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Clarkson University Athletics

2026 Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse Preview

AlfieriAlex2025VAS1
Will Leiphart

Men's Lacrosse | 2/11/2026 11:00:00 AM

Snake bit in nearly every conference game a year ago, the Clarkson University Men's Lacrosse team looks to have a little luck on its side during the 2026 season after missing the Liberty League Tournament a year ago.

Guided by long-time head coach Bill Bergan and assistants Gavin Yingling and Cole Zeller, the Knights return a strong defense, a calling card for the Green and Gold for years. The key for Clarkson in 2026 will be to turn around narrow defeats in conference contests: the Golden Knights final five losses in the Liberty League were by a combined eight goals, including three one-goal deficits.

Although the team lost grad student Matt Szwagulinski, a three-time All-American who ranked among the national leaders in caused turnovers, Clarkson does have starting goalkeeper Griffin Emerson and two of its starting defenders back in 2026. Emerson ranked third in the Liberty League in goals against average (8.20 gaa) with a .548 save percentage in more than 860 minutes of play. Senior Jack Garvey and junior Dylan Coan were both standouts for the Knights on defense, with Garvey starting all 16 games and ranking fourth in the Liberty League in caused turnovers per game (1.69 ctpg) and Coan ranking third on the team with 12 caused turnovers while also adding in 26 groundballs. Plenty of other contributors from a year ago are also back, including senior Joe Porto, who played a multi-dimensional role as both a defender and on faceoffs. Senior Henry Bergeron and juniors Zach Tiffany, Tristen Dillon, and Steve Getsie saw time while sophomores Joe Gravante and Jake Bennett got accustomed to the college game. Clarkson will also be looking to freshmen Ethan Hemingway, Rarihwenote Maracle, and Kevin Fusci to make quick strides and impact the Knights in their first collegiate season.

While Emerson got the lion's share of minutes in the crease a year ago, Chris Kozloski saw a little time in his first season. Classmate Ben Keens missed last year but is back for another run with the Knights, and freshmen Dylan Robinson and Tucker Ives will also vie for time between the pipes this spring.

The Clarkson offense lost a significant amount of players due to graduation, including its second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth leading scorers. Fortunately for the Knights, the offense was distributed to numerous goal scorers. Junior Robert Fox was the team's leading scorer in his second season, having produced 48 points on 19 goals and 29 assists, with his 3.00 points per game ranking eighth in the conference and his 1.81 assists per game placing third in the league. Experience returns in the way of graduate students Connor Holly and Alex Alfieri, who combined to produce 27 goals and 45 total points a year ago. Ian Erskine, Ethan Hopkins, and Mario Streiff, relative newcomers compared to the two grad students, also played well last year, producing 27 more goals, collectively, including 14 from the freshman Erskine. Joining Erskine at attack are juniors Parker Leary and Jack Burns and classmate Peter Siracuse return looking for larger roles, while first-year collegians Donnie Duffus, Charlie Preheim, and Kage Loftus are primed to make early impacts.

In the midfield providing both offensive and defensive punch are a number of returners. Alfieri, Streiff, and Hopkins have already been mentioned for their output closer to the goal, but the Knights have plenty of potential contributors with experience. CJ Krug, James O'Rourke, James Auszura, and Derek Torres have all seen time in the past as upperclassmen, while the sophomore class includes Kyle Gallagher, Ryan Baccaro, Jamie Rhoades, and Blake Preston each saw time on the turf in their first season. Freshmen William Goyette, Jack Stanney, and Sam Wesson are expected to carve out significant roles for themselves this season, and fellow newcomers Ian Mack Andrew Pokorski, and JP Trojan will also bid for time. Finally, at the faceoff 'x', Gabe Vassallo and Jack Borges will look to replace the output of departed veterans Logan Wilkinson and Alex Seiler, as those two seniors combined to take nearly 70% of the faceoff attempts in 2025.


 
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Players Mentioned

Alex Seiler

#17 Alex Seiler

M
6' 5"
Senior
Matt Szwagulinski

#19 Matt Szwagulinski

D
5' 11"
Graduate Student
Logan Wilkinson

#32 Logan Wilkinson

M
5' 9"
Senior
Alex Alfieri

#4 Alex Alfieri

M
6' 2"
Graduate Student
James Auszura

#23 James Auszura

M
5' 11"
Junior
Ryan Baccaro

#15 Ryan Baccaro

M
5' 9"
Sophomore
Jake Bennett

#35 Jake Bennett

D
5' 9"
Sophomore
Henry Bergeron

#48 Henry Bergeron

D
6' 5"
Senior
Jack Burns

#3 Jack Burns

A
6' 0"
Junior
Dylan Coan

#26 Dylan Coan

D
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Alex Seiler

#17 Alex Seiler

6' 5"
Senior
M
Matt Szwagulinski

#19 Matt Szwagulinski

5' 11"
Graduate Student
D
Logan Wilkinson

#32 Logan Wilkinson

5' 9"
Senior
M
Alex Alfieri

#4 Alex Alfieri

6' 2"
Graduate Student
M
James Auszura

#23 James Auszura

5' 11"
Junior
M
Ryan Baccaro

#15 Ryan Baccaro

5' 9"
Sophomore
M
Jake Bennett

#35 Jake Bennett

5' 9"
Sophomore
D
Henry Bergeron

#48 Henry Bergeron

6' 5"
Senior
D
Jack Burns

#3 Jack Burns

6' 0"
Junior
A
Dylan Coan

#26 Dylan Coan

6' 0"
Junior
D