New conference, new era for Brockport men's lacrosse
- Brayden Peters
- Feb 22
- 6 min read
By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The Brockport Golden Eagles men's lacrosse team is going to have multiple new experiences this upcoming season. Not only will the Golden Eagles get their first action in the Empire 8, but they have a new head coach taking over the ship.
Nick Fiorentino comes in after coaching the Geneseo Knights from 2016-2021, leading them to three straight SUNYAC championship appearances from 2019-2021. The former Salisbury goalie also was an assistant coach for the then Chrome Lacrosse Club, now the Denver Outlaws, in the PLL from 2020-2021.
Preparing for the season hasn't been easy for Brockport due to the rough winter weather throughout January into February. It hasn't changed the team's focus on the season.
"I think up to this point, we're hungry, we're ready for some new colors and it's been a long preseason," Fiorentino said. "I think the thing I like the most is just the fact the guys have had an incredible attitude throughout all of this. Their outlook for wanting to get better each day and just their pure overall excitement to compete is very evident and through all of this adversity we've been facing...it's been quite the journey up to this point and I'm just extremely proud of how our guys have have handled it, our leadership from the top with our seniors all the way down to our first-year guys."
The Golden Eagles are going into the new season after finishing 4-11 in their final season in the SUNYAC. Brockport will be without former fifth-year attackman Nick Askin, older brother of senior midfielder Nate Askin, who posted 70 points (63 + seven) in 15 games played. With last year's performance, Nick Askin is sixth in career goals, 14th in career points, first in goals in a game (10), goals in a season and points in a season in program history.
The Golden Eagles will look to have Nate Askin as the one who can lead the offense, just like his older brother last year. Askin finished last season with 28 points (15 + 13) in 14 games played as he dealt with a lower body injury. He is already tied for the 10th most career points in program history with 73.
"Nate's hungry," Fiorentino said. "Nate's someone who wants to be great, he wants to be excellent. He wants to be the guy with the ball in his stick at the end of a game. I think those characteristics are going to allow him to have a lot of success this spring and the cool part about it is not one guy is expected to be a hero...Nate's really embraced that and because of it, what we're seeing in practice is he's having a lot of success and the guys all around him are having a lot of success."
The Golden Eagles' offense and defensive systems will be new this season. Brockport's offense last year was fifth in the SUNYAC in goals per game (11.07) while last in man up success rate (15.9 percent). Defensively, the Golden Eagles were fifth in the conference in goals against average (12.22) and last in caused turnovers (86). The team was also last in ground balls (350) and second in clear success rate (85.6 percent).
"I think from an offensive standpoint, we want to play fast," Fiorentino said. "It's something where both sides of the ball have to be focused on a six-man unit and not just one guy and it's going to take all of us to have success...It's not just understanding your responsibilities when you have the ball, but also what the responsibilities are when you don't have the ball and how that directly affects what happens with what the guy's looking at when he dodges and what happens on the backside. And it's the same thing defensively. We've been focusing big time on trusting each other and understanding that you're on ball and it's your job to defend the ball, but you have five guys behind you who are ready to support you and help you out in every situation that we could possibly get into."
The Golden Eagles will have a lot of new faces in the face-off and defensive midfielder department. Brockport has all new FOGOs and the majority of defensive midfielders are new. Notable losses from these departments were senior FOGO Andrew DiPalma, who had a face-off win rate of 54.4 percent last season and junior defensive midfielder Aidan Long, who was third on the team in caused turnovers (nine).
"All 43 guys we depend on right now and we have the upmost trust and respect for each other as teammates," Fiorentino said. "You got Nick Anges there, the freshman, that's going to be the face-off guy on the opening whistle on Monday. Nick is a very good, all around player and knows his stuff face-off wise. Nate (Askin) is going to take some face-offs. You got some other guys that are going to be in the mix there...the great thing about this group is that they're extremely competitive. There isn't anyone that they're not ready to go after and attack and compete against."
Brockport comes into the season with four transfers with the most notable being senior midfielder Jack Rice. He played Division II lacrosse at Saint Rose and last season, he posted 36 points (24 + 12) in 17 games played.
"There's always an adjustment whenever you are new to anything," Fiorentino said. "It's been a good transition, there's definitely been adjustments. It's taking on a whole new offensive system, it's learning about the guys next to you and their strengths and weaknesses and their personalities, how they communicate. I think one of the things that allowed it to be pretty smooth not just for him, but a lot of our guys is we are all in this together this year."
The Golden Eagles have 16 freshmen on the squad. A couple of them will see bigger roles for this year.
"You got (Pierson) Jacobs down at attack, he'll be involved in the mix," Fiorentino said. "(Peter) McGowan's in there from the midfield. We're pretty senior heavy there on that first midfield line, but there's guys like Michael Dowden, Gavin Wellington and Luke Lombardi...AJ Thomas down low is a close defenseman...we got a lot of guys who are going to play integral parts, Patrick Donahoe, Rorick Perry...we got guys all over the field that are getting some opportunities for the first time, but in that same breath they're eager, they're hungry for this."
Brockport's goalie room will still be led by senior Jack Acker. Being a former goalie himself, Fiorentino has worked with Acker in practice to help him find a consistent rhythm in between the pipes.
"I think the biggest thing we've focused on and worked on this offseason and into the spring is better body language," Fiorentino said. "He's got great tools, he's got quick hands, he sees the balls. What comes with being a goalie is not just stopping the ball, but also how you present yourself in the cage. His role this year is not just as the guy that saves the ball, makes outlets, but also to be the backbone of that defense and to do that, you've got to have a short-term memory and have a little more patience than you normally would and he's done an excellent job with that this spring. He's really done a much, much better job of his control of the cage, his body language, he has spoken excellently to his teammates."
Empire 8 action won't start for Brockport until Saturday, March 29 when the Golden Eagles host Hartwick. Brockport won't get to face Fiorentino's former team in Geneseo until Wednesday, April 2. The Knights will host the Golden Eagles for the contest. Senior day won't be until Saturday, April 12 at home against Utica. It'll be Brockport's second to last home game, as their final home stand before playoffs will be against Nazareth for Youth Lacrosse Day on Wednesday, April 23.
The Golden Eagles will get set for their first game of the season on Monday at home against Canton. Face-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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