Feb. 28, 2003

Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's lacrosse team opens the 2003 season on Saturday when it hits the road to face the UMass Minutemen (1-0) at Richard F. Garber Field in Amherst, Mass. The defending America East champs will take on a team that advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals last season and enter the 2003 season ranked eighth in the country. Face-off is 1 p.m.

Head-to-Head: Massachusetts holds a 3-0 advantage in the series between the two teams. UMass earned a hard fought 8-7 win last year at Seawolves Field.

Season Openers: Stony Brook is 5-14 all-time is season openers and has not won the first game of the season since 1997 -- a 15-4 win over Colgate. The Seawolves have lost the last two season openers to UMass.

Rankings: Stony Brook is 2-17 versus teams ranked in the Top 20 since 1997. The highest ranked opponent that SB has ever defeated was No. 16 UMBC in 2001.

Conference Champs: Saturday's matchup pits defending conference champions from a year ago. Stony Brook captured the America East crown while UMass won the ECAC Lacrosse League title.

Common Threads: UMass head coach Greg Cannella was an assistant coach on John Espey's staff in the early 1990's before moving on to UMass.

Finding Some Scoring: One of the biggest questions marks entering the 2003 season is who is going to score for Stony Brook. The Seawolves lost 13 players to graduation, including five of the top six scorers from last season. Gone is sniper Kevin Pall, who finished as the school's all-time leader scorer with 133 goals, and the America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player Denis Scannell (20g, 10a).

By George: Looking to fill some of the scoring void will be junior George LaFlare. LaFlare enters 2003 as the team's leading returning scorer from one year ago with 10 goals and nine assists.

Non-Conference Schedule; Stony Brook's non-conference slate is a tough one this season. The Seawolves begin the season with perennial powerhouse Massachusetts on March 1. Two weeks later the Maryland Terrapins come to Stony Brook in a first-time matchup between the two teams. And in April the North Carolina Tar Heels will make their way north to play Stony Brook for the first time since 1998.

Who Are These Guys?: It will take some time to get used to the 2003 Seawolves as most of the players donning the red and gray this season are first-year players. The 2003 edition of the Seawolves boasts 26 underclassmen, 18 of which are freshmen. SB has nine upperclassmen this season, including four seniors.

The Hat Is Back: Returning this season will be senior Eric Hatkewitz, arguably one of the best long-stick middies around. The first-team All-America East defender had his best year in 2002 and will be a veteran presence in a very youthful locker room in 2003.

The Bash Brothers: Junior Eric Hatkewitz and sophomore Kyle Pearl have a great deal in common -- they both like to punish opponents with their physical style of play, a style that makes them one of the best long-stick duos around. Hatkewitz is all over the field and scooped up a career-best 73 ground balls in 2002. Pearl was equally dynamic, recording 53 ground balls and jumping into the attack to score four goals and add two assists. Both Hatkewitz and Pearl were recognized last season for their outstanding play. Hatkewitz was named a first-team All-Conference performer while Pearl pulled down second-team honors.

Preseason Poll: The Albany Great Danes are the preseason favorite to win the 2003 America East Lacrosse Championship in a poll conducted by the league's coaches. The Danes recieved five out of a possible six first-place votes and lead the way with 35 points. Stony Brook (24) was picked to finish second to be followed by Quinnipiac (22), Vermont (21), Hartford (14) and Binghamton (10).

2002 America East Coaches Poll
1.	Albany (5)			35
2.	Stony Brook			24
3.	Quinnipiac (1)		22
4.	Vermont			21
5.	Hartford			14
6.	Binghamton			10

Mr. Face-off: Senior Dennis Nafte returns for his final season as arguably the top face-off man in the America East and one of the finest in the nation. Last season, Nafte won 115 of 181 draws for a .635 winning percentage which ranked tops in the America East and fifth in the country.

Ring Ceremony: Stony Brook will unveil its 2002 America East championship banner as part of a championship ring ceremony on March 22 at halftime of the Navy game.

New Digs: Stony Brook will begin play in the brand new Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium this spring. The 8,136-seat LaValle Stadium opened on September14, 2002 as the Stony Brook football team defeated St. John's 34-9. This spring, the men's and women's lacrosse teams will play the first ever lacrosse games in the stadium on March 9. The men face-off against UMBC at noon to be followed by the women's game at 3 p.m.