Head coach – Desi Gonzalez (2nd year)
Assistants – Stu Speicher, Marc Feldman, Seth Workman, Peter Conway
Last season – 13-8 overall/9-4 EPC, lost to in EPC playoffs to CCHS 18-6; finished runner-up to Parkland for second straight year in District XI .
Players lost to graduation (17) – Hunter Krauss (40 goals/19 assists/EPC All-Star), Brent Meilinger (24g/11a), Bennett Nakao (19g/13a), Corbin Carraghan (Cabrini), Nate Hannis (Moravian), Zack Higgins, Gabe Kleis, Josh Babbitt, Zach Babbitt, Trevor Calse, Gavin Glogowski, Jarod Lichtenwalner, Brent Miller Jake Miller (Kings), Shane Miller, Chris Schmitt, John Shaffer
Returnees – Sr. MF Bailey O’Connor (36g/20a/EPC All-Star), Jr. MF Michael Leschinsky (27g/7a), Sr. attack Sam Conway (20g/7a), Sr. LSM Devon Boyko, Sr. pole Sabino Basso (injured), Soph. GK Ben Franco, Sr. attack Evan Bhagat, Sr. MF Tim Higgins, Sr. MF Liam Gilley, Sr. Def. Ryan Thomas, Jr. MF/Faceoff Cole Scott, Sr. MF Joe Alston, Sr. MF Jon Csensits, Sr. GK Levin Sarver, Jr. MF/Faceoff Jackson Peterson, Jr. attack Grant Hawkins,
Newcomers – Jr. pole Reece Wieder, Soph. MF Zach Whalen, Jr. attack Alex Adamczyk, Soph. pole Conner Carter, Soph. pole Matt Dapper, Soph. attack Cade Speicher, Jr. MF Max Eugster, Soph. MF Justin Hollinger, Fresh. attack Zack Younker, Fresh. MF Ben Thomas (injured), Fresh. pole Gavin Cronin
Season-opener – March 22 at Hershey (4 pm)
Outlook – The Hornets were hit hard by graduation with the loss of 17 seniors off a team that started last season 8-0 but went just 5-8 in its last 13 games, including three losses each to rivals Parkland and Central Catholic …. Gonzalez, now in his second season, likes the makeup of this year’s team, the depth at each position and expects a number of younger players to have an immediate impact on the varsity level …..O’Connor, Leschinsky and Conway return as the team’s top offensive threats ….Gonzalez expects Scott and Peterson to be a solid 1-2 punch at the faceoff X where the Hornets struggled a year ago ….Defensively, the team lost three starters but return team Defensive POY LSM Boyko, a RPI recruit …..In goal, Franco ‘has taken a big leap’ into the starting role after his freshman season and ‘I’m very confident with what he brings to the table this year,” said Emmaus’ second-year head coach.
Coach Gonzalez – “I think we are deeper than we’ve ever been. We’ve always had a five to six-man midfield rotation, now we have seven or eight guys and not just at midfield but we can throw some guys up on attack if we need to. We have a lot of versatility with this group. “
“We don’t have anything crazy over-the-top superstars but we have really good players like Michael Leschinsky and Bailey O’Connor on the offensive end and we have a lot of players not too far behind really pushing those guys. We’ve also had some surprises from the younger class, guys that have stepped into roles that will be in the starting mix. “
Follow the team on social media: Twitter (@Emmaussports.com), Facebook (Emmaus lacrosse)
Emmaus (last 5 years)
2018: 13-8
2017: 13-9
2016: 11-9
2015: 14-8
2014: 18-5