GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's lacrosse team will open its 2023 season on Saturday at Pioneer Field against Colorado State-Pueblo, beginning at 4 p.m.
The Pioneers are coming off a 9-7 season in 2022 which included a 3-7 record in South Atlantic Conference matches. Tusculum faced six teams that were nationally ranked in Division II during the 2022 campaign, and will take on three teams this season that are in the top 10 of this year's preseason rankings.
Second-year head coach Rodney Tapp welcomes back five starters and 21 letterwinners from last year's squad, which piled up 223 goals in 16 games and led Division II in man-up offense with a 60.8 percent conversion rate.
ATTACK
Graduate student Nate Raymond (Traceys Landing, Md.) is second-team preseason All-SAC after establishing single-season school records for goals (53), points (69) and shots (124) last season. Raymond finished tied for third in SAC in goals and seventh in points, and had 13 multi-goal games including single-game program records of nine goals and 14 points at Emmanuel. He enters his fifth season ranked fourth in program history in goals (94) and sixth in points (121), and carries a school-record streak of scoring a goal in 26 consecutive games.
Sophomore Wesley Phillips (Coquitlam, B.C.) led the Pioneers with 34 assists (fifth in SAC) in his rookie season and was third on team in points (54) and fifth in goals (20). Phillips collected three goals and six assists for nine points against Coker and had three other games with at least four assists.
Senior Aiden Caskey (Orlando, Fla.) collected three goals and three assists last season, including his first career goal against Lees-McRae in mid-February.
ATTACKING MIDFIELD
Senior Tristan Kirkham (Langley, B.C.) finished ninth in the SAC with 46 goals and third in man-up goals with 10, while ranking 13th in the conference with 58 points. Kirkham had a point in all 16 matches, including seven games with five points or more, and had a streak of seven straight games with a man-up goal. Kirkham had four games with five goals and three additional games with four goals, and enters the season with 64 goals and 20 assists for 84 points in 35 career games.
Graduate student Jordan Daniel (Langley, B.C.) was second on the team with 28 assists and added 19 goals to finish fourth on the squad with 47 points last season. Daniel had seven man-up goals and scored at least once in 14 of the Pioneers' 16 matches, with points in all 16 contests. Daniel, who reached the 100-point mark for his career last season, has 41 goals and 60 assists for 101 points in 48 career games.
Senior Sean Dunn (Palm Harbor, Fla.) was third on the team with 33 ground balls last season and finished with 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points. Dunn had a six-game goal streak and an eight-game point streak last season, and has 35 goals and 32 assists for 67 points in 48 career games, along with 66 ground balls.
Senior Will Cookman (Nanaimo, B.C.) appeared in 12 matches last season and had 18 ground balls and three caused turnovers, including five ground balls against Coker and four in his season debut against Lees-McRae. Cookman has played in 32 career games and had three goals and eight assists for 11 points along with 23 ground balls.
Junior TJ Caldwell (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) appeared in 15 matches last year and scored a goal against Coker while picking up seven ground balls and four caused turnovers. He will be joined by sophomore newcomer Bauer Swystun (Prince Albert, Sask.) in the Pioneer lineup this season.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD
Graduate student Nathan Fraser (Kamloops, B.C) returns to the lineup this season after going out in last year's season opener against Young Harris. Fraser, a preseason second-team All-SAC selection as a short stick defensive midfielder, has 41 ground balls and won nearly 59 percent of his faceoffs in 17 career games for the Pioneers.
Junior Bryce Grimball (Richmond Hill, Ga.) played 13 matches and finished with 16 ground balls and four caused turnovers, including three against Coker. Junior Austin Wallace (Epson, N.H.) had three ground balls and a caused turnover in nine matches. Sophomore Alex Germain (Gansevoort, N.Y.) will be making his Pioneer debut this spring.
LONG-STICK MIDFIELD
Junior Nicholas Drennan (Calgary, Alta.) made 13 starts last year and had 27 ground balls along with six caused turnovers, while on offense recording three goals and two assists. Drennan has 31 ground balls and seven caused turnovers in 21 career contests.
Junior Brandon Hale (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) appeared in 12 matches and started four last season, picking up two ground balls and earning three caused turnovers. Junior Nick May (Franklin, Tenn.) had 11 ground balls last season and tied for the team lead with seven caused turnovers.
Junior Karson Gregory (Ladysmith, B.C.) transfers to Tusculum from District of Columbia, where he played nine games last season and had 23 ground balls along with nine caused turnovers. In two seasons, Gregory had 47 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers in just 18 matches.
DEFENSE
Senior Tyler Nunenmacher (Mandeville, La.) started all 16 matches last season and picked up 18 ground balls to go along with four caused turnovers. A fifth-year member of the squad, Nunenmacher has played in 38 career games and has 33 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers.
Sophomore Nolan Ross (Nanaimo, B.C.) is another newcomer from University of D.C. where he had 25 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers in 10 games last season, including five ground balls and three caused turnovers against Molloy.
Junior Devin Bowen (Dumfries, Va.) made four starts last season and appeared in nine games, collecting four ground balls and adding five caused turnovers. Sophomore Caleb Freeman (Lexington, S.C.) played in five matches last season and had two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
FACEOFF
Two newcomers will see time at the dot as sophomore Drake Vance (McKinney, Texas), a transfer from Tampa, led his high school team in faceoff wins. Freshman Aaron Fabelo (Miami, Fla.) was team MVP at Florida Christian School.
GOALKEEPERS
Sophomore Riley Semmes (Jemison, Ala.) is a third-team preseason All-Conference selection and moves in for graduated four-year starter Ross Geiger. Semmes played in five games last season and had a 5.67 goals against average and a .696 save percentage in 74 minutes of playing time.
Freshman Diego Hopkins (Port Alberni, B.C.) is expected to step in and provide a strong backup to Semmes, and junior Nicholas Adams (Charlotte, N.C.) appeared in one game last season and has made six saves in 26 minutes of career playing time.
SCHEDULE
The Pioneers will play each of the next 12 weekends starting with Saturday's revised season opener against Colorado State-Pueblo, with four midweek games on the slate during March. The Pioneers play nine conference matches among their 16-game schedule, starting Saturday, Feb. 25 at Wingate.