2022 RECAP
The Adrian College men's lacrosse team had a very successful 2022 season. The Bulldogs finished 12-5 on the year and earned the No. 3 seed for the MIAA Tournament.
Adrian opened the season 3-0 which was started by a big 12-11 overtime victory over Siena Heights. Adrian went on to blowout Lake Forest 15-3 and Earlham 24-5. Adrian went on to record non-conference victories over Chatham University, Wabash College, Heidelberg University, Hanover College, and Thiel College.
Adrian won its first three MIAA contests last season as they defeated Kalamazoo College, Alma College, and Calvin University to cap a seven game winning streak. The Bulldogs were tripped up by MIAA Champion, Hope College, before losing the the MIAA Tournament Champion Albion College. The team went on to win the regular season finale on the road at Trine before falling to Albion in the MIAA Tournament.
THE RETURNERS
The Bulldogs graduated a talented senior class last year who they look to replace with some key returners. Last season, Michael Jonas was second on the team in scoring as a freshman finishing the year with 37 goals and 24 assists.
Adrian will look for more production out of Derek Hassel to fill the scoring void. Hassel finished the 2022 season with ten goals on the year with four assists.
Also returning is Jake Coakley who will look to expand on his 13 goals and eight assists from last season. Brett Koczenasz returns after posting 14 goals and three assists in 2022.
Other key returns include Owen Kelly, Riley Edwards, Brandon Hoerauf, and Trenton Garcia.
Riley Edwards, Brett Koczenasz, and AJ Hayes were named captains for the 2023 season.
THE DEFENSE
The Bulldogs return Cameron Reed who had a standout freshman season on defense. Reed appeared in all 17 games last season where he started in each game and recorded 37 caused turnovers. His 37 caused turnovers broke a program record for most caused turnovers in a single season. Reed also ranked second on the team in ground balls last year with 51.
AJ Hayes returns on defense for the Bulldogs after finishing second on the team in caused turnovers with 19 last season while adding 31 ground balls.
Jack Messel is back for Adrian after starting in 11 games with 17 appearances, nine caused turnovers, and three assists, and 26 ground balls.
THE GOALTENDER
Adrian returns sophomore goalie, Sam Spangler. Spangler started in all 17 games as a freshman last season where he cracked into the top-10 in the single season record book.
Spangler recorded 175 saves last year which ranks second all-time for most in a season and fifth all-time for saves per game in a single season with 10.29.
He totaled a .574 save percentage ranking third all-time along with an 8.50 goals against average to rank eighth all-time. Spangler won 12 games in 2022 with Adrian which ties for third all-time in a single season.
THE FACEOFF MAN
The Bulldogs will look to replace Scholar All-American and Adrian College record holder, Max Leventis, at the faceoff dot.
Adrian will look to Gino Capicchioni and Steven Martin to fill the role. Last season, Capicchioni finished the year 9-of-13 on the faceoff while Martin finished 6-of-16.
THE 2023 SCHEDULE
"This is an extremely challenging non-conference schedule, quite possibly the toughest in program history," said head coach Brett Wetzel. "It is going to be a grind and really going to test the mental and physical make-up of this team. We felt that we were ready for a test like this and it will only prepare us for a tough MIAA run."
Adrian opens up on the road with Ohio Northern University before back-to-back home games against Wittenberg and Oberlin. They then travel on the road to play Sewanee, Capital, and Chatham. Halfway through March, the Bulldogs return home for games against Kenyon and Otterbein before wrapping up against Hanover and Ohio Wesleyan.
"The MIAA is going to be a gauntlet once again," Wetzel said. "The four wins we had last season in league were by no means easy, each game was a tight, hard fought battle and we expect nothing to be different this season. We know that we will need to fight hard for every win in the MIAA."
Adrian will look to land a top-4 seed and advance to the MIAA Tournament for another year.
EXPECTATIONS FROM COACH WETZEL
"We are playing with larger expectations than we have had in some time. Last season we made a huge jump from No. 7 to No. 3 in the MIAA and I think part of that was we were able to play loose knowing that we had no pressure from those outside the program. We could take the time to find ourselves, to allow our young guys to mature at their own pace."
"Now, we have some expectations, we have some weight on our shoulders and we feel strongly that we are ready to take that next step for us which is hosting a MIAA playoff game."
THINGS TO KNOW
The Bulldogs open the season on the road at Ohio Northern University on Wednesday, February 22 at 4:00 PM. Adrian's first home game will be on Saturday, February 25 at 2:00 PM inside Docking Stadium.
For all games at Docking Stadium, fans are asked to purchase tickets ahead of time through Hometown Ticketing by clicking the link below. No pets of any kind, with the exception of service animals, are allowed inside Docking Stadium.
Fans unable to attend contests at Docking Stadium will be able to watch online through the Adrian College TV YouTube channel. For more information, go to www.adrianbulldogs.com or download the Adrian College Athletics mobile app on your smart phone device.