ABOUT URSINUS
• The Bears finished 3-11 overall and 2-6 in Centennial Conference play last season, but new head coach Gary Mercadante came to Collegeville over the summer from Delaware Valley. Ursinus returns its top two scorers in junior Bobby McClure (33 goals, 11 assists, 44 points) and senior Peter DeSimone (21 goals, 12 assists, 33 points).
WHAT’S NEXT?
• After Saturday, Stevenson embarks on a run of facing six straight nationally-ranked opponents, beginning with No. 9 Denison on the road next Saturday. The Mustangs return home on Saturday, March 9 against No. 2 Salisbury.
MOVING UP THE RANKS
• Senior JT Thelen enters the season with 133 goals and 61 assists for 194 points and is six points shy of becoming the seventh player in program history with at least 200 career points. His 194 points place him seventh all-time, while his 133 goals rank fourth in program history and his 61 assists are good for ninth all-time
13’s THE LUCKY NUMBER
• Stevenson finished 11-0 last season when scoring at least 13 goals, and 1-7 when scoring under that mark.
GOING TO THE POLLS
• In the various preseason Division III men’s lacrosse polls, Stevenson was ranked No. 16 in the US Lacrosse preseason top 20 and No. 18 in the USILA preseason poll and the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll. The Mustangs sit No. 17 in this week’s USILA poll. Stevenson was also picked first in the MAC Commonwealth preseason coaches’ poll, garnering 63 points and seven of nine first place votes.
AMONG THE LEADERS
• Stevenson head coach Paul Cantabene enters the 2019 season with a career 213-63 record, good for a .772 winning percentage. He ranks fourth among active Division III coaches in win percentage and fifth among the winningest coaches in Division III all-time. His 213 wins place him No. 21 among active coaches.
BRINGING A LOT BACK
• Offensively, Stevenson returns 69.5% of its offense, including four of its top six scorers in JT Thelen (70-29-99), Ethan Christensen (46-35-81), Jacob Tatum (29-16-45) and Gray McKee (19-14-33). On defense, the Mustangs return seniors Dom DeFazio, Joe Candon and Dylan Harris who were all injured early last season as starters. Stevenson also brings back junior goalie Sam Ross, who had 190 saves in 19 games in 2018.
THAT’S A LOT OF GOALS
• Stevenson set a program record for goals in a game on April 24 of last season against Hood when it defeated the Blazers 33-7. The Mustangs had surpassed the previous record of 30 goals in a game earlier last season against Alvernia in a 32-7 victory.
OVERTIME IS OK
• Dating back to the 2013 season, Stevenson is 6-3 in its last nine overtime contests, including 1-1 last season. Stevenson’s 2OT win against No. 13 Stevens was its first since a 7-6 2OT triumph over Widener in 2016. Prior to that, the Mustangs had not been to a second overtime since 2006, falling 11-10 to Lynchburg.