LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Siena Saints men's lacrosse program looks to open year two of the
Liam Gleason era on a high note, as they square off against the LIU Sharks on Saturday afternoon at Hickey Field at 1 p.m. LIU enters their first season as a Division I program, while the Saints look to build off a 6-7 overall record last season.
Follow the Saints' season opening game by clicking on the corresponding live video and live stats links at the top of the page. Watch via Siena All-Access live stream, where A.J. Kanell will have the play-by-play call. Continuous in-match updates will be provided via the team's official twitter page @SienaLacrosse. Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints, and #MAACLAX.
Siena gets their 2020 campaign off the ground at home for the third year in a row. In their home openers in program history, the Saints are 20-36 all-time, and were 4-6 in the 2010's. This will be the first meeting all-time between LIU and Siena in men's lacrosse since LIU's rebrand as the Sharks. Saturday's contest is the eighth all-time meeting between LIU and Siena, though the first since the 1987 season when the university was C.W. Post.
Siena looks to improve upon a 6-7 overall record in year one under Gleason in 2019 after starting the season with a 5-2 record. The Saints return senior and captain
Jack Drillock on defense, who was named to the Preseason All-MAAC team after setting a program record for caused turnovers in a season a year ago. Fellow senior
Dylan Pantalone was named All-MAAC First Team at the midfield last season, and will help facilitate an offense looking to replace graduating attackmen in
Keenan Cook and
Mike Reilly.
But the Saints will have a new look in net, as junior
Anthony Tebbano will take the reins between the pipes, while fellow junior
Jack Kiernan will be looked to build upon his 36 point (29 goals, seven assists) season as he returns as the highest point getting from a year ago.
Saturday marks the start of the first season of Division I competition for LIU since 1992. LIU closed the 2019 season by reaching the ECC Championship game for the second-consecutive season and finished with an overall mark of 11-5 while at the Division II level.
LIU head coach Eric Wolf and Siena head coach
Liam Gleason were two-year teammates at the University of Albany, having both graduated in 2007. During their two seasons the duo combined for 10 goals, 16 assists, and 28 ground balls. Both also coached as assistants at both UAlbany and for two seasons at Siena during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
