Men's Lacrosse looks to continue success in 2024

By Wes Mayberry

| 2024 Men's Lacrosse Schedule | 2024 Men's Lacrosse Roster |

ADA — After yet another winning season in 2023, the Ohio Northern men's lacrosse team is poised to continue its success in 2024 under ninth-year head coach Nat St. Laurent.

The Polar Bears posted their best start in program history at 5-0 in 2023 and finished 12-6 overall, marking the eighth time in the program's eight years of existence that it has finished with a winning record. The team posted a 6-3 mark in Ohio Athletic Conference play and capped the year with a fifth straight appearance in the OAC Tournament semifinals.

Looking to continue that success, the Polar Bears return a trio of 2023 All-OAC selections among 44 lettermen on the 2024 roster.

Fifth-year senior Andrew Reimer (Lancaster, N.Y.) and senior John Lynn (Cincinnati/Sycamore) return after being named to the All-OAC Second Team a year ago, and fifth-year senior Cole Zaferakis (Liverpool, N.Y.) is back as a two-time All-OAC Honorable Mention selection.

Reimer led the ONU defense last year, finishing with a team-high 28 caused turnovers and ranking second in ground balls with 61 in starting all 18 games. He added five points on two goals and three assists offensively. In 35 career games at ONU, Reimer has 73 ground balls and ranks 10th in program history with 33 caused turnovers.

Lynn finished 2023 with 28 points on 16 goals and 12 assists in 18 starts, ranking second on the team in assists and third in points. In 35 career games, he has 57 points on 38 goals and 19 assists. He enters the year just five goals, four assists and seven points shy of breaking into the program's top 10 lists in those categories.

Zaferakis is one of the top goalkeepers in the history of the program, as he enters 2024 as its all-time leader in saves (441) and wins (36) while ranking fourth in GAA (8.33). He recorded a single-season program record 142 saves in 2023 and tied his own program mark for wins with 12. He started all 18 games and closed the year with a 7.41 GAA and a .555 save percentage and was a three-time OAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Named to the InsideLacrosse.com All-Freshman Team in 2020, Zaferakis has started all 55 of his games at ONU and is a six-time OAC Defensive Player of the Week selection with a career record of 36-19 and save percentage of .535.

Other top returners include fifth-year seniors Tyler Ferguson (Springboro), Ethan Hojnacki (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), Riley O'Neal (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) and Alex Reimer (Lancaster, N.Y.), seniors Chad Calderwood (Portland, Ore./Episcopal), Andrew Caliri (Lexington, Mass.), Aidan Dempsey (Silver Spring, Md./St. John's College), Willy Hanson (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights), Sebastian Michaud (Springboro) and T.J. Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead), juniors Caleb Bennett (New Market, Md./Linganore), Luke Dittus (Liberty Township/St. Xavier) and Joe Keeley (Boynton Beach, Fla./Georgetown Prep) and sophomores Nathan Flynn (Springboro) and Colin Willits (West Chester/Lakota West).

Dempsey recorded five hat tricks and led ONU in goals (31), assists (16) and points (47) while adding 21 ground balls in 2023. Through 43 career games at ONU, he ranks sixth all-time in goals (57), assists (28) and points (85).

Michaud tallied three hat tricks and ranked second on the team in goals (27) and points (35) and added eight assists last season. Through 38 games at ONU, he ranks fourth all-time in hat tricks (8), sixth in goals (57), seventh in points (80) and 10th in assists (23).

O'Neal posted 26 points on 18 goals and eight assists in 2023. In 50 career games at ONU, he ranks fifth all-time in assists (34) to go with 28 goals for 62 points. He enters 2024 two points shy of joining the program's top 10 in that category.

Calderwood ranked fifth in the OAC in ground balls (76) and seventh in faceoff wins (135) last season, both of which marked ONU single-season records. In 45 career games at ONU, he is the program's all-time leader in ground balls (147) and ranks second in faceoff wins (298) and fifth in faceoff win percentage (.551).

Dittus and Smith also bring experience and success on faceoffs. Dittus ranks fourth all-time at ONU in faceoff win percentage (.559) and fifth in faceoff wins (152) in 25 games. Smith ranks third all-time in faceoff win percentage (.571) and seventh in faceoff wins (68).

Defensively, Keeley and Hojnacki return after solid seasons a year ago. Keeley ranked second on the team in caused turnovers (24) and third in ground balls (40) in 2023 and is tied for 10th all-time at ONU with 33 caused turnovers to go with 58 ground balls in 35 career games. Hojnacki recorded 14 caused turnovers and 28 ground balls last season and has 30 caused turnovers and 67 ground balls in 51 games at ONU.

Other returning lettermen include seniors Andrew Butera (Perrysburg), Grant Butler (Powell/Olentangy Liberty), Roman Casciani (Zionsville, Ind./Community), Michael Duffy (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard), Zachary Krempasky (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton), Gus Mandel (Cincinnati/Seven Hills), Bennett Michel (Perrysburg), Max Rosen (Buffalo, N.Y./Amherst Central), Nate Strauf (Pittsford, N.Y./Mendon) and Ben Wilson (Dublin/Bishop Watterson), juniors Trey Bradford (Tampa, Fla./Newsome), Robert Brunner (Cincinnati/Indian Hill), John Copes IV (Washington, D.C./Rock Creek Christian Academy), Canon Pfaff (Grafton, Wis.), Ian Roy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern), Jack Wasik (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) and Matt Wilder (Alington Heights, Ill./Saint Viator) and sophomores Alex Bergeron (Grafton, Mass.), Rudy DeFillippis (White Plains, N.Y.), Andrew Elfers (Mason), Luke Ferro (Bethesda, MD./Chevy Chase), John Hale (West Chester/Lakota West), Mark Mintzlaff (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute of St. Louis Country Day), Ian Phillips (Binghamton, N.Y./Seton Catholic Central), Brydan Pitman (West Chester/Lakota West) and Lance Stevenson (Dublin/Coffman).

Nine freshmen also join the 54-man roster.

The Polar Bears open their 2024 season hosting St. Vincent (Pa.) on Feb. 17. They will play five of their seven games in March away from home, including their OAC opener at John Carroll on March 23. The regular season concludes with a home game against Wilmington on April 24.

The OAC Tournament is scheduled for April 27 through May 4.