Above – Dan Krispinsky  from Bishop Verot High School runs down a ground ball for the Mocs

LAKELAND – Nearly two dozen former men’s lacrosse players will return to Lakeland to participate in Florida Southern’s inaugural alumni game on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12 p.m.

The alumni game will be played on the team’s practice field at the Lakeside Baptist Church located at 1736 New Jersey Road in Lakeland. The contest will pit the former players against current Moccasins such as Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year runner-up Dane Sorensen and SSC Newcomer of the Year Grant VanOverbeke.

“It’s great to have a solid group of alumns come back and play the squad,” head coach Marty Ward said. “We have always had a motto of leaving something better than you found it and I think this group will be proud to see what they helped build.”

The team of former Mocs is highlighted by , who captured a pair of championships this summer. The Whitby, Ontario, Canada native won gold with Team Canada at the World Lacrosse Championships in July before winning the Major League Lacrosse title with the Denver Outlaws in August.

Holding was the MVP of the 2010 team – his only season at FSC – and established nearly every offensive record in the program’s second season. The attackman scored 44 goals and 52 points in 13 games. He ranked second in Division II with 3.38 goals per game, a program record. Holding renounced his remaining NCAA volcano electronic cigarette eligibility after the 2010 season to enter the National Lacrosse League (NLL) Entry Draft. He was taken in the fourth round by the Edmonton Rush in the September 2010 draft. Holding, the only former Moc to play professionally, has spent the previous three seasons with the NLL’s Colorado Mammoth.

Joining Holding is another Moc with World Championship experience. Chris Murphy (2011-14) played for Team Germany, which went 3-0 in division play and finished ninth overall in the 2014 World Championships. Murphy’s best performance of the international games came in Germany’s 20-2 win over Austria on July 12, where he scored two goals and two assists. The 2014 graduate totaled 51 goals and 24 assists in his four-year career at Florida Southern, and was named to the All-SSC Second Team as a senior.

Former First-Team All-Deep South Conference honorees Jon Freda (2009-12), Adam Ismaeil (2010-12) and Dan Krispinsky (2011-14), All-SSC First-Teamer David Beaumont (2013-2014), two-time team MVP and FSC’s first goaltender Andrew Almansberger (2009-12), and Mocs assistant coaches Jackson Van Yahres (2010-12) and Shane Tompkins (2011-14) are among the other names filling out the alumni team.

Ward – a bronze medalist with the Iroquois Nationals at the World Championships – said the game is more about giving current players the opportunity to learn from their predecessors and less about the outcome.

“It’s always a good test to play against older and more experienced guys,” Ward said. “We’re excited to build on the tradition of Florida Southern lacrosse and let the current players mingle with the former players and share experiences.”