GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College men's lacrosse team will begin its 2013 season Saturday when they host the W&J Presidents. The game is set for a 1 p.m. start at the Rissell-Schreyer Dome.
 
This season's Thiel squad will feature 17 returning players from a season ago when the Tomcats went 3-11.
 
Among the returners are the top two scorers from a season ago, junior midfielders Carmen Papa (Salamanca, N.Y./Salamanca Central) and Francis Ahia (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills).
 
Papa led the Tomcats with 26 goals and 12 assists last season (38 points). Papa also recorded 50 ground balls last season and was credited with 10 forced turnovers. Ahia was second on the team with 25 goals and third on the team with 10 assists (35 points). He also led the Tomcats with 82 ground balls and 62 faceoff wins last year.
 
Also returning is sophomore attacker/midfielder Zachary Macurak (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park), who netted 12 goals and added four assists for 16 points in his freshman campaign.
 
The Tomcats also return a few top defenders from last season, including juniors Taylor Zain (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North), Josh Derricoatte (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaker Heights) (LSM) and Patrick Gill (Millvale, Pa./Shaler Area). Zain was credited with 24 ground balls and led the team with 20 caused turnovers last season. Derricoatte forced eight turnovers in 2012 and scooped up five ground balls while Gill recorded 20 ground balls and seven forced turnovers.
 
The Tomcats have four goalies on the roster: junior Alex Cornwell (Naples, Fla./Golden Gate) and sophomores Richard Cannon (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler Area), Ryan Weldon (Centereach, N.Y./Newfield) and Chris Haray (Bridgeport, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic). Weldon led the Tomcats with 141 saves last season while Haray made 43 saves and earned wins in both of his starts.
 
There are also six freshmen on the roster, including: attacker/midfielders Sean Loney (Linthicum, Md./North County) and Alex Casile (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel), attacker Timothy O'Shea (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley), defenseman/midfielder Erich Silvestro (Sanborn, N.Y./Starpoint Central) and defensemen Kevin Schuller (Youngstown, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney) and John Tenorio (Alexandria, Va./Mount Vernon).
 
After Saturday's game, the Tomcats will next play at home on Tuesday when they host Wooster at 7 p.m.