EUGENE, Ore. - With their season opener against Dominican days away, the Oregon men’s lacrosse team is excited to announce its captains for the 2016 season. Senior midfielder Liam Delumpa, junior defender Justin Knowles and junior attackman Michael Marcott will lead the Ducks onto the field in Jon Bongiorno’s inaugural season as head coach.

Delumpa, who hails from San Jose, Calif., enters his fourth season as a member of the Ducks. He is the last man standing from his rookie class four years ago, which is something he takes great pride in.

“It’s important to teach the younger guys the same traditions that I learned from the seniors when I was a freshman,” Delumpa said, “Culture as a club program means a lot, so to be voted captain is a huge honor. I get to live on the tradition, and people look to me to know what’s right, and what’s wrong, and how the norms of this team work.”

Knowles, a Fairfield, Conn., native, enters his third year with the Ducks. He was surprised to be voted as a captain by his teammates, but feels very fortunate to have the opportunity.

“It’s a privilege; a serious honor to be out here leading such a great group of guys,” he said.

Marcott, originally from Portland, Ore., is a transfer who played on the 2015 NCAA Division I champion Denver team. He joined the Ducks not expecting to be named a captain since he has only known his teammates for about six weeks.

“It is really an honor to be voted captain by my teammates,” said Marcott, “I take a lot of pride in being able to come in and make an impact that quick.”

The Ducks will take the field with 22 new players this season, and the majority of the new players are freshmen or transfers. Notable transfers include Marcott, Sam Snider and Eric Reister. Snider is a freshman goalie from San Diego, Calif., who spent the fall term at the University of Colorado, and Reister (Portland, Ore.) is junior transfer from the University of Arizona.

Bongiorno is no stranger to Duck lacrosse, having been a part of the program for over eight years, including as a full-time assistant for the last six. During this time, the Ducks own a remarkable .687 win percentage. He has won three PNCLL championships and helped the Ducks reach four straight MCLA National Tournament appearances from 2010-13.

“I have a really positive outlook. On paper we look really good, but we don’t play our games on paper,” Bongiorno said, “I like where we’re at, but we still have work to do. Good is the enemy of great. We’ve got to keep working to become great.”

The Ducks bring a new staff to the mix as well. Joining Bongiorno are Markus McCaine, formerly the head coach at the University of Alabama, and Luke Schmidt, previously the head coach at Abilene Christian. Dave Wyer rounds out the coaching staff, taking more of an on-field role in addition to his player development role.

“It’s a great coaching staff. I’m pretty excited about what everybody brings to the table,” Bongiorno said. “I’m happy with where we are now, and our goal is to win the PNCLL , make it to nationals, and then anything can happen.”