Mercer men’s lacrosse team will begin their first ever season on February 9 in an away scrimmage against Drew University.
The men’s lacrosse Head Coach Rob Siris, who was appointed in August 2017, says, “I was a Drew alum, so this is exciting for me. I think it’s good for our guys to see what Division III NCAA competition looks like…We’re just looking to get out there and compete. You learn a lot of lessons about what your depth is like, offensively and defensively.”
The scrimmage against Drew is not an official in-season game, but it does allow the team to get their bearings.
“We’re not really looking at the scoreboard, but we just want to get us competing against other players, rather than just ourselves in practice,” says Siris.
After holding practice sessions in spring 2018, the players and coach continued throughout the fall semester while playing various scrimmages over the past few months.
The biggest difference over the past year is squad size.
Mercer’s Athletic Director, John Simone, said in a phone interview, “This year now has the group of freshmen who came here specifically to play lacrosse. So, it’s almost double the squad number.”
Siris adds, “We’ve just practiced so much. Last spring, we practiced 2-3 days a week. This fall was looking a bit more intense and then we’re going about 5-6 days a week now…The skillset is just so much stronger than it was even in the fall…We’re trying to make small steps, but it’s been really dramatic the progress since last spring.”
Brady Moore, a first-year student who plays offense, and who according to the Mercer website, Moore joined Mercer as a “two-time All-American at Hopewell Valley and the Trenton Times area lacrosse player of the year in 2015” says, “Our stick skills are definitely up there…I’d also say, just overall enjoyment for the game is helping us.”
Siris blasts music every day during practice to keep the positive energy going. He says, “It’s up tempo. We play fast, the guys really enjoy it. Whether today was 15 degrees, [but the] guys are loving being out there.”
Moore says, “Mainly we want to definitely win our conference and hopefully to get players to the school they want to go to next year.”
As the head of the athletic department, John Simone says, “I hope it continues to bring us new students that normally wouldn’t come to the college, but now that we have lacrosse, they will come here and study here.”
Siris also shares the same sentiment. He states, “We want this to be a place where the top lacrosse players in New Jersey and beyond come here to play lacrosse and get a great education.”
The introduction of lacrosse to Mercer for the first time in its history presents a new era. With talent ranging from defense to offense, the players and coach will be hoping to get off on a good start.
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The men’s lacrosse team will play their first official home game on February 23 against Finger Lakes Community College at 3:00 P.M.
