By: Ross Rodney I Published: March 27, 2025
After a 12-7 2024 season and a berth to the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) Tournament which ended with a loss to number one ranked Salisbury University, the Kean University Men’s Lacrosse team were left looking for a new coach to take over after the retirement of Coach Shelley Sheiner in June of last year; Sheiner retired as the programs all-time most winning coach with 223 wins.
Alex Lopes was named the new Head Coach on Aug. 9, 2024. Coach Lopes is familiar with Kean Lacrosse, he served as an assistant under coach Sheiner from 2009-2012 and in 2021 when the Cougars made their last appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
“Kean is home for me, this was my first coaching job… I met my wife here, we got married across the street in the STEM building, she’s a hall of famer here… I’m just so fortunate that I’m walking in at a moment where there is a group of guys that are just hungry… I have to tip my hat off to Coach Sheiner. We have incredible kids.” Coach Lopes said.
With Head Coach Lopes at the helm, the Cougars will be taking on a new identity and culture.
“I want our atmosphere and culture to be based around enjoyment and fun, Lopes wants his guys to enjoy themselves while getting better and this all starts at practice.
“ We practice more than we play… we keep practice upbeat and fun, we blast music, we banter, we chirp each other but at the end of the day we stay efficient,” Coach Lopes added
As they look to put together an impressive 2025 season, Lopes will be counting on his senior leaders.
Nick Thorne is one of them returning to the program for his senior season. Last season, Thorne was selected to the CLC First Team.
“Personally I’m not as much of a vocal leader but I try to lead by example,” Thorne said.
Fellow senior, Kenny Yeager, will also be counted on as a voice for the defense. Last season, Kenny was selected for the CLC All-Tournament Team.
“It’s easy to be a senior and walk in the season, like ‘oh this is my last year’, and be selfish about it. We’re trying to be as helpful as we can and pave the way for the guys below us… I try and help out anyway I can,” Yeager said.
It’s looking good so far as the Cougars have started the season on fire. The team has a 8-2 record to start the season and before their second loss against SUNY Geneseo, the Cougars were on a seven-game winning streak.
After the loss, Lopes challenged his team to put in the extra work in the film room, take care of their bodies, and work on their game before their last game against Muhlenberg College in which they won.
“We talked about, it could be five more minutes of film, five more minutes of wall ball, an extra few minutes of film to get your body ready for practice and the game… rewarding ourselves last Saturday with a big win after doing a little bit more is probably the best thing we could ask for,” Coach Lopes said
Coming up this weekend, the Cougars will get their shot at the No. 2 ranked team in the country, Salisbury, on Saturday.
The Cougars will have their work cut out for them facing such a tough opponent.
2024 CLC All Tournament Team Selection- Kenny Yeager I Photo Credit: Kean Athletics
“Coming off a good win, we want to keep the ball rolling… We’ll watch some film and go over some stuff but it’s really what we’re doing as a team and not what other teams are doing… obviously they are a good team but we’re going to try our best to just play our game,” Thorn said. .
Coach Lopes is expecting a lot from his guys and echoed the same sentiment as Thorne.
“ We are always worried about us first… we are not trying to reinvent the wheel and start from scratch here… we always had this week circled not because it’s number two Salisbury but because it’s the first conference game,” Lopes added.
You must be logged in to post a comment.