The NCAA lacrosse season has come to an end and once again, it was one for the books. The Big East had a competitive year, with some teams remaining at the top of the pack all season long, while others struggled to find their rhythm. As this season comes to a close, we take a look back at the good, the bad, and the ugly.
For Louisville, this season would have only been better had they reached the NCAA Championship game. Louisville finished the season at 16-4 and was the clear favorite to come out of the Big East. Sadly, Northwestern spoiled their plan. Louisville lost a close one, 11-8, in the second round.
Georgetown also found regular season success but faced an eerily similar fate as Louisville. The Bulldogs defeated Johns Hopkins 9-8 before facing the North Carolina Tarheels. In retrospect, they held their own against Carolina, one of the top teams in all of NCAA lacrosse, but ultimately fell 10-8.
The remaining teams in the Big East–Connecticut, Rutgers, Villanova, Temple, Marquette, and Cincinnati, were not represented in the tournament, leaving the conference once again with little representation.
For many of these teams, the 2014 season was another year full of disappointment. Like last year, Cincinnati and Marquette both finished under .500 on the season, while Villanova improved slightly, finishing off their season with an 8-8 record. Temple also had high hopes for this season but ended at 6-10—winning three less games than last season.
Compared to the other conferences, the Big East has struggled to remain dominant in the past few years. Other than Louisville and Georgetown, the remaining teams will need to make many offseason adjustments—both large and small if they want to be competitive in the future.
