Jon Thompson heads into his first year as head coach of the Colby College men's lacrosse team and will have a veteran team to work with.

Thompson, a former player and assistant coach at Brown University, will need senior captains Caddy Brooks and Jason Forino and junior James Brady to lead on and off the field. Brooks was an All-NESCAC selection last year at attacker with 30 goals and 16 assists for 46 points. He heads into his final season with 70 goals and 52 assists for 122 career points. Meanwhile, Forino and Brady will be key roles in the midfield and defense.

Whit McCarthy '10 also returns after scoring 29 goals and dishing nine assists for 38 points. He went from a solid 15 goals in his first year to 29 last year and has 44 goals in two seasons. Todd Boertzel '09 was fifth in scoring for the Mules with seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points, while Stew Brown '10 (8 goals, 8 assists) and Mark Squicciarino '11 (6 goals, 3 assists) also return.

Jamie Leake '11 and Craig Bunker '11 both were active in face-offs last year. Brady, Collin Weiss '09, and Geoff Parr '09 will all be counted on in the midfield and on defense in front of goalie Alex Farmer '09.

The Mules finished 6-8 last year, but started the season at 5-0. Colby had some tough losses during the year, including a one-goal loss to Wesleyan. The Mules have beaten the eventual NESCAC champion during the regular season in the past two years. Colby defeated Williams last year and beat Middlebury two years ago.

Colby will be led on attack by junior Caddy Brooks, sophomore Whit McCarthy, and senior captain and midfielder Drew Piekarski, the three top scorers from last spring.

Junior Todd Boertzel will continue to be the workhorse in between the lines, picking up ground balls, playing tough defense, and being a scoring threat. Other contributors in the midfield will be senior Zach Goodnough (Brunswick, Maine), junior Sam Kennedy (Cumberland, Maine), and sophomores Stew Brown (Wilton, Conn.) and Russell Clark (Denver, Colo.).

Junior goalie Alex Farmer will be the voice from between the pipes for the Mules. Long-stick midfielders junior Geoff Parr and senior Evan Phelps will play along with junior defensemen Jason Forino and sophomore James Brady. The players all gained valuable experience last season and will come into the 2008 season with the skills to create big plays.