What to watch as the men’s lacrosse season begins
Which men’s lacrosse team will be playing during championship weekend at the end of May? The answer seems as unclear as ever this year.
While there might not be an obviously dominant team, there is plenty of star power. Last year’s Tewaaraton Award winner returns to a final four team with a new coach — one of eight taking over programs this year.
Oh, and there’s also a new team in Division I.
With the season underway, let’s take a first glance at the top teams, top players and new coaches of 2017.
Title contenders
Denver: The Pioneers won the 2015 title for coach Bill Tierney, the seventh in his Hall of Fame career, and are the team to beat again this year. Denver is loaded with skill and scorers. Its faceoff man, Trevor Baptiste, is the best around. Defensemen Christian Burgdorf, Sean Mayle and Dylan Johnson are a wrecking crew. Maryland: Coach John Tillman brings back his entire attack of Colin Heacock, Matt Rambo and Dylan Maltz. The culture is strong, the recruits are talented, and the Terps have done everything except win on Memorial Day. How Maryland’s inexperienced midfielders play will be a key to watch this month. Loyola Maryland: New offensive coordinator Marc Van Arsdale had success at Virginia. His tutelage of star Pat Spencer bears watching. Midfielder Romar Dennis has the potential for a giant year if he can straighten out his shot. The defense is
undersized and fighting through preseason injuries. The Greyhounds open with Virginia on Saturday. Notre Dame: Defense is always this team’s calling card. The Fighting Irish have been an inch away from glory for the past decade. Sergio Perkovic, Ryder Garnsey and Mikey Wynne are reliable scorers, but Notre Dame will need others to step forward and score. Johns Hopkins: The strength of the wolf is the pack. The Blue Jays played 27 players through three quarters in their victory over Navy on Tuesday. Midfield depth is bolstered by the return of Joel Tinney, Connor Reed, Drew Supinski and Alex Concannon. The defense wasn’t effective in 2016, and is a work in progress with a handful of new faces. Hopkins hosts UMBC on Saturday. North Carolina: The Tar Heels return a solid nucleus from their 2016 title team, including Stephen Kelly, Chris Cloutier, Luke Goldstock and Michael Tagliaferri, while defensemen Austin Pifani and Jack Rowlett patrol the paint. They crushed UMBC on Saturday, 17-6. Syracuse: Midfielders Sergio Salcido and Nick Mariano are terrific, and the defense should be stout. But who’s going to play attack? The Orange have appeared in championship weekend just once since 2009, a far cry from their streak of 22 straight from 1983 to 2004. Yale: The Bulldogs have won four Ivy League titles in the past five years, but postseason success has been elusive for coach Andy Shay. Penn State: A Week 1 win over Robert Morris was highlighted by a monster day from freshman Mac O’Keefe, who scored seven goals in his debut. The Nittany Lions lost three consecutive one-goal games last year. The defense and goaltending must improve if they expect to compete with Big Ten kingpins Maryland and Hopkins. Penn: I like Penn to make a leap into Ivy League contention. The Quakers bring back young talent on offense after losing to Yale twice last year by one goal. Towson: The major offseason news was that the Tigers were able to hang on to coach Shawn Nadelen, who became a hot commodity after Towson won the Colonial Athletic Association and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, winning 16 games. Towson faces Mount St Mary’s on Feb. 18. Expectations have risen. Navy: The Midshipmen were tied with Hopkins at 7 midway through the third quarter Tuesday night, and then the ship sank. Defense should be the team’s strength with Matt Rees and Chris Fennell creating havoc. Navy hosts Maryland on Saturday and might struggle to score goals early in the year because of inexperience.
Players to watch
Pat Spencer, Loyola Maryland: As a freshman, the Boys’ Latin graduate averaged more than six points during the last 10 games, leading the Greyhounds to the NCAA semifinals. The 6-foot-2 sophomore is one of the most talented lacrosse quarterbacks I’ve seen in a decade. His ability to dodge, deal with double teams and keep his eyes up make him the most captivating player in the country. Matt Rambo, Maryland: The burly senior had 75 points in 2016, third most in Maryland history. Rambo has staggering statistics. He has scored 113 goals with 57 assists, including 20 hat tricks and eight game-winning goals. Rambo uses a nononsense approach and bullies his way to pay dirt. Joel Tinney, Johns Hopkins: Tinney’s competitive edge and ability to seize the moment sparks the Blue Jays, evidenced by a hidden-ball-trick goal that broke a tie at 7 against Navy and became the turning point Tuesday night. The lefty is a do-it-all midfielder in the old-school mold. Connor Cannizzaro, Denver: At 5-9 and 175 pounds, Cannizzaro cuts like a slot receiver in football, darting back and forth, breaking ankles along his jagged path to the crease. The senior, flanked by sharpshooters, had 90 points in 2015 when Denver won the NCAA title and 69 points last season. Ben Reeves, Yale: Reeves is a savant in the classroom and on the field. The junior majors in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, specializing in cancer research. He accumulated 79 points with a simplistic style that is smooth, effortless and graceful. Dylan Molloy, Brown: The 220-pound senior approaches lacrosse the way a fullback hunts linebackers to block. He was the centerpiece of Brown’s 16-win season and trip to championship weekend. A foot injury was the only thing that could slow him. Molloy earned the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player.
New coaches
Kevin McKeown, Binghamton: McKeown is a former All-America goalie for the Bearcats who has been a defensive coordinator at Binghamton and Bellarmine. Mike Daly, Brown: Daly built Tufts into a Division III powerhouse with an uptempo, run-and-gun system. The Bears bring back Molloy and three excellent defensemen in Alec Tulett, Larken Kemp and JJ Ntshaykolo but must replace their goalie, faceoff man and plenty of complementary scorers. Ryan Martin, Hartford: The former Ithaca goalie was elevated from top assistant to head coach when Peter Lawrence stepped down. John Galloway, Jacksonville: The former Syracuse goaltender brings youthful energy to a program looking to capitalize on the growth of the game in Florida. Matt Madalon, Princeton: Madalon takes over a program in decline. The Tigers went 5-8 in 2016 and haven’t appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2012. Ryan Moran, UMBC: Moran has the pedigree and profile for success. The former Maryland midfielder has been an assistant for the Terps, Navy and most recently Loyola. It will take Moran patience and time to build the Retrievers. His recruiting will determine their trajectory. Chris Feifs, Vermont: Feifs, a former player at Maryland under Dave Cottle, was an assistant at North Carolina for six seasons, and his work with the defense was instrumental in the Tar Heels’ first championship since 1991. Lars Tiffany, Virginia: Tiffany did an outstanding job at Brown, guiding the Bears to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. He takes over for Dom Starsia, and his frenetic, end-to-end system suits the speedy Cavaliers perfectly.
New team
Cleveland State, the latest addition to Division I, lost its debut to Michigan on Saturday. There are 71 teams playing Division I, with whispers that Utah will be the next program to elevate from club to varsity status.