At the end of the 2002 season, 12 seniors left the lacrosse team, including seven of the top 11. Last year there were ten graduates, including eight starters and two key reserves. The question this year is whether or not the Pirates can recover from such huge losses to be competitive in what promises to be the toughest conference in the state.

Last year's graduates included All American Goalie Zach Brewer (M.I.T.), All American Attackman Cory Coffman (Loyola), All-State Middie Andy Delamielleure (Queens), All-State Long Pole Tim Gregory, All-State Defenseman Mike Woodard, All Conference Attackman Owen Ham (Queens), and All Conference Middie Anthony Howard. Combined, those players accounted for 82 percnet of the Pirates goals in 2003.

When you combine that with the losses in 2002 of All Americans Chris Feifs (Maryland) and Kevin Raspet (Navy), All State Long Pole Ned Phillips (Goucher), All State Defenseman Nick Wallhauser, and Attackman Madison Thompson (Lees-McRae), the 2004 edition of the Pirates are going to be pressed to fill the holes. The leading returning scorer from last year only had seven goals, and they only return two starters. From most angles, this looks as if it's going to be a rebuilding year.

At attack, junior Andy Ross (7g, 3a) returns but must look to greatly increase his output if this unit is going to produce. There are six attackmen on the roster and it is still an open question as to who will be starting. Seniors Jay Whitaker (2g, 1a), and Matt Gornto will vie for the starting spots along with junior Lowell Dyer (3g). Dyer, at 6'4" and 260 lbs could be a formidable presence around the goal. Freshmen Tim Woolley has been very impressive in early season practice and his playing time will just depend on making the transition to high school lacrosse. Sophomore Alvin Black is athletic and has great promise.

The midfield units have the most returning experience and possess enough speed and depth to potentially be the crucial factor for this team. Senior co-captains T.L. Hutchins (4g, 3a) and Chris Cherry (2g, 4a) will anchor the first line along with senior Brian Jobe. Jobe is returning after missing most of last season with illness. Junior Joey Pietrantoni (3g) will anchor the second unit along with senior Alex Coulter (2g). The third slot will be filled by either junior Kyle Rooney, sophomore Jonathan Beck, or freshman Bob Kercher. The defensive middies will be seniors Ben McDonald, Bryce Adrian and junior Daniel Hodges-Copple. The Long Pole Middie duties will be handed over to first year player . Adams played lacrosse for the first time in the fall but has impressive athletic skills. He will be backed up by junior David Atwater and senior Ian Mikkelsen.

The defensive unit will be anchored by returning starter Bryan Thompson. This will be Bryan's third year as a starter and he will draw the opponent's biggest threat every game. Joining him will be juniors Chris Woolley and Murray Forbes. Woolley started about half the games last year because of injuries to other players and did a fine job. The fourth member of that unit will be senior Brian Farmer who is in great shape and can fill in for any one of the starters. This unit is very capable defensively, but is also agile, fast and capable stick handlers, which should help the Pirates, clear the ball. The defensive subs, all up from last years solid jayvee defense are juniors Stephen Crockett and David Stasiewicz.

In the goal will be senior Brian Ring. Brian has had the unfortunate timing to be behind two All State goalies in the past three years, Rich Ladd and Zach Brewer. He would have been a starter at most other schools. After a successful fall with the Triangle Select Team, Brian is looking to continue the solid tradition of Riverside goalies. Backing him up are seniors Ryan Webb and sophomore Brad Smith.

Potentially this version of the Pirates could be explosive. Certainly they don't have any offensive superstars like they have had the past few years. On the other hand that also means that opponents can't focus on one or two players. If they are to be successful, they will need to exhibit an offensive balance with multiple players scoring, and having a majority of assisted goals, just as their teams of the last millennium did. They will also need to play solid team defense and not rely on individuals playing outstanding defense. The potential is there, but it will be a question of how quickly it can develop.

The primary obstacle in the Pirates path is the tough schedule they face this year. Of their 12 regular season league games, they must face defending state champion Chapel Hill, PAC-VI rival Jordan and state semi-finalist East Chapel Hill all twice. Chapel Hill is deep, talented, well-coached and beat the Pirates twice last year. Jordan again returns an outstanding team with a tremendous defense and goalie and too many scoring threats to mention. East Chapel Hill barely lost at Wilmington Laney in the semi-finals last year and returns most of their team including standout goalie Peter Curtin. It will be very tough for the Pirates to escape these games with a .500 record.

The only out of conference foes Riverside faces are playoff teams Apex, Grimsley, and Mt. Tabor. Mt. Tabor boasts a solid team anchored by All State Middie Jamie Debole. Apex defeated the Pirates at the UNC Showcase in December and the Pirates have squeaked by Grimsley both the past two years. There simply are no breathers in that schedule. They also have to face Orange, who will be much improved with the new coaching staff of Brian Fox and Riverside Alum Nick Scroggs, and first year team Northern.

There is no doubt that it will be a very hard fight for the Pirates to return to the playoffs, much less keep up the tradition of being a state champion contender.