2010 Schedule

TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's lacrosse team has announced its team captains for the upcoming 2010 season and four student-athletes have been selected. Serving in the leadership capacity are Tim Bender, Kyle Blackman, Paul Cerone and Bryant Johnson. All four are seniors.

“With a relatively young group, we need our seniors to play a large role in the development of the team,” said 15th-year head coach Jim Townsend. “Thus far, with 13 out of 14 freshmen earning Dean's List honors, they have done so and we expect that to continue as we get into playing games.”

Bender (Mont Vernon, NH/Souhegan), a defenseman, has played 26 career games, collecting 19 ground balls. In 14 games as a junior, he had 12 ground balls in helping RPI post a 6-8 record.

A midfielder, Blackman (Ft. Montgomery, NY/James I. O'Neill) played all 14 games a season ago, tallying 22 ground balls. In 34 career games, he has an assist with four shots and 47 ground balls.

Also a midfielder, Cerone (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) is the top returning scorer for the Engineers, having scored 21 goals with two assists in 14 contests. He also had 81 shots with 27 ground balls on his way to earning All-Liberty League and All-ECAC honors. Cerone enters this season having scored 38 goals and 14 assists for 52 points in 44 career games. He also has 151 shots and 109 ground balls.

Bryant (Minnetonka, MN/The Blake School), who also plays in the midfield, has played 14 games in each of his three seasons. Last year he had an assist with nine shots and won 6 of 10 faceoffs. For his career, he has five goals and eight assists with 45 shots and 108 ground balls.

RPI opens the 2010 season on February 28 when it hosts Adrian College in their new home, the 5,200-seat East Campus Arena, at noon. The Engineers are also home on March 6 against RIT. That game begins at 1pm.