NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - The Westminster College men's lacrosse team, guided by second-year head coach Travis Brown, returns 25 players from a team that finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 10-8 and 5-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), both program records. Westminster finished runner-up in both the PAC and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournaments.
 
"I think we have a really good group of seniors." said Brown. "We have ten seniors on the team right now and they have played four years of college lacrosse. They have playoff experience, championship experience. I think those are guys we are going to lean on heavily. I think they are a good group of leaders and a good group of guys. I think most importantly they are dedicated to Westminster and the team itself."
 
Headlining the returners are seniors midfielder Dante Serra (Center Valley, PA / Southern Lehigh), defenseman Michael Hamiche (Victor, NY / Victor) and short stick defensive midfielder Dylan Wolford (Apex, NC / Apex), along with juniors midfielder Shane Fisher (Palm Harbor, FL / East Lake) and defenseman Jack Granahan (Aldie, VA / John Champe) who were all named All-PAC Second Team in 2019.
 
Seniors attackmen Tyler Nordby (Burnt Hills, NY / Burnt Hills) and Chris Slater (Plum, PA / Central Catholic) were named All-PAC Honorable Mention. Last season, Serra led the team in assists (19) and was third in points (40). Slater ranked third on the team in goals (27), while Fisher was fourth (25). Nordby added 15 goals and 10 assists. Wolford finished tied for fourth on the team in ground balls (41). Granahan was second on the team with 20 caused turnovers, while Hamiche was third (15).
 
Other key returners include sophomore attackman Joe Rosa (Newton, NJ / Kittatinny Regional) who made an immediate impact as he was second on the team in both goals (32) and points (42). Senior midfielder Adrian Culp (Gaithersburg, MD / Quince Orchard) was fourth on the team with 37 points (19 goals and 18 assists). Junior defenseman Nick Trella (Moon Twp, PA / Moon Area) registered 16 points, including 13 assists, while classmate midfielder Jesse Dodd (Pittsburgh, PA / Mount Lebanon) added nine points. Sophomore midfielder Bennett Webster (Penfield, NY / Penfield) won a team-best 101 faceoffs.
 
Rounding out the returning players are seniors Ryan Stiemly (Edgewood, MD / Edgewood), Ian Ross (San Diego, CA / Coronado) and Austin Vanderhoof (Chardon, OH / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin School). Juniors Romano Veneziano (Pittsburgh, PA / Pittsburgh Online Academy), Jarrett Dudley (Oswego, NY / Oswego), Steven Knight (Wyckoff, NJ / Ramapo) and Reilly Woodbury (Henniker, NH / Bishop Brady) and sophomores Ben Romah (Coraopolis, PA / Moon Area), Mike Roman (Fort Washington, PA / Germantown Academy), Dante Mollica (Moon Twp, PA / Moon Area), Hamish Mathwin (Marion, Australia / Westminster), Shawn Kernaghan (Denver, PA / Cocalico) and Andrew Phillips (Morgantown, WV / University).
 
The Titans were picked to finish third out of eight teams with 38 points in this years PAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Westminster received one first place vote. Hamiche, Fisher, Serra and freshman goalkeeper Connor Doyle (Glen Aubrey, NY / Whitney Point) were named on the league's Players to Watch list.
 
The men will play a full round robin conference schedule in 2020. The league's four-team championship tournament is scheduled for Wednesday and Saturday, April 29 and May 2. The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship.

This spring, the PAC will be among the 27 conferences granted Pool A automatic qualification (AQ) to the annual Division III Championship. The 36-team field for this year's Division III Championship will be announced on Sunday, May 3. First round games are slated for Wednesday, May 6 with second and third round games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10.  
 
The Titans' season gets underway on Saturday, February 15 when they take on Hanover College at home in both teams' season-opener. Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m.