Bonnies Men's Lacrosse Eyes Next Step With Mix of New and Returning Faces in '24

Fans coming to St. Bonaventure men’s lacrosse games this season will be well served to grab a program.

After all, there are a lot of new faces on the Bonnies this spring – 18 to be exact.

Following a challenging first year in the newly formed Atlantic 10 men’s lacrosse conference, the Bonnies look to continue building with 16 freshmen and two transfers.

“We’re a new team. For the first time, we don’t have any of the original guys (who were part of Bona’s first season in 2019),” head coach Randy Mearns said. “We are trying to find our identity and what we can potentially grow into. Last year, we had some games we were in and had opportunities, and there were other games where we weren’t close. We knew joining the Atlantic 10 was going to be a tough battle. As much as it was a frustrating year, we feel we are better for it. We spent the fall really getting to know our new guys and evaluating, continuing to press our guys to play faster and meet the pace of play in the A-10.” 

When the new season kicks off at the Marra Athletics Complex Feb. 11, Mearns and his staff hope to have a deeper, faster and more versatile squad. 

That depth and versatility is found up front as the Bonnies figure to have many options in the attack and midfield.

“We have 20 guys who have the ability to play offense for us. We have a lot of new guys who are bringing in energy and a higher level of talent,” Mearns said. “The thing is, how do we fit the pieces of the puzzle together? We feel we have a lot of lefties, a lot of righty options. Our main focus in preseason is finding what that mix looks like and start to build chemistry.”

A trio of fifth-year players bring veteran leadership as Jake Rosa, Mark Belles and Jake Emmick take over the role of longest tenured Bonnies.

A three-time All-MAAC selection and MAAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, Rosa is the team’s active leader in scoring. One of two players in program history to surpass 100 career points, he tallied 21 goals and 11 assists last year and was selected by the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League Draft this past fall. 

After missing the entire 2022 season due to injury, Belles returned last year with eight goals and seven assists. Emmick has played in 36 career games including a career-best seven goals in 2022.

“They have a ton of experience and know how to go through the ups and downs,” Mearns said. “They’ve been part of a team that came close to winning a conference championship and have experienced the highs and lows of building the program.”

Joining those returners are two transfers in grad student Kellen Pulera and redshirt sophomore Onenioteko:wa Maracle. 

Pulera, who was also picked by his hometown Buffalo Bandits in the 2023 NLL Draft, played four seasons at Marist and was an All-MAAC performer there. He registered 41 goals and 48 points during his time with the Red Foxes and is the all-time leading scorer at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute with 275 career points during his high school career.

Maracle comes to the Bonnies from Lafayette where he picked up two years of collegiate experience.

Junior Anthony Cimino has played an offensive midfield spot and could also play down low, returning for his third season with the Bonnies. A MAAC All-Rookie Team selection when he had 14 assists as a freshman, he tallied three goals and seven points last year.

Freshmen Jake Kucinski, Patrick Shanahan, John Boomer and Doryn LeClair are all first-year players who could make a difference. 

Sophomore Cole Tucker is a lefty who scored a pair of goals last year and fifth-year returner Joey Paterno was a power play performer last season who tallied four goals. 

Redshirt sophomore Josh Rosa scored his first collegiate goal last season and won the Minto Cup this past summer while junior Reilly DelPonte has made significant progress returning from injury.

Freshman Jaxon Dillon has shown scoring ability in preseason and classmate Nolan Wilde adds size and strength with his 6-6 frame. 

Conor Murphy, Drew Kenney and Kyle Pepper all could have multiple roles this season between the attack and offensive midfield. 

Another MAAC All-Rookie Team pick two years ago, Murphy was one of the team leaders with eight goals and 11 points last spring. Kenney appeared in all 14 games last year, starting nine, with nine points while Pepper posted seven goals and 10 points.

Murphy and Kenney both were on the attack last year while Pepper figures to get more offensive runs this spring after serving as a defensive midfielder as a freshman and a two-way player in his sophomore season. 

The addition of sophomore Patrick Carpenter figures to be a big boost as well – he tallied five goals and eight points last year and is returning this spring after missing the fall with injury. Redshirt freshman Owen Spring is looking to make his NCAA debut as well.

