LAST SEASON

The Coker men’s lacrosse team nearly doubled their overall wins from last season, while earning three South Atlantic Conference victories. Reaching the conference tournament as the sixth seed, the Cobras (7-8, 3-6 SAC) started their season 3-2 (with two wins at home). The Navy and Gold thrived on their home turf, finishing 4-3 on the Coker Athletic Field. Their three conference victories came against Newberry, Mars Hill, and Tusculum. The four remaining wins were over Chowan, Embry-Riddle (FL), Palm Beach Atlantic, and Lees- McRae. The Cobras scored a season- high 17 goals in the win at Tusculum and allowed just three goals in their victory at Newberry.

PREVIEW

The Cobras are looking to kick off their 2019 season in style with an opening matchup against Chowan on Wednesday (Feb. 6) at 2:00 PM in Hartsville. After a solid last season, Coker returns of host of young talent, including all-conference selections Ethan Irizarry and Chris Hagy. Both of these teams squared off early last season as well, with the Cobras walking away with a 12-11 victory at Chowan.

IMPACT PLAYERS

Irizarry returns after starting 14 times and appearing in a total of 15 games during his freshman campaign. Last season he was the team leader in goals (27) and second on the team in points (35) . Within the South Atlantic Conference, Irizarry ranked 11th in goals and fourth in shots. He scored five goals in the Cobras 17-13 victory over Tusculum (4/6) and scored four goals against Lincoln Memorial (4/24). Prior to the season, the New York, New York native was selected to the Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team.

Goalkeeper Chris Hagy had an impressive first season for the Cobras. Playing in just over 816 minutes in 14 starts, he finished with 135 saves on a 49.1 save percentage, with a career-high 15 saves in a win at Tusculum. Hagy was also named SAC AstroTurf Defensive Player of the Week on March 26. Along with Irizarry, Hagy was selected to the Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team.

Started and appeared in all 15 games last season for the Navy and Gold. Murphy ranked third on the team with 20 goals and ranked 26th in the South Atlantic Conference in goals. He was also third on team with 33 points. Murphy scored three goals and dished out two assists in the Cobras' 12-11 victory over Chowan (2/17).

2019 ROSTER

2 Ethan Irizarry M So. 6-3 190 New York, N.Y. / Mainland Regional HS

3 Matt Murphy A So. 5-9 160 Lindenhurst, N.Y. / Lindenhurst Senior HS

4 Denton Wilks M Jr. 6-2 210 Osteen, Fla. / Winter Springs HS

5 Chris Hagy G So. 5-11 170 Bel Air, Md. / Bel Air HS

6 Jonah Robertson A/M Fr. 5-10 210 Palm Coast, Fla. / Matanzas HS

8 Joe Venazio A So. 5-7 155 Myrtle Beach, S.C. / Carolina Forest HS

9 Stephen Sperbeck M So. 5-9 145 Myrtle Beach, S.C. / Socastee HS

11 James Brugger D So. 5-9 150 Mooresville, N.C. / Lake Norman HS

12 Van Seiler LSM Sr. 5-8 155 Winter Springs, Fla. / Winter Springs HS

13 Chris Stallings G Jr. 5-11 150 Bel Air, Md. / Harford Community College

15 Ryan Bass D So. 5-11 175 Austin, Tx. / McNeil HS

16 Charles Stafford M Sr. 5-8 150 Hampstead, Md. / Hereford HS

17 Evan Bachman D Jr. 6-2 190 Simpsonville, S.C. / Woodmont HS

18 Justin Hopkins LSM So. 6-1 160 Sugar Hill, Ga. / North Gwinnett HS

19 Nicholas Maddox M Sr. 5-10 175 Winter Springs, Fla. / Winter Springs HS

20 Lucas Hediger A Sr. 6-1 165 Simpsonville, S.C. / J.L. Mann

22 Corey Gales M Fr. 5-7 155 Palm Coast, Fla. / Matanzas HS

23 Ethan Ramsey M Fr. 5-9 152 Ocean Springs, MS / Ocean Springs HS

25 Austin McCutchen M Jr. 6-3 185 Murrells Inlet, S.C. / St. James HS

26 Dezmon Patten M Fr. 5-10 165 Irmo, S.C. / Dutch Fork HS

27 Kaleb Philson D Fr. 6-1 197 Greenville, S.C. / Greenville HS

29 Emmanuel Adjaye D So. 5-11 217 Bel Air, Md. / Dominican College

30 Ariel Perez M Fr. 5-11 230 Immokalee, Fla. / Immokalee HS

31 Evan Gentry D Fr. 6-4 178 Palm Coast, Fla. / Matanzas HS

33 William Pollok M Fr. 5-8 140 Chapin, S.C. / Spring Hill HS

38 Gavin Colocino M Fr. 5-11 205 Clover, S.C. / Clover HS

42 Jason McNeany M Fr. 6-0 187 North Attleboro, Mass. / North Attleboro HS

43 Henry Haskett M Fr. 5-11 150 Adelaide, Australia / Sacred Heart College

44 Nicholas Taylor D Fr. 6-4 170 Snellville, Ga. / Brookwood HS

45 Andrew Dappen A So. 6-1 160 Haymarket, Va. / Battlefield HS