The unfortunate nature of the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, has forced Hudson Valley Community College as well as the NJCAA and the NCAA to cancel the remainder of the spring seasons. Although the seasons will not go on, the Vikings department of athletics wants to take this opportunity to still highlight the spring programs.
During the offseason, The Vikings men's lacrosse program welcomed first-year head coach Rich Aberle to the Valley. Coach Aberle brings years of lacrosse experience following stops at Green Mountain and Union College.
As a team, the Vikings lacrosse program welcomed back four returners from a season ago. Hudson Valley faced a tall order to replace their top four scorers from 2019 in Austin Hinderliter, Darren Nagy, John Lawlor and Nathan Bruce, who combined to score 118 goals and 145 points.
The men's lacrosse team is the only spring program to see any action before the Coronavirus pandemic quickly changed the landscape of the NJCAA spring sports season. The Vikings kicked off the 2020 season on Sunday, March 8 when they hosted nationally-ranked Mercer at the Outdoor Athletic Complex on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College.
The Vikings fell 18-7 to the Mercer Vikings, but Hudson Valley showed some positive play that they could build on throughout the year. Carson Morgan scored three goals, Patrick Trippany recorded three assists and Emmanuel Wilson and Michael Kenneally both scored two goals.
The offensive emergence of Morgan, Wilson and Kenneally provided the Vikings with a quality trio that was expected to take over as focal points in the 2020 season.
Kenneally also headlines as one of the four returners from the 2019 team. Joining Kenneally is defender Tanner Fahr, midfielder Kerry Blackwood and defender Nicholis Rosado.
Blackwood started played in all 14 games in 2019 and split the face-off role, winning 76 face-offs last season. Fahr will continue his main role as one of the Vikings top defenders. Rosado played in 13 games last season and recorded 14 ground balls on the defensive side of the field.
Coach Aberle on the sophomore class:
#1 Tahj Snow: Tahj was new to the sport this season, but he was a great athlete and a quick learner. He showed up every day eager to learn and to get better. He was always asking questions and working hard to expand the role he had on this team. His potential was only just being untapped as our season came to an end. His last three practices were different, he really turned a corner and was becoming a very good defensive middie and would have been an impact player going forward. Luckily for him his athletic career is not over, and the Waldorf College Football program is getting a great athlete, and a better person.
#5 Nick Vennard: You could tell Nick's love of the game from the first team meeting of the season. Nick is one of the more loyal and respectful kids you will come across. When you combine loyalty, respect and a love for the game, you have the recipe for a special kid. Nick was a leader on this team, and his game in goal backed it up as well. He epitomized what you want in a goalie, a drive to get better, quick hands, a short memory--he never let a goal fluster him going forward--, and a flair for the dramatic. Nick is still pondering his future, but I know that he has a bright future ahead of him.
#6 Tanner Fahr: Tanner was a fiery competitor who took on the role of personally anchoring the defense. He always looked forward to covering the other team's best player and was ready to welcome that challenge week in and week out. Over the course of this shortened season, you could see a lot of growth in Tanner: he learned that sometimes it's best to turn down that fiery personality and be more of a leader and teach some of our younger defensemen what they needed to do on defense. He also knew when it was time to ratchet it up, and bring more of his boundless energy to act as a catalyst for the team when they needed to pick it up. Tanner is a skilled and hard-working young man, we are excited to see what the future holds.
#7 Kerry Blackwood: Kerry was always a player you can count on. As a coach, you would love a team filled with Kerry Blackwoods, a player who never complained, was always there on time, a player that you could count on. Off the field, he had one of the highest GPAs on the team, and you never had to worry about him attending class or doing his school work. On the field, he was the same way, he worked hard to fill an expanded role from the year before, and the strides he was making were visible. He bought into the schemes we were trying to run and was a true throwback old school two-way middie. He was an offensive threat on one end, and could get back and play defense on the other end. More importantly, he was great at clearing the ball. His game and confidence were only improving, and we are excited for things to come for him at SUNY Cobleskill.
#12 Mike Kenneally: Mike was a lead-by-example kind of player. Not only did he take on a rigorous academic schedule and have success in the classroom, but he was also the type of player that every day after practice would ask for the ball bag and what time the lights were going off so he could get his extra reps in. As the season progressed, that natural leadership showed up more and he was always trying to help the team get better, whether that meant getting more kids to shoot with him after practice or recruiting athletes already on campus to join the team. Mike also took time to explain things to his teammates both in study hall and on the practice field. Mike was willing to play any role, he played some attack, was a workhorse middie, as was open to play some man down long pole. Mike was a do-all player with a great attitude and will for surely be missed. I know his future is bright and I am excited to see what comes of it.
27 Nicholis Rosado: Nicholis is quite the young man. He was showing real improvement on and off the field as the season was progressing. Things were starting to click for this young man, and the results were visible on and off the field. His love of playing the game was obvious and he always welcomed the challenge to get better and improve his conditioning. He works hard on bettering himself and setting up a bright future for himself. He definitely is a planner and has high hopes for that future whether that's going to the Albany Police Academy, going to a four-year institution, joining the military, or perhaps adopting another well-conceived idea. The drive to better one's future is not always present in some kids and it's refreshing to see a kid work to better his circumstances and that's what Nicholis strives to do daily. We wish him the best of luck going forward.
Although the 2020 season has been canceled, our lacrosse coaches want to hear from all prospective student-athletes interested in playing at Hudson Valley next season. Be sure to reach out and let them know you want to be a VIKING!