Irvine, Calif. – Saturday marks the start of the 2023 spring season for the nationally-ranked Concordia University Irvine men's lacrosse team.

CUI finished the 2022 campaign with a 13-3 record losing their three games by a combined four goals. The expectations for the 2023 season are very high and the Golden Eagles will be tested right out of the gate as they host the No. 3 team in the country, BYU. The schedule doesn't get any easier after that as 12 of their 14 regular season games are against Preseason Top 25 teams.

"We finished last season with the sixth-best strength of schedule in the entire country but the seeding committee said we didn't have any signature wins which is why we were seeded low heading into Nationals," said CUI head coach Jesse Foss. "In 2023, we wanted to leave no doubt. So we scheduled the preseason favorite from the top six conferences in the country. There will be no questions at the end of this season about quality opponents."

In addition to a rigorous SLC conference schedule, the Golden Eagles will host 2022 National Champion South Carolina, No. 3 BYU, No. 13 Cal, No. 15 Cal Poly, and No. 25 UCSB. They will also hit the road to play out-of-conference opponents No. 4 Virginia Tech and No. 6 Liberty.

"The east coast trip against back to back Top 10 teams is important for us to get comfortable traveling and playing the Monday-Tuesday schedule at Nationals if we prove worthy of a bid," Foss explained.

There is a lot to be excited about heading into the spring campaign. The CUI offense returns four of their six starters from 2022 including Andrew Buckley (2^nd team All-Conference), Tyler Collins (2^nd team All-Conference), and Brett Masaki (Hon. Mention All-Conference). Graduate transfer Nick Beeson from Bryant University has added some instant firepower to the group.

The CUI defense returns all but one from the 2022 starting group. The backline will be headed by Jake Cloutier (3^rd team All American; 1^st team All-Conference) and Braden Schneider (Hon. Mention All American; 1^st team All-Conference). The Eagles start the season with a heated goalie battle between returner Daniel Yang and transfer Ryan Richters. "Both of them are incredible ball stoppers and have the ability to be starters. We will see how it shakes out but it is an amazing problem to have." Foss explained.

"The special team groups is where we really feel we can make the difference in games," Foss said. They return junior FOGO Cade Poe (Conference Defensive Player of the Year; 2^nd team All American) as well as bring in Whittier transfer FOGO Tristan Keyser. Tristan was ranked in the NCAA D3 Top 25 in Face Off Win % in 2022. "The 1-2 combo of Cade and Tristan will be tough for opponents to counter." Foss explained.

The regular season is set to conclude on Saturday, April 22nd against conference rival Chapman. The game will be "Senior Day" where we will honor our five seniors; Brett Masaki, Tyler Collins, Jacob Schrup, Hunter Teston, and Justin DeFoe.

"This is my fifth season at CUI and we have been steadily building up to this year," added Foss. "I believe we have the talent, depth, and chemistry to play deep into May. Last year we fell short at the end after an incredible regular season. Heading into this year we have corrected the issues that tripped us up and our excited to bring the program to new heights!"

CLICK HERE to view the entire 2023 Men's Lacrosse Roster!

CLICK HERE to view the entire 2023 Men's Lacrosse Schedule!