DULUTH, MN – Head coach Sam Litman has announced the captains for the University of Minnesota- Duluth Men’s Lacrosse team for the 2013 season. Kevin Soderholm and Stan Drutowski will lead the Bulldogs this spring.

Kevin Soderholm, a senior from Eagan, MN, was an All-American honorable mention and earned First- Team UMLC honors last season on defense. He has been a cornerstone of the team’s defensive unit for the past two seasons as a starter, and will be a major contributor this upcoming season. Kevin came to the Bulldogs from Eastview High School and is majoring in Statistics.

“I am following in the footsteps of a long list of great captains and I hope I can meet and exceed the expectations they have set before me. Every player who has been a part of Duluth lacrosse, past and present, has the goal of leaving the program better than when they have found it. The motto speaks for itself and the opportunity as a captain has placed it much closer to heart. The coaching staff has put together a challenging schedule this year and I can't wait to see what we can do with it. We have a young, athletic, talented, and hard working squad. I just can't wait to battle with this group of guys.”

Stan Drutowkski, hailing from Rosemount, MN, is a redshirt senior at the midfield for Duluth. He came into the program as a walk-on defensive midfielder, but worked his way into the offensive rotation and will be expected to lead the offensive attack for the Bulldogs in 2013. Stan scored 14 points last season, notching 11 goals and 3 assists. He is studying Marketing and will graduate this spring.

“I am extremely honored to be a captain at Duluth because I know how good our former captains
were. Being a captain means my peers choose me to lead them for an entire season. To me, that means I need to set the standard for the way guys on this team should act and play,” said Drutowski. “I take this role very seriously and it motivates me to improve myself as a player and person every single day. We are also fortunate to have a lot of good leaders on our team who aren’t captains, I learn things from guys like that every practice.”

Sam Litman will make his debut as head coach this season after being promoted with the departure of Frank Clark. “We have fantastic leadership on both ends of the field with an offensive and defensive player being selected as captains,” said Coach Litman. “Both Stan and Kevin are pure, natural leaders. They set the example and their peers follow. They are humble and selfless and that positively affects those around them. Their teammates truly look up to them as leaders and that’s why they were selected to be our captains for the 2013 season.”

“I expect to continue what we have been doing as a program: win the UMLC Championship and secure a spot at nationals,” explained Soderholm. “This year we do not have an automatic qualifier to the national tournament, so our regular season matchups have become even more important. I believe we are very capable of reaching our goals and the team believes as well. It's important to have these goals, but now that they are set, we focus on today, knowing our daily grind can get us there.”

“We have a great group of guys this year and the sky is the limit. We are a young squad and there is an energy I have not seen from any other team I have been part of at UMD,” added Drutowski.

“We have put together one of the hardest schedules in our program’s history and look forward to the leadership these fine young men can bring to our teams and help us reach our goals” said Litman. The Bulldogs will release their schedule in the following weeks as they prepare to defend the UMLC Championship.