The Maritime College men's lacrosse team will look to build off a historic 2018 season this spring behind a strong group of returning student-athletes, and a promising core of newcomers. Interim head Justin Manjares will hope to guide the Privateers to the Skyline Conference championship game in his first season at the helm after five years as an assistant coach.

Prior to the spring semester practices, Manjares named the 2019 team captains for the upcoming season. Michael Petty (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber), Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington), Mark Buchner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), and Patrick McAllister (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur) round out the 2019 captains will lead Maritime in their quest to capture the programs first Skyline Conference Championship.

Last year, the Privateers reached the conference playoffs for the first time since 2011 by earning the No. 2 seed with a 10-4 overall record and 4-2 in Skyline play. The 2018 season also marked the first time the program hosted a playoff game since 2008 as well as it's first 10-win season since 2008.

"The team got a taste of what they're capable of last season and it's clear that they're motivated to take the next step this year," said Manjares. "Everybody has been bringing incredible effort and energy throughout the preseason and I'm excited to see them get on the field and show what they can do."

Maritime returns its top-two goal and point scorers from last season in Matt DeMeo (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and Danny Connell (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford). DeMeo, who earned ECAC and Skyline Rookie of the Year last season, tallied 38 goals and 15 assists to lead the Privateers, while Connell totaled 35 goals and 14 assists. Other key returners include Mark Buchner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) and Bryan Keegan (Lake Grove, N.Y./Sachem North), who earned First and Second Team All-Conference last season, respectively. Buchner led the Maritime defense with 70 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers, while Keegan was tied for third on the team with 14 caused turnovers.

Maritime loses its First-Team All-Conference goalkeeper from a season ago, but Manjares believes that the strong defensive core and promising goalkeeping play during the preseason will transfer over into the spring.

"Obviously losing McNally from last season is tough to replace, but our defense can make the job a lot easier," said Manjares. "Kyle Bockelman (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East), Justin Weigold (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington), and Nick Pasco (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) have all been impressive in goal and we are confident that we'll be a tough team to score on this year."

The Privateers roster boasts nine freshmen in 2019 as well as six other new faces to compliment the 26 returning student-athletes. Joshua Fix (Islip, N.Y./Islip), Garrett Vincent (Tequesta, Fla./Jupiter Community), Jake Nelson (Bellmore, N.Y./Bellmore JFK), Joseph Gagliardi (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem North), Kyle Kellachan (Manorville, N.Y./St. Anthony's), Thomas Gerasci (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa), Kevin O'Connor (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East), Joban Preet (Queens Village, N.Y./Hillside Arts & Letters), and Jack Haberman (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) round out the freshmen class.

Maritime opens up its season this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. as they host SUNY Geneseo at Reinhart Field. The Privateers will then travel to Drew University before heading to Virginia over Spring Break for games against Ferrum College and Hampton University.