Men's Lacrosse Announces Team Captains for 2020 Season
1/23/2020 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sacred Heart men's lacrosse head coach Jon Basti has officially announced his team captains for the upcoming 2020 season. Among the list of captains includes Simon Quan, Brooks Dutton, Jake Lindahl, Austin Pavone and Logan Liljeberg.
"We are very excited about our leadership group this year," Coach Basti said. "There is a good mix of youth and experience. All five men are great examples of our culture and I am confident that they will do everything to help their teammates be successful in every part of their lives. They all understand that our culture is the most important thing about our program. We are look forward to this season because of our leadership."
The mix of five is a great balance between positions and experience. Quan is a fifth-year midfielder while Dutton (goalkeeper), Lindahl (midfield) and Pavone (defense) are seniors while Liljeberg (attack) is entering his junior year.
Quan headlines this group as the lone fifth-year and certainly brings toughness as the midfielder has battled injuries throughout his career. Quan suffered injuries in the season opener of both the 2017 and 2019 campaigns, returning for three games at the end of 2019 while missing the remaining 2017 season. He returns fully healthy in 2020 and ready to lead a midfield unit that will feature several new faces.
Dutton has been a stalwart in the net for the Pioneers since his rookie season in 2016. Having started 43 of a possible 45 games in his first three years, Dutton heads into 2020 second all-time at SHU in career wins as his 24-17 all-time record is just one win behind Matt McGreevy '98 for the all-time goalkeeper wins record at SHU. He also stands fifth all-time at SHU in career saves (428) and owns the second-best career goals-against average (10.96) heading into 2020. Dutton is coming off a 2019 season in which he set single-season career-highs in minutes (839:17) and saves (159) while his nine wins in net are the highest single-season win total for a Pioneer goalkeeper in SHU's Div. I history (since 2000).
Lindahl is a senior academically but he has only seen the field in two collegiate seasons as he redshirted the 2017 campaign. With two years under his belt, Lindahl has played in 29 games while he showed significant improvement across the board in his 2019 season compared to the 2018 campaign. In 2019, Lindahl posted six points (five goals, one assist) after producing two goals in 14 games in 2018. Lindahl also tallied 16 ground balls and four caused turnovers as he contributed all over the field last season.
An All-NEC Second Team selection in 2019, Pavone will be leaned on heavily in the Pioneer defensive end of the field after SHU saw key stalwarts Joseph Cipoletti and Landon Kramer graduate in 2019. Having started 28 consecutive games for the Pioneers, Pavone is one of the most-experienced field players SHU is bringing back in 2020. He was one of only three players on the team to start all 15 games last season while he earned his first career All-NEC nod. For the season, he racked up 16 ground balls with 11 caused turnovers as he looks to take on an even larger role in this new season.
The most-dynamic player to watch on the offensive end for SHU heading into the 2020 season, Liljeberg moves into an attack position this year after dominating at the midfield in his first two collegiate seasons at SHU. An All-NEC First Team selection in 2019, following an NEC All-Rookie Team nod in 2018, Liljeberg's 74 career points makes him the Pioneers' active career scoring leader heading into this season. His 2019 sophomore year was full of plenty of highs as Liljeberg improved statistically in every category as he posted 44 points on 24 goals and 20 assists to go along with 44 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers, 94 shots and 56 shots-on-goal. He was one of just two players in the nation to finish the regular season with at least 20 goals, 20 assists and 40 ground balls. Liljeberg has registered at least one point in all 30 career games played while he owns the fourth-longest active point streak among players entering their junior seasons.
Coming off a season wherein the Pioneers went 9-6 overall (4-2 NEC), while setting a single-season record for most road wins (five) and advancing to the NEC Tournament for a program record third straight season, SHU looks to continue its upward trajectory in 2020.
