Season Outlook For 2004
The 2004 Exeter lacrosse team has a great mix of returning veterans, upcoming JV players, and some key new players who could collectively make a large impact.

Leading the way will be tri-captains Chris Mottau, Tom Rubel, and Sloan Smith. Amherst bound Chris Mottau is an athletic, fast, and strong midfielder who will surely play a larger role offensively than he did last year. Look for Chris to be all over the field as a physical presence, just like he did for the undefeated football team in the Fall. Tom Rubel is back for his 3rd year on varsity and will lead the defense. Tom was also a key member of the undefeated football team in the Fall, and he will bring size, speed, and experience to the defensive end of the field. Notre Dame is excited to have recruited Sloan for next year, and Exeter is even more excited to have him back as one of our key ofensive threats from both the midfield and attack. Sloan is a versatile offensive weapon who presents a tough matchup for many teams because of his size and stick skills . He posted 27 goals and 6 assists last year as the 3rd leading scorer on the team, so much is expected of this talented New Hampshire native.

The defense lost three key players to graduation last year with Wiley Dornseif now playing at Tufts, Will Tuttle at Nazareth, and Stew Stout at Bowdoin. Along with Tom Rubel, senior returners Jon Reed and Gus Davidson will be keys to this year's defense. Both Jon and Gus received a lot of playing time last year and know our defensive systems well. Joining them will be PG hockey star Dylan Cox, an experienced defenseman with size, speed, and very quick hands from St Johns Prep in Danvers in Massachussetts. Another PG defenseman is Alex Zani. Alex played both ways for the football team in the fall, and brings size and experience from his years playing at Winchester HS in Massachussetts. Rounding out the defensive squad will be some promising newcomers. Ian Drummond is a rugged 11th grader from California with excellent size and speed. His primary sport is hockey, so he brings is hockey toughness and quick hands to the game of lax. Brett Hughes '06 is another hockey player who, as a newcomer to the Academy, was a key player for Exeter's varsity hockey team this past winter. Brett has played a fair amount of lacrosse in his home state of Maine before coming to Exeter, so he should be able to make a significant contribution immediately.

The midfield will definitely be an area of strength for Exeter's team this year depite losing a lot of talent to graduation last year. 2003 captains Gavin Nurick and Suresh Jones are playing at Swarthmore and Bowdoin respectively, Taylor Evans is at Wesleyan, and James Montalvo at Trinity. However, there are very able middies ready to step up and join captains Sloan Smith and Chris Mottau in forming a strong middie corps. Three year varsity veteran Bobby Goulding is expected to have a big year. He has worked hard in the off season, and he has looked impressive in the preseason. Also returing from last years team are Connor Seery '04, Kirk Bansak '05, and Michael Scalise '06. All three of these veterans add talent, experience, and depth. Connor can also play some attack, Kirk's sprinter's speed makes him extremely valuable, and Michael should pick up right where he left off in his Rookie of the Year season in 2003. Joining the six returing midfielders are post graduates Chris Davis from Newton North HS in Massachussetts and Adam Arsenault from Everett HS in Massachussetts. Chris has been recruited to play at Middlebury where he will go next year. He brings us excellent overall play and lots of experience. Adam is a newcomer to lacrosse, but has shown he is a quick student of the game and an amazing athlete. He is a recruited linebacker for Tufts next year, and his size, athleticism, and speed should make him a tough short stick defensive specialist. Coming to varsity from the JV last year is 10th grader "Ace" Ohira. Ace has shown very good speed and stick handling ability in the preseason, and he even handled a lon pole at times last year. New 10th grader Bruce Hallett has already played a season of varsity soccer in the fall, and had an impressive indoor track season. Bruce has solid stickwork, good knowledge of the game, and he can run all day.

Any time you return your first, third, and fourth high scorers from the previous season's attack, it makes a coach feel a little easier. Although we graduated the dangerous Mike Hines who is playing at Wesleyan, the returners should lead an attack that has the potential of surpassing the 2003 units output. Leading the way will be high scorer Tom Petty '05 who is entering his 3rd varsity campaign. Tom's 57 points last year shattered the Exeter record for 10th graders, so much is expected from Tom this season. If teams concentrate too much on Tom, one of his main targets will be big Eric Horan '04. Eric has been a superstar in both water polo and swimming this year, and he is sure to improve on his very productive 19 goal, 5 assist campaign from the 2003 lacrosse season. Third leading scorer from last year was Sloan Smith who will see most of his time in the midfield, but PG attackman Tim Redmond from St Johns Prep in Danvers, Massachussetts should fill in nicely as the 3rd starter. Tim is bound for Holy Cross next year as a recruited player, and he brings excellent skills, experience, and knowledge to an already veteran attack. The coaches have been pleased with the early showing from a trio of JV attackmen from last year. Chris Mayer '06, Steve Reardon '05, and Davis Moore '05 have all shown they are ready for the challenges and pace of varsity ball. They should add nice depth to the attack unit.

The goal situation is in good hands with returning starter from last year, Julian Rodier '04. Julian played well enough last year to attract the attention of college coaches, and he will be attending Skidmore next year to continue his education and lacrosse career. As well as Julian played in his inaugural varsity campaign last year, the coaches feel he will continue to improve this season, and become one of the better goalies in the prep league. Also returning in his backup role of last year will be Eric Hassett '05. Eric saw limited action last year because there were so many very close games. Hopefully, Exeter will open up some more comfortable margins of victory this season so Eric can gain needed game experience.

Exeter opens up the season with an all day play day at Choate on Sunday, March 28th, and then we play our first game on Wednesday, March 31st at home versus Kennebunk HS from Maine. Click here to see the entire 2004 schedule.