Last season: 10-6

Head coach: Mike Ferrando, fourth season (32-16).

Captains: Billy Sasso, Mike O’Brien, Brandon Nunez

Top returners:The Patriots look to return 10 starters. Senior midfielder Billy Sasso, a third-team All-Shore selection last season, returns as the team’s leading scorer after scoring 21 goals and adding 27 assists, while winning 74 percent of face-offs. Senior attackman Brandon Nunez scored 18 goals with 21 assists last season, and senior midfielder John Poole also scored 18 goals. Junior Matt Lach (13 goals) and sophomore Josh Nastarowicz join Nunez on the first attack line. Senior defenseman Mike O’Brien, an all-division pick, leads the defense along with senior Collin Bitsko and senior defensive midfielder Matt Pine.

Expectations: With the hiring of former RBC head coach, Ryan Eichner, the Patriots look to improve the offense with new schemes. Freehold Twp. graduated some scoring but return Billy Sasso, who is continuing to be one of the Shore’s top FOGOs and looks to be the spark of the offensive. Nunez also has the capability of having a big scoring season. The defense looks solid with O’Brien, Bitsko, senior Mike DeBaere and junior Ty Sebor along with Pine as a defensive midfielder. Matt Schroepfer will be starting at goalie. The Patriots again look like a team that will be competitive to win the A North title and make runs into both the shore conference and state tournaments. “So far as a team, we are growing and getting better every game” Ferrando said. “We learned a lot about ourselves from the two overtime losses and feel those losses have made us better.”

Mid-Season Update: The Patriots (6-3)(1-1) look to continue playing complete games after a great 10-4 win against RBC on 4/15. The players and coaches are crediting their change of play to a change in practice style. “It’s the first complete game we’ve played all year,” said head coach Mike Ferrando. “We refocused after Shore (a 7-6 overtime victory on Monday) and starting talking about discipline and hustle. We were getting out-hustled by teams we feel we shouldn’t have been. They bought into it and we had the best practice of the year (on Tuesday), and it carried into the field.” The beginning of the season was filled of ups-and-downs for Freehold Township, including two overtime losses. “Any given day we come out different, and with our season now kicking into full gear and the playoffs not far away we have to get on a grind and not stop,” captain Mike O’Brien said. “We had some rocky games in the beginning that could’ve went either way and didn’t work out for us, and ultimately I think that’s the best thing for us. Seeing how we came out today and what we can do is huge for us.”

Games to watch: April 27 vs. Red Bank; April 29 at Howell; May 1st vs. Middletown South