UMass Dartmouth places third in first Little East Conference men's lacrosse season

The 2002 men's lacrosse season produced several firsts for Coach Jeff Feroce's Corsairs. UMass Dartmouth finished the season with a 9-8 overall record and a 4-2 mark for third place in the Little East Conference.

In its second appearance in the LEC Tournament in as many years, the Corsairs scored two tournament wins to advance to their first LEC Tournament championship. Despite losing to Eastern Connecticut in the title game, UMass Dartmouth was rewarded for its success with its first invitation to the ECAC Division III New England Tournament. Seventh-seeded UMass Dartmouth dropped a 21-11 decision to #2 Babson College in the tournament quarterfinals.

The 2002 season featured solid performances from returning veterans and also the surprising development of a core of younger players who set the stage for future success.

One of the biggest surprises of the season was the play of sophomore Jeff McKee (Ashland, MA). With a total of 80 points to lead UMass Dartmouth in scoring, McKee netted 34 goals (3rd on the team) with an LEC-leading 46 assists, an average of 2.89 assists per game. McKee placed sixth nationally in the NCAA Division III in assist per game. He was second among LEC scoring leaders with a 4.89 points per game average and finished tied for seventh in scoring at 2.00 goals per game.

A second surprise was the development of first-year player Ben Bradley (Hadley, MA). A two-time Little East Conference Rookie of the Week, Bradley was third in scoring for the Corsairs with 37 goals (2nd on the team) and eight assists for 45 points. His 2.3 goals per game ranked him fifth overall in the conference. Bradley twice scored five goals in a game.

Not surprising for the Corsairs was the steady play of senior Jim Ruggeri (Waltham, MA). With a team-leading 50 goals and 13 assists (4th on the team), Ruggeri was UMass Dartmouth's second-leading scorer with 63 points and among the leaders in the LEC. Ruggeri averaged 2.9 goals per game to finish third in the LEC and was 7th in scoring with 3.63 points per game. Ruggeri earned LEC Player of Week honors on April 29 following a seven-goal and one assist performance against Plymouth State College. Ruggeri also had a six-goal game and three times netted five goals in a game. His top single game effort was six goals and three assists for nine points in a win over Clark University.

Among the Corsairs' other top scorers for 2002 were junior Ryan McDonald (Weymouth, MA) (15-19-34), senior Bryan Wallace (Wilbraham, MA) (16-14-30) and sophomore John King (Ashland, MA) (15-10-25).

Considering that the Corsairs were counting on a new goalie this season, Feroce and the Corsairs were very pleased with a strong effort from sophomore Mike Jenkins (Ashland, MA). Playing virtually the entire season in net, Jenkins posted a .606 saves percentage, third best in the LEC, and was fourth in goals against average at 9.97 goals per game. Jenkins came up with 247 saves on 418 shots during the season.