When Dennis Rosson graduated last spring, the St. Mary's attackman capped a four-year career that included 127 goals, 66 assists and 76 groundballs, a spot on the Capital Athletic Conference first time in 2011 and the league Rookie of the Year honor in 2008.
Filling the void created by Rosson's departure is a priority. Senior J.P. Lennon posted 22 goals and two assists last season, and senior John Dehm (2, 1) is poised to join Lennon as a starter.
Perhaps the most significant move is the decision to shift junior Patrick Mull from midfield to attack. Mull tied Rosson for the team lead in assists with 16 each in 2011.
"Patrick Mull has been our leading assists guy since he's been here," coach Chris Hasbrouck said. "Patrick's worked extremely hard. We've moved him back to attack to kind of quarterback things. He sees the field very well."
Quantity is the issue with the defense, which graduated three defensemen and one long-stick midfielder.
The unit does return one starting defenseman in junior Justin Harty (11 groundballs and 10 caused turnovers). Junior Dalton Yohn, the team's No. 2 long-stick midfielder last season, has moved to close defense, and sophomore transfer Tripp Trainor (St. Joseph's) is poised to become a starter. Sophomore David Mitchell-McShane is also in the mix.
The defense is fortunately anchored by senior goalkeeper Stu Wheeler, who registered a 9.53 goals-against average and a .536 save percentage last year.
"He's a student of the game, and he gives us great leadership, especially with a changing defense," Hasbrouck said. "We've got some new faces back there, and he's a very good influence on them. So we're happy he's there."