MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men's Lacrosse) – On Friday, Feb. 6, the Florida Tech men's lacrosse team will be opening its fourth season in program history. The coaches and players are excited to get the season started after a disappointing 2014 season. Coach Ryan McAleavey's squad finished 3-9 overall with a 1-4 record in the conference. Four of the losses were by only one goal.

After a tough season, last year, McAleavey and the players entered the offseason looking to improve this year.

"The guys came back with a fire in their eyes and one goal in mind, and that was to be as successful as possible," he said. "They came in focused and better conditioned. They were ready to go."

The team features a number of new players as well as a lot of returners from last season's squad. There was a complete overhaul on the attack unit that will feature three new starters, Zach Wynne, Jason Terry and Dan Errett. The midfield returns several key contributors from last year, including Nick Wynne, Andrew Conley and Brian Bacarella. Florida Tech's defense will be anchored by returners Jordan Carlock and Mike Cherry.

McAleavey believes this team will be the most complete team he's had while at Florida Tech.

"We have weapons all over the field that will cause a lot of defenses problems," he said. "Our defense's stick skills have vastly improved and should hold teams to low scoring numbers. The excitement level and expectations for this team are extremely high. It should be a great year."

McAleavey is especially excited to have Eric Biller back starting in goal for the Panthers. Biller is returning from a knee injury that cut his 2014 season short.

"Eric is the key to our season," he said. "He gives our defense confidence and allows them to go out and do what they do best, which is taking the ball away from the other teams."

Biller is anxiously anticipating the start of the season.

"I think this is the best team we've had here at Florida Tech," he said. "We have a lot of chemistry, we really gel together well. I'm excited to get the season started against Tusculum."

Tusculum is coming into its second season as a lacrosse program. In the Pioneers' inaugural season, the team posted a 5-8 record. The team returns 16 players, including six of the team's leading scorers.

"They are a talented team; several of their players are junior college transfers," McAleavey said. "Tusculum will definitely play us hard. It should be an exciting game. But with Tusculum, like all of our other opponents, we have to prepare for each game like it's the national championship."

The Panthers and Pioneers will play at 7 p.m. at Palm Bay High School's Pirate Stadium, the location of all Florida Tech home lacrosse games this season.

Tickets for all home regular season Florida Tech lacrosse games are $7 for general admission, $5 for senior citizens ages 65 and above and non-Florida Tech students with school ID. Florida Tech students and faculty along with staff plus one guest are free. Military with ID and children ages four and under are also no charge.

Fans unable to attend the season opener can watch and listen to the live broadcast and follow the live stats at FloridaTechSports.com/live.