Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: AIDAN SHINNERS; STAFF WRITER
The St. Bonaventure University men’s lacrosse team traveled to Chester, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 19 to compete in the HEADstrong Fall Event Series.
The Bonnies, led by new head coach Brendan Storrier, took on teams such as Michigan University, who finished last season with three victories over top 20 ranked opponents, and Marist University, who finished with an 8-8 record the previous season.
Junior attacker PJ Shanahan, who scored 16 goals last season, said fall ball at HEADstrong went as well as it possibly could have for the Bonnies.
“The team learned how to play fast, effective and together,” Shanahan said. “There were many question marks coming in, but team leadership and our coaches really helped answer those questions.”
Shanahan added that having the ability to play against strong teams like Michigan gives the team confidence they can compete regardless of who their opponent is.
“Playing teams like Michigan really showed everyone how once you are out on the field playing with those guys, there really is not that much of a difference,” Shanahan said. “No matter who we are playing, we know we can hang, because we are all just lacrosse players, and it comes down to who wants it more.”
Shanahan, who led the Bonnies in points last season, noted the adjustment to the team’s pace of play with the addition of Storrier.
“Adjusting from the conservative pace of play from last year was definitely a little challenging,” Shanahan said. “It’s going to be exciting to watch because it’s all gas, no breaks moving forward.”
Shanahan mentioned that the faster pace of play this season should also result in more goals being scored by the Bonnies.
“The pace of play is going to be electric,” said Shanahan. “A lot of goals are going to be scored.”
Coach Storrier comes from a winning background at his previous position, Limestone University in South Carolina, finishing his tenure as a Saint with a 66-13 record and four consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. Shanahan said that Storrier has brought that winning background to St. Bonaventure and has pushed players every single practice.
“Coach Storrier has been monumental in creating a lacrosse environment that entails discipline, attention to detail, and winning,” Shanahan said. “Practices are intense and motivating. Players are pushed to be the best they can be each and every day.”
Shanahan added that Storrier constantly reminds the team of how fortunate they are to be playing Division I lacrosse here at Bonaventure.
“We are consistently reminded that it is an honor and privilege to be playing D1 lacrosse here at St. Bonaventure University,” Shanahan said. “We get to choose to play lacrosse, when many others do not have a choice or cannot play, it keeps us humble.”
Shanahan is excited to continue to work with the team and is ready for their first matchup of the season against the Virginia Military Institute.
“The team will continue to work on chemistry going into our first game against VMI, because once again, we are a very young group collectively,” Shanahan said. “I truly believe there is going to be great lacrosse played in the spring.”
