ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University men's water polo team enters the 2015 season with plenty of returning firepower but will welcome 11 new faces to a young roster as it looks to improve on its 15-13 showing from a year ago – the program's ninth consecutive winning season.

Head coach Curtis Robinette returns for his 14th as the Laker boss and sports a 159-156 overall record at Mercyhurst. However, that includes just 14 wins over the span of his first four seasons. Over his last nine campaigns, Robinette has guided the Lakers to an average of 16 wins per season including a program-record 23 victories in 2012.

Joining Robinette on the coaching staff is former Laker, Justin Deis, who returns to Mercyhurst following a one-year stint as an assistant coach at William Penn Charter. There, Deis helped Penn Charter to just the program's second Easterns Tournament Championship in its history. A native of Perkasie, Pennsylvania, Deis was a four-year member of the Mercyhurst water polo team and scored 29 goals in his collegiate career.

Expected to lead the Lakers in 2015 is senior Dave Matulis, who returns after being named a First Team ACWPC Division II All-American and earning a spot on the All-CWPA Southern Division Second Team a year ago. Matulis put together his finest season as a Laker in 2014, finishing with a team-high 47 goals and ranking third on the team with 52 points.

Matulis is just one of three seniors on this year's squad as Jordan Hodur and Christian Dudley also return for their final seasons. Hodur scored 29 goals and added 15 assists for 44 points a year ago while Dudley chipped in with eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points.

Junior Jack Howe also returns after a fine sophomore campaign during which he scored 30 goals and 19 assists for 49 points while also leading the team with 35 steals.

In goal, all three keepers from last season return and will compete for playing time. Junior Andrew Too-A-Foo saw the most action in goal last season, appearing in 14 games and posting 119 saves. Sophomores Kevin Doyle (13 games) and Gene Bilbao (10 games) also saw plenty of action last season and performed well during their minutes.

Mercyhurst must find a way to replace its two leading scorers from a year ago in Alex Strong (46 goals, 29 assists, 75 points) and Joe Yamamoto (35 goals, 29 assists, 64 points). But, Robinette brought in 11 new faces that should help contribute immediately and provide the team with depth at several key positions.

Headlining the list of newcomers to watch is Connor Schmitz who is expected to see plenty of action at center alongside Matulis. Schmitz joins the Lakers from Arlington Heights, Illinois where he was a First Team All-State selection last season.

Also expected to see significant playing time are Ivan Ariza, Matt Bachler, Alec Diaz, and Philip Jenny. Ariza, a native of Chicago, Illinois, was a two-time First Team All-City selection and a two-time Second Team All-Section member. Bachler, also from Chicago, was a Second Team All-State honoree and a two-time First Team All-Section member. Diaz (Orlando, Florida) and Jenny (Lawrenceville, Georgia) also earned numerous accolades during their high school careers.

Additionally, Jonathan Beltran, Ryan Mercando, Noah Ratliff, Jackson Rehmet, Brennan Russell, and Otis Tyson join the squad for their first seasons and will battle for playing time and provide depth to the roster.

Mercyhurst opens the season against Washington and Jefferson on September 5 before heading to the Bucknell Invitational on September 12 and 13. The Lakers will then play their first home matches of the season, and first conference games of the year, on September 26 against Washington and Jefferson and Salem International.

The Lakers will head to Monmouth, Illinois to square off against Monmouth and Lindenwood (non-conference) on October 3 and then will return to the North East Aquatic Center to battle crosstown-rival Gannon on October 9 and Monmouth on October 10. Mercyhurst will make the short trip to Penn State Behrend on October 11 before heading to the CWPA Division II Championship, hosted by Salem International, on October 17. Mercyhurst will conclude the regular season with matches against Fordham and Iona on October 24 and against Bucknell on November 1.

The CWPA Southern Championship is slated to begin on November 6 in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.