Men's Lacrosse to Start 2025 on Sunday at Franklin Pierce

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Although the weather doesn't feel too spring-like in the Northeast, the University of Bridgeport's men's lacrosse team will begin its 2025 campaign on Sunday at Franklin Pierce. The Purple Knights and Ravens are set for a 1 p.m. start at Keene State College.

LAST SEASON
Bridgeport men's lacrosse, now in its third season as a varsity program, enjoyed a massive improvement from year one to year two. In fact, the Purple Knights upped their win total from just one in 2023 to a 7-8 record last season.

UB's 2024 campaign also featured a first-ever berth into the CACC playoffs. The fifth-seeded Purple Knights dropped a 16-13 first-round matchup to fourth-seeded Post.

Remarkably, the Purple Knights scored 72 more goals and gave up 40 less goals from last season to 2023. UB's six-win improvement from their maiden season to 2024 was the largest in the country.

THE 2025 SCHEDULE
UB's newest slate features a total of 14 contests, including seven to be played at Knights Field. The Purple Knights went 4-2 at home last season.

Bridgeport will begin 2025 with five straight non-conference games, including a first-ever matchup against Bentley. UB will starts its eight-game conference schedule against Georgian Court on March 15.

Following the regular season, the 2025 CACC Tournament will take place from April 28 – May 3 with the top five teams battling for the conference crown.

CACC PRESEASON POLL
The Purple Knights were slotted fourth in the CACC's preseason coaches poll released in late January. UB finished fifth in the league a year ago with a conference mark of 4-4.

Bridgeport's four conference wins over Holy Family, Felician, Caldwell and Dominican came by an average of 15.8 goals. UB's four CACC losses were to Wilmington (23-11), Post (14-11), Georgian Court (11-10) and Chestnut Hill (26-6).

THE RETURNERS
There will be many familiar faces when the Purple Knights take the field this spring. In fact, Bridgeport has a total of 22 players returning from its 2024 roster. The experience for UB also features a total of 21 upperclassmen on the squad. 

Amongst the returners are four CACC All-Conference performers from a year ago. Connor Cullen was named as a first-teamer while James Napoli, Ryan Thomas and Joe Martin were each tabbed to the CACC's All-Conference Second Team.

Napoli finished with team-highs in both assists (27) and total points (56) while also posting 29 goals (2nd on UB).

Cullen was far and away the best specialist in the CACC last year. The Long Islander won more than 200 faceoffs in 2024 while tallying a winning percentage of nearly 65 percent. 

Thomas, meanwhile, ranked second in the CACC in caused turnovers (32) and was recognized twice as the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.

THE NEWCOMERS
Coach Tempone welcomes 11 new players to the program this spring. The newest Purple Knights are composed of five freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors and a graduate student.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING (Quotes)

Channing Thomas, 3^rd Year - Assistant Coach

"We're all very excited to kick off season three! With a little more depth on both sides of the field this year, it's been a thrill to see the guys compete and push each other daily. While we're still working on building chemistry and finding our identity, our goal is to be playing our best lacrosse as we head into conference play. With nearly everyone returning from last year, along with some talented transfers and freshmen, we're looking to turn a few heads and make a statement this season."

Ryan Thomas, Junior Defenseman

"Going into the program's third year, I couldn't be more excited. We have a great group of guys that have been working extremely hard to make this a successful season. With a bunch of upperclassmen that have grown over the years and the addition of new faces, we are ready to compete at our highest level. I'm looking forward to a great season."

James Napoli, Junior Midfielder

"Being a part of this program for its first three years has been amazing to watch how much we have grown as people and as a team. Last season, we made a tremendous amount of progress and are only getting better. We have worked and learned from our mistakes, now it's time to put everything together and show everyone how far we've come."

For all information regarding Bridgeport Athletics, visit www.UBKnights.com and follow UB Athletics on Facebook (UBPurpleKnights), Twitter (@UBPurpleKnights) and Instagram (@UBPurpleKnights).