The Red Devils entered the 2025 campaign as the tenth-ranked team in the country after accomplishing their second Centennial Conference three-peat last season and NCAA tournament appearance. While many program legends such as Skyler Schluter, Ben Tomick, and John McKee have moved on, the team is still poised for a strong year. Winning a fourth consecutive conference championship would result in the first four-peat in program history.
This senior class knows success within the strenuous Centennial Conference. Leadership remains a strength for the Red Devils. Captain attackers Owen Porter ‘25, Ethan Gess ‘25, and defender Evan Karetsos and long stick midfielder Capp Reynolds ‘25 all are prepared to take on influential roles on and off the field this year.
Coach Dave Webster raved about his four captains, both for their leadership along with their skills throughout their career. “Capp has been a consistent top player for us for several years. He has been a good leader for us defensively along with Evan, and then we have two offensive players. So good balance at every position which is great,” Webster said.
Offensively, Webster praised both Porter and Gess. “Owen Porter is a great energy and hustle guy. He makes a lot of plays with that kind of effort and inspires a lot of guys. He was one of our award winners last year, winning the Hear Award and he won that because of his hustle plays and the energy he creates.” Gess battled injuries last year, but remained a focal point for the team. “In the offseason, his work in the weight room and his skill development has helped a ton since his freshmen year. They are all a little different, but really complement each other and it’s a great group.”
The goalkeeper position, last manned by Patrick Scarborough, is now led by Rocco Bognet ‘27. Bognet started one game last season in place of Scarborough versus McDaniel, saving 7 shots in a 16-5 win for Dickinson. Webster believes his experienced and balanced defense will provide an Bognet with a great support as he takes on the role as a starter.
Webster said,
“A new starter, and we’ll grow into that. There’s always some ups and downs with new starters. We’re pretty excited about what Rocco can do there,” he said. The return of former goalie Chris Brandau as an Assistant will also help Rocco assimilate into the starting role. “It was a real key
pickup for us in the offseason. To have someone of his experience and ability in goal is important, just as much as his experience and perspective of being on our program. He’s going to have a huge influence on the entire team.”
For the four captains, they each provide a similar outlook and perspective for their final season. Last year, their motto “Let It Fly” described their fun, energetic performance perfectly. This year “Hungle,” a combination of hungry and humble is their motto.
“That was really Webster’s idea, he had those two words stick with him for our class personally. We’ve seen nothing but success coming in as freshmen, now as seniors, what’s most important for us is to stay humble. Nothing is given and we know we can’t just assume that,” Reynolds said.
Gess echoed this sentiment. “Our team this year still has not earned anything. We just have to take it day by day, get one percent better every single time we step on the field. That one percent grows over time and it brings us to a level where we can get back and win another Centennial championship.”
After earning the honor of being named Captains last spring, both Porter and Karetsos spent the summer together preparing themselves as leaders on and off the field. “I feel well, we were both in Boston together over the summer so we were talking about what our goals were for this season and I think we had some really effective communication with the other captains and senior leaders,” Karetsos expressed. The Second-Team All-Conference defender also mentioned how the pair would call freshmen, checking in on them over the summer as they prepared for this first season.
For Porter, who is already in the top ten record list for most points and most goals in a career, believes in the team’s preparation this season with the usual difficult non-conference schedule. “I think it’s a gratitude thing. We are in this position to play these other great teams. Mentally, to play with no fear and ultimately have a lot of fun. We are at our best when we are doing that,” Porter said. Karestos added that playing these tough teams is valuable to see where the team stands along with the necessary changes to improve.
With such a heavy senior class, it’s important to not overlook the juniors and underclassmen as well. The sophomore attacking duo of Luke Whalen ‘27 and Owen Binder ‘27 will be pivotal pieces, along with defender Jack Deady ‘27 and midfielder Mac Childs ‘26 and more.
Porter emphasized the importance of this depth. “It’s special to see every class buy into our core values, especially the freshmen. We always talk about everyone has a role on this team, whether you’re in the starting ten or not. I think the energy they bring during games but also during practice will be very big for our preparation this spring.”
The high expectations and potential four-peat will loom around the locker room and fan base, but the experienced senior class combined with the valuable underclassmen will provide the Red Devils with the right direction this season. While Dickinson let it fly last year, remaining “hungle” will be their key to success in 2025.