The Riverhawks men’s head lacrosse coach said in early Februrary he expects the younger players to adapt to the college-level gameplay with seven returners for the 2023 season.

The Riverhawks will open their season at home on Feb. 25 against Army Prep. 

“For the younger guys [I want them to] just kind of mix in and blend in as quickly as they can,” head coach Joe Stanilaus noted. And “mesh with the older group and come together and start winning games.”

The Riverhawks finished its 2022 regular season at 6-5. The Riverhawks lost 13-5 on April 29 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 20 Semifinals.

Attacker Payton Williams said he’ll have a “breakout” season.

“I know I’ve been working really hard,” Williams, a third-year communications student, said.  “And I know the younger guys have been looking up to me, being an older guy at community college.”

Men’s head lacrosse coach Joe Stanilaus said it’s great to see the team back on the field.

“It’s good to have some new faces as well,” Stanilaus said. “So we’re so excited to be back overall.”

The Riverhawks scored a team 144 regular season goals last year —35 of them from attacker Ben Wilson who led in scoring. Midfielder Sam Kelley led the squad with 18 assists in the regular season.

Long Pole Chris Higgins said that he has “high hopes” for this season.