The men’s lacrosse team looks to start the 2009 season on the right note this Saturday when it travels to Worcester, Mass., to face Holy Cross in a non-conference match-up set to begin at noon.

Although the Elis have won seven of eight contests, they fell to the Crusaders (0-1) in last season’s opening game at Reese Stadium by a score of 7-6.

The home team led for much of the game, but attackman Brian Douglass ’11 saw his last-second shot blocked, preserving an upset win for the Crusaders.

Attackman Tyler Casertano ’08 led the Bulldogs on offense with two goals, while George Carafides ’08 made 17 stops in net.

Yale will be looking to compensate for a the loss of outgoing seniors such as Casertano and Carafides with what head coach Andy Shay described as a young team.

“We’re inexperienced in some spots, but experienced in others,” Shay said. “It’s a new group; I don’t really know what’s going to happen when they show up.”

Attackman Brendan Gibson ’10 leads the Elis on offense coming off an impressive 2008 campaign in which he scored 23 goals, while captain Matt Aronson ’09 is the squad’s most experienced defenseman.

Replacing Carafides in net will be a question mark for the Bulldogs, with Johnathan Falcone ’11 and Andy Brown ’12 vying for the spot.

Shay expected players to come out fired up looking to avenge last season’s loss, and ready to prove themselves on the field.

“We came out last year kind of flat, we definitely don’t want to do that this year,” he added. “I think the guys understand that, and hopefully we can take care of business.”