LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Men's Lacrosse Head Coach Ed Stephenson named three team captains on Tuesday for the program's upcoming 2016 season. The three players receiving the honor are freshman goalkeeper Grant Lardieri (Ada, Mich.), sophomore defender Will Puduski (Westford, Mass.), and sophomore attackman Sean Tyrrell (Calgary, Alberta).

"I'm thrilled with the selection of our team captains for the upcoming season," said Stephenson. "These three have the fundamental characteristics that are important to leadership: character, integrity, work ethic, courage, enthusiasm and energy. We also felt it was important this year to have representation on both sides of the field as well as from our freshmen class."

Lardieri becomes the first goalie and just the fourth freshman to be named captain in UMass Lowell's Division I history. A three-time All-State first team performer in high school, Lardieri holds the career record for saves in the state of Michigan (901).

"Grant is relatively quiet, but when he talks you know you need to listen," said Stephenson. "He is an exceptional student, a SAAC representative, a UML Chancellor's scholarship recipient and has tremendous integrity."

Puduski appeared in seven games while starting four during the 2015 season. He finished sixth on the team with 21 ground balls and tallied his first career point against Wagner on February 28.

"When I read the book The Hard Hat, which detailed George Boiardi's enduring leadership, I knew that Will Puduski would be a captain for this year's team," said Stephenson. "His energy, drive, determination and character are a beacon for this squad."

One of four captains for the 2015 season, Tyrrell was the River Hawks' co-leader in goals (14) and finished second on the team in points (24) en route to a place on the America East All-Rookie Team. Tyrrell registered three or more goals in three different games including a career-high four goals in UMass Lowell's first Division I win against NJIT.

"Sean Tyrrell has consistently been improving his communication skills and speed of play," said Stephenson. "Coach Gould has emphasized these characteristics as core values on the offensive end of the field."