OVERVIEW: The Bearcats are looking to rebound after a 4-9 campaign in 2015. The team loses only six seniors, but they include Tucker Nelson, Paul O’Donnell, and J.T. Hauck , who were the top three scorers last year. The Bearcats will try to improve on their defense, which ranked 43rd last season and were 65th on man-down. George Deignan, Garrett Waldron, Chris Bechle, and midfielder Joe Grossi all return to the Bearcats to improve from last season. All three goalies from last season return, including Tanner Cosens, who started 10 games last year. Freshman Kevin Carbone will look to compete for some time as well.
STRENGTH: Faceoffs – Junior Dan Mazurek returns after finishing last season with a winning percentage of 53.5%. The Bearcats finished 20th in Division I with a 53% win percentage in faceoffs. Mazurek also scooped up 39 ground balls last year, good for second on the team.
WEAKNESS: Offense – The Bearcats lose their top three scorers from last season to graduation. Two-thirds of their starting attack is gone, so redshirt-sophomore Sean Gilroy is the only returning starter on the attack unit. Outside of junior Jesse Parker, who appeared only once last season, the rest of the attackmen are either freshmen or sophomores.
TOP RETURNEE: The defense has to improve from last season, so George Deignan will have to play a huge part in that rebuild. The junior led the Bearcats last season with 47 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. He’ll probably match up with the opposing team’s top attacker, and especially in the American East without Lyle Thompson, Deignan can help the Bearcats be a contender in the conference.
BREAKTHROUGH PLAYER: Now a senior and at the midfield, Zach Scaduto will look to capitalize on his move to the midfield as well as increase his scoring from last season, when he scored 12 goals and three assists.
