GUELPH, Ont. – The Gryphons men's lacrosse team returns to the field on Saturday, September 7 as they look to build off of the success of last season and make a deep run in their quest for a sixth Baggataway Cup in program history. Guelph had an impressive 2023 season where they finished with an 8-2 record but they fell to McGill 9-8 in a tightly contested match in the quarterfinal stage of the 2023 Baggataway Cup (Canadian University Field Lacrosse national championship tournament).
The 2024 season will see the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) split 14 teams in a two-division format with the Gryphons finding themselves in the West for an opportunity to return to the Baggataway Cup, hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines. "We like the look of the depth we have on this year's roster, which should give us lots of flexibility in terms of our lineup going into games," says head coach
Sam Kosakowski, who has led the University of Guelph men's lacrosse program since 1992 and has led the team to five national titles, the latest coming in 2014. "We have lots of guys who have played in some really big games, and we will be leaning on that this year to try to make another run."
Attack
The Gryphon attack in 2024 will be led by Robbie Baxter and
Liam Aston, who both co-led the team in points last season. Baxter, the third year student from Whitby, and Aston, a management economics and finance major, both earned CUFLA All-Canadian status for their play last season.
Nicholas Volkov will help support the attack from the midfield. The Milton native was selected by the Albany FireWolves in the 2023 NLL draft with their second pick.
Ethan Lee will be entering his second-year with the team and is poised to make a big impact in 2024 after missing time last season due to injury. The versatility of second-year players Carter McKay and
Liam Dietsch will help the team in both the midfield and attack while fourth-year ecology major,
Gavin Thibeault, should be a key contributor from the midfield.
Defence
An experienced group of players will solidify the Gryphon defence this season. Local product and All-Canadian,
Jake Cook is the leader at the back.
Cook, the human health and nutritional science student is back for his second season with the team after spending four years playing in the NCAA. Just like Cook,
Lyle MacNeil transferred in from the U.S. as he's also going into he second season at Guelph.
Nolan Schott will look to continue to provide stellar play from the back as he enters his fourth season with the Gryphons after earning a spot as an All-Canadian last season.
Alec Koschanow rounds out the longstick defence for the team. Joe Kosakowski,
Owen Williams, Max McPherson and
Jared Bettonvil will contribute to the team at shortstick defence.
Jesse Gonsalvez and Brendon Hoeschmann, both going into their third year, will handle longstick midfield duties.
Goalie
Jacob Hayne and
Logan Pagano will both see time in the net for the Gryphons this season and contribute to the team. Hayne, a fifth-year accounting student, and Pagano, a second-year Toronto native, are both set to compete for the top spot in net.
The Gryphons men's lacrosse team will open their season at home when they take on the Brock Badgers from the Gryphon Soccer Complex on Saturday, September 7 at 1pm.
