BURNABY, BC -- After posting a 14-1 record in 2009 and winning their second consecutive PNCLL Conference Championship, Simon Fraser will begin the 2010 season ranked No. 4 in the MCLA by the MCLA Lax Mag – Adidas Pre-Season Top 23 Poll. The Clan will look to win their ninth conference title this season and earn an opportunity to improve on back-to-back one-goal losses in the MCLA National Championship quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.

In their sixth season under Co-Head Coaches Jeff Cathrea and Brent Hoskins, Simon Fraser will look to build upon three out of conference (OOC) wins in 2009 as they embark on one of the nation's toughest schedules. 2010 features eight games versus OOC competition with nine opponents ranked in the Top 25, including eight of the top eleven and all four other teams ranked in the top five.

The Clan return ten of twelve starters, including four of six All-Americans and nine of thirteen All-Conference selections. With all five of their Top 5 scorers back for another year, a group that combined for 301 points in 2009, the Clan are one of several teams entering the 2010 season that must be considered a legitimate national title contender.

Of note, Simon Fraser will enter the season with two players sidelined due to injury. Senior midfield and face-off specialist, Ben Johnson (Calgary, AB/Berkshire Preparatory), a 2nd Team All-American in 2009, and junior midfield Ben Davies (New Westminster, BC/New Westminster Secondary) are questionable to return in 2010 after requiring off-season ACL knee surgery to recover from injuries suffered while playing box lacrosse this past summer. With the absence of Johnson and Davies, Cathrea and Hoskins will look to a strong freshmen class to step in early and contribute for the Clan in 2010.

ATTACK

Fraser returns all three starting attack, with senior Adam Foss (Cochrane, AB/Cochrane High School), senior Ben Towner (Port Coquitlam, BC/Terry Fox Secondary) and junior Chris Tessarolo (New Westminster, BC/New Westminster Secondary) expected to once again lead a high powered Clan offense that ranked first in MCLA scoring last season with an average of 18.13 goals per game, including 14.67 goals per game versus ranked opponents. SFU has scored in double digits 40 times in its last 42 games and is averaging 16.74 goals per game during that time (703 goals in 42 games). The high scoring trio, combined for 118 goals and 60 assists (14.83 ppg) in the 12 games they started together last season and will look to carry this pace forward against a much tougher schedule in 2010.

Towner led the MCLA Division I in goals per game in 2009 with 4.67 and finished 3rd in points per game with 6.00. Foss finished 6th in the MCLA in points per game with 5.27.

Towner was named a MCLA 1st Team All-American for the second consecutive season, while Foss was named to the MCLA All-America 2nd Team for the first time in his collegiate career. Additionally, all three players collected conference hardware with Foss and Towner named to the PNCLL All-Conference 1st Team and Tessarolo named to the PNCLL All-Conference 2nd Team. Towner was also named PNCLL Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, while Tessarolo was named PNCLL Conference Championship Final Four MVP.

Towner led the Clan with 70 goals and 90 points in 2009, while Foss finished first in assists with 42 and second in goals (37) and points (79). Tessarolo who played sparingly in the Clan's 2009 wins over Washington State (28-2), Idaho (15-5) and Oregon State (20-3) finished fourth in team points (48) with 33 goals and 15 assists.

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2010-02-06