GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's lacrosse team begins its 2025 season as the Pioneers visit Young Harris College on Saturday, Feb. 8.
The Pioneers feature a youthful roster, with 18 players with no collegiate playing experience including 13 freshmen. Head coach Mike Brisbin begins his first full season needing to replace more than half of the goal scoring from last year's squad and eight of 10 starters from the 2024 season.
ATTACK
Junior Clay Mendez (Bartow, Fla.) led the Pioneers with 34 goals last season and was second on the team with 46 points. He shared the team lead with seven man-up goals and had at least one point in all 13 matches he played, with goals in 11 of the 13 contests.
Sophomore Ben Royer (Edmonton, Alta.) saw his promising freshman season cut short by injury after collecting four goals and seven assists for 11 points in three matches. Senior Will Nuzzo (West End, N.C.) had five goals and four assists for nine points in 12 matches.
Making their Pioneer debuts will be sophomore Luke Bowen (Edmonton, Alta.) along with freshmen Carter McIntyre (Delta, B.C.), Jayden Thomas (Nanaimo, B.C.) and Aidan Villano (Hillsborough, N.J.).
MIDFIELD
Sophomore Blake Harrison (Sherwood Park, Alta.) had nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points last season, with 24 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. Harrison, who was second on the team in assists, had at least one shot attempt in all 16 matches.
Sophomore Ben Hobday (Leduc County, Alta.) finished with 14 goals and six assists as a freshman, with at least one point in 14 of the 15 matches he played including nine in a row to end the season.
Sophomores Tysen Fontenla (Nanaimo, B.C.) and Preston Stewart (Beaumont, Alta.) will make their Pioneer debuts in 2025.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD
Sophomore Ayden Lightner (St. Cloud, Fla.) played in seven matches last season. He is joined by sophomore Keith Norton (Jackson, Miss.) along with freshmen Grayson Collins (Greeneville, Tenn.), Chase Hawthorne (Bartow, Fla.) and Alistair MacGregor (Anthem, Ariz.).
FACEOFF
Senior Drake Vance (McKinney, Texas) had 68 faceoff wins and 26 ground balls in 26 matches last season, giving him 104 faceoff wins and 40 ground balls in two seasons with the Pioneers.
Junior Ezequel Ceant (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) brings two seasons of college experience to Tusculum, winning 57 percent of faceoffs (381-for-663) and picking up 246 ground balls in 29 matches. Sophomore Sam Sergio (Cookeville, Tenn.) is in his second season in the Tusculum program.
DEFENSE
Sophomores Aiden Paczek (Ottawa, Ont.) and Jesse Brown (Eagleville, Tenn.) both return from last season, when Paczek had six ground balls in 11 matches and Brown had five ground balls and three caused turnovers in eight matches.
Joining the team this season are freshmen Aiden Lyman (Baldwinsville, N.Y.), Evan Moore (Ocoee, Fla.), Matthew Moore (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Jamie Thomson (Maple Ridge, B.C.).
GOALKEEPERS
Senior Brenden Pecora (Alcoa, Tenn.) was named preseason first-team All-SAC after collecting 175 saves last year for the Pioneers. Pecora had 21 or more saves four times last year, and his 13.46 saves per match are the second-best in program history.
Senior Alex Germain (Gansevoort, N.Y.) returns to goal for his senior season after playing in 17 matches at midfield over the past two seasons. Freshman Garrett Smith (Canton, Ga.) led the state with 317 saves as a senior, earning All-County and All-Region honors at Cherokee High School.
SCHEDULE
After the season opener at Young Harris, the Pioneers will play their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 15 against Virginia State. Tusculum will begin its SAC slate on Saturday, March 1 against Catawba, with seven home matches in all for the Pioneers.
