDermott served as the starter in a majority of the contests (8), offering an 11.75 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .467 save percentage with 78 saves.
 
"Our goal is to win the next game and improve every week," stated Coach Dougherty. To do so the Griffins will have to improve from the #14 preseason ranking from Face-Off Yearbook and receiving votes in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)/Nike Division II Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll that was released on Monday, February 20.
 
The 2017 Chestnut Hill College men's lacrosse schedule opens on Saturday, February 25, with a 1:00 p.m. faceoff at Post University. ECC plays begins on Saturday, March 11 (11:00 a.m.), with a trip to LIU Post.