GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's lacrosse team gets their 2021 season underway Saturday, Mar. 6 when they host the Delaware Valley Aggies at 4:00 p.m.
The Falcons are coming off a shortened 2020 season that saw them go 0-5 before the rest of the season was canceled due to COVID 19.
See below for a quick preview of the 2021 season:
On the Field
The Falcons lose 13 seniors after last year's shortened season and bring back 16 upperclassmen for the 2021 campaign. Leading the way for the Falcons offensively are junior midfielder
Owen Joyce and junior attacker
Sam Stone. Joyce scored two goals on five shots last season while also dishing out an assist for Messiah. Stone scored one goal and recorded two assists last season for the Falcons.
On defense, the Falcons return junior defender
Reed Bond, who was second on the team last season with seven caused turnovers while also picking up four groundballs. Also returning is sophomore long stick midfielder
Corum McCuller, who caused five turnovers last season and grabbed seven groundballs.
Returning in goal for the Falcons is senior
Jacob Fahnestock, who logged 17:32 in between the pipes last season over two games for Messiah. He made three saves for the Falcons.
On the Sidelines
Returning for his seventh season at the helm of the men's lacrosse program is
Atsen Bulus. He is assisted by
Sean Ireland and
Taylor Perkins, who are both in their second years as assistant coaches for the Falcons.
Bulus has compiled a 51-37 record in his first six seasons at Messiah, with a 32-8 conference record. Bulus was named MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year in 2015 after leading Messiah to the MAC Commonwealth finals. They also made it to the MAC Commonwealth finals in 2016.
What to Watch For
As mentioned, Messiah begins their 2021 campaign this Saturday when they host Delaware Valley at 4:00 p.m. The Falcons will play a 12-game schedule on Wednesday's and Saturday's that includes eight MAC Commonwealth opponents and four MAC Freedom opponents.
