Cards Looking Forward to 2009-10 with 15 Lettermen Back, 13 Newcomers to Support the Cause

Returning their top five scorers, a pair of veteran defenders and a goalie who started four contests a year ago, Wesleyan has seven additional lettermen back from 2008-09 and a bumber crop of newcomers to give the Cardinals a chance to make 2009-10 a memorable season.

Team co-captains Sam Robinson '10 (#24, right side of photo) and David Layne '10 (#12, left side of photo) paced the team in scoring a year ago as Robinson had 17 points on five goals and a team-high 12 assists. Layne had a team-best seven goals and added five assists for 12 points. Also back with 12 points from last season is Tom Salah '12 (1-11-12) while Jeff Beck '10 and Geoff Mucha '12 tied for fourth on the team with 5-3-8. These five forwards will be complemented by Henry Coxe '11, Woody Redpath '10, A.J. Ferraro '12 and Anthony DePietto '12 as forwards who saw considerable action in 2008-09. Thus Wesleyan has the makings of three very capable lines just from its experienced returnees. Wesleyan also has six players coming in as forwards in the class of 2013 and picked up a blue-chip transfer in Brett Bandazian '11, who led Skidmore in scoring with 24 points last season as a sophomore and has 41 career points.

Wesleyan has a bit more rebuilding to do on defense with top returnees Todd Keats '11 and Dan Sullivan '11 leading the way. The Cardinals also welcome back Anthony Christiano '10, who missed most of 2008-09 due to injury. He played in 17 games in 2007-08. Help also will be expected from Sam Campbell-Decock '10 and Ben Stockman '11 as well as four frosh who come in a blue-line prospects.

In goal, Tom Archibald '10 has the most experience with 245 minutes played in 2008-09, resulting in a .902 save percentage and a 3.67 goals-against average. His 34 saves during the second game of the season provided the Cardinals with a 1-0 win over Amherst, a team that went on to win the NESCAC tournament and reached the NCAA Division III quarter-finals. Also looking for time between the pipes will be Ryan Moses '11 and a pair of newcomers.

Wesleyan had the auspicious task of being the first team to take on the defending NESCAC champs from Amherst in the season opener Fri., Nov. 20 on the road before closing out the initial league weekend with a visit to Hamilton Sat, Nov. 21. Wesleyan gave Amherst a run for its money before falling 6-3. The Cardinals, with freshmen and sophomores doing all the scoring, forged a 3-2 lead in the second period with Bandazian, Salah and newcomers John Guay '13 accounting for the goals. Mucha had a pair of assists as did Adam Kaiser '13. But Amherst tied it up with 7:09 left in the middle stanza and took the lead for good with a power-play goal with 3:54 to go in the second. When the Lord Jeffs added an insurance goal midway through the third period, it prompted the Cardinals to pull keeper Archibald, who had 38 stops, in the closing moments and Amherst added an empty-net goal with 1:41 to play.

(Photos courtesy of SteveMcLaughlinPhotography.com)

Click here for recent headlines