SJR LAX: Don't Mesh With Us!

Few teams in program history have entered the season with as much anticipation as the 2026 Green Knights.

The Green Knights return nearly every starter from last year's roster, bringing back a loaded, senior-heavy group.

“We've never had a team with this much experience returning,” said Coach DaPonte.

“So the expectations that I have on this team are definitely higher than any St. Joe's Lacrosse team I've had in the last 10 years here.”

More than anything, this team is defined by its experience. 

On offense, the Green Knights are returning their top five goal scorers from the 2025 campaign, which saw a 7-13 season. Leading the way is Manhattan-bound Tommy Langenmayr, who is fresh off a 26-goal season. He’s joined by seniors Jason Lake, Gettysburg commit Jayden Baldwin, NJIT commit Janyk Krisulevicz, and Merrimack commit junior Matt Gorham.

“It's great, you really know each other, you know each other's habits, and you're always going to know what they’re going to produce,” said Captain Jayden Baldwin.

“I am just really excited to be creative with those guys and grow with them.”

Defensively, it’s the same story, loaded with returning talent. 

In 2025, the Green Knights' defense was built around Cortland-bound Chris Ahern, Evan Swift, and Cam Aime, and Coach DaPonte is running it back with the core.

“It's definitely reassuring knowing that we have guys that played last year and guys that know what it's like to be in a game,” said Cam Aime.

“So I think we're really going to have a great defense this year.”

Behind the defense, the Green Knights are returning senior Roman Rodriguez, who has appeared in 19 career games dating back to his freshman year. In 2025, Rodriguez saw action in 11 games and saved 67 shots with 107 career saves.

At faceoff, Coach DaPonte has two main options. First being Wagner signee Evan Errigo, who had a 70% face off win percentage in 199 total face-offs taken. The other option is Salve Regina-bound junior Jimmy Heffernan, who had a 50% win percentage on 143 total face-offs.

The Green Knights will be tested all season long, with a schedule that is loaded with some of the top public schools in the state, along with private school powerhouses like St. Augustine. Before they begin their state play, they’ll travel down to Orlando, Florida, to face off against Flint Hill (VA) and Timber Creek (FL). After returning from the Sunshine State, they’ll play host to national powerhouse IMG Academy (FL).

“Going to Florida is really about the team bonding, as much as we practice, and we play two games where we're down there, it's really more about the team having a good time, and really getting focused on what the goal is for the season,” said Coach DaPonte.

“It’s very different bringing IMG National up here. We have no problem playing the best teams around, and they reached out to us. 
And we said, why not? There's no reason not to play them.”

The Green Knights' 2026 season will get underway on March 27th against Flint Hill (VA) in Orlando.