“There are a ton of options we are figuring out,” Mearns said. “It certainly won’t look like the team of last year. We’re going to hold guys to a high standard and there are a lot of spots that guys will have the opportunity to fill.”

THE BONNIES HOPE TO START the offense with strength at the faceoff X. 

Sophomore Quinn Nolan is back after an excellent debut that saw him earn distinction on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. 

Nolan set the school’s single-season faceoff wins record of 137 as well as the top season groundball mark (85) while tallying 10 or more faceoff wins in seven games.

“We had gone through a lot of struggles earlier on in our program’s history of not winning faceoffs and Quinn made a huge difference in that regard,” Mearns said.

He is joined in the faceoff unit by freshman Grant Giunchi, a Virginia native who was named two-time Under-Armour All-American team DMV. Junior Tom Fox will battle for faceoffs as well.

“We feel good about our faceoff unit. If we can continue to go 50 percent and above we feel will be in games,” Mearns said.

BONA’S DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD is a young group, but one the coaching staff feels is more athletic than years past. 

Junior Caleb Barnard has seen extensive minutes in his first two seasons and redshirt junior Kaden Brennan transferred into the program last year. Grad student Ben Garcia also is back from injuries and figures to be a leader on the man-down unit.

Freshman Benny Carter figures to be a strong short stick presence after a dynamic fall while fellow frosh Jake Argue and Blayze Becker will feature into the defense. Also back are senior Tage Hoeg and redshirt sophomore Atkin Dwyer. Freshmen J'Vion Bunch and Henry Coke round out the group.

Long poles include senior Nick Porfilio, who has picked up 33 groundballs and caused 19 turnovers in his Bona career, as well as sophomore Owen Tasse who can defend and transition. Graduate student Adam Shank returns for a fifth season after causing five turnovers last year. Freshman Jake Engel and Ty Smith also join the LSMs and add depth to the position.

Senior Cam Germain brings a ton of experience to lead the close D unit after starting 33 of 38 games in his career thus far. He registered a career-high 11 caused turnovers and 23 groundballs last spring. 

Junior Aiden MacDonell has shown continued improvement, logging 10 caused turnovers the last two years. He also scored a goal in the 2022 MAAC Championship Game. 

Ryan Olan is a third-year player who moves from the midfield into a new role, along with senior Connor Steria who will also battle for starting gigs along with redshirt freshmen Cameron Viavada and Alex Polisoto. Sophomore Will Porfilio and freshman Rory O’Brien add depth to the group. 

IN GOAL, sophomore Cristofero Cucciuffo was an A-10 All-Rookie Team pick last year after appearing in every game of his freshman campaign. He made 150 saves and recorded a .470 save percentage. He earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors after an 18-save performance at UMBC last spring.

“Cris has a ton of experience and continues to work on his game. He went through a shooting gallery last year as a young player,” Mearns said. “We’re also excited about our other three guys as well.”

Cucciuffo was in the tough position of replacing All-American Brett Dobson, who has gone on to become the PLL championship MVP since graduating from St. Bonaventure. 

Mearns describes Aidan Sheehan as a student of the game who studies every angle. 

Both Sheehan and Connor Robinson joined the program shortly before the start of last season and they’re joined by freshman Evan Gallo. 

THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE includes several familiar foes. 

Bona and Bellarmine again open the season as the Bonnies look to even the all-time series at 2-2 after winning the previous matchup in WNY two years ago. 

The Bonnies will try to avenge last year’s overtime heartbreaker vs. Binghamton Feb. 17 before hosting Robert Morris for the first time Feb. 20. 

SBU won last season over VMI and will make the trip south to Virginia Feb. 24. A trip to Cleveland State March 9 will break what is currently a 2-2 series tie and the always anticipated rivalry matchup with Canisius will take place at SBU this year March 12. Marquette will then make its first trip to the Enchanted Mountains March 23 in the non-con finale.

The Bonnies, who will host a program-record seven home games, will get the benefit of having three conference games at the Marra Athletics Conference – Richmond (March 30), UMass (April 13) and Hobart (April 27). A-10 road games this year will be at High Point (April 5) and Saint Joseph’s (April 20).