For the better part of four months, many of us watched some exciting college lacrosse, whether it was on TV, online, or in person. There were good games, which included all of Championship Weekend, and there were bad games, such as low scoring affairs and of course, the horrendous winter weather. I take a look back at all 69 Division I teams and how they fared this season and what to look forward to in 2016.
I now move on to the season’s top 25 teams, which were decided by the final media poll of the season. If you missed any of my previous recaps, you can read all of them here!
COMPARING 2014 AND 2015 IN NUMBERS
| 2014 Record | 7-6 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 2-4 (6th in Ivy) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 12.00 Goals Per Game (12th in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 10.92 Goals Against Per Game (42nd in DI) |
| 2014 Goals Leader | #22 Tom Schreiber – Senior (30 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #8 Mike MacDonald – Junior (22 As) |
| 2014 Points Leader | #22 Tom Schreiber – Senior (51 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #31 Eric Sanschagrin – Junior (.533 SV %) |
| 2014 Faceoff Leader | #32 Justin Murphy – Junior (.552 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #32 Justin Murphy – Junior (53 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnover Leaders | #4 Will Reynolds – Freshman (11 CTs) #5 Derick Raabe – Senior (11 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Hofstra (12-10), Penn (15-12), Villanova (14-6), Lehigh (10-9 2 OT) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | Johns Hopkins (15-9), North Carolina (13-11), Yale (16-15), Brown (11-10) |
| 2015 Record | 9-6 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 4-2 (3rd in Ivy) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 12.00 Goals Per Game (13th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 10.80 Goals Against Per Game (44th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #8 Mike MacDonald – Senior (48 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #8 Mike MacDonald – Senior (30 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #8 Mike MacDonald – Senior (78 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #31 Eric Sanschagrin – Senior (.500 SV %) |
| 2015 Faceoff Leader | #12 Sam Bonafede – Freshman (.470 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #25 Zach Currier – Sophomore (81 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #30 Austin deButts – Junior (18 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | Johns Hopkins (16-15 OT), Penn (17-11), Yale (11-10), Harvard (12-11), Cornell (11-7 – Ivy League Semifinal) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | Maryland (11-4), Brown (10-8), Stony Brook (13-10), Lehigh (16-15), Yale (11-10 – Ivy League Championship) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
Entering 2015, the Tigers had to find a way to replace midfielder Tom Schreiber. It seemed like the Tigers did that and more in 2015, but fell just short of winning the Ivy League Tournament and making it to the NCAA Tournament. Players such as Mike MacDonald, Kip Orban, Ryan Ambler, and Gavin McBride stepped up on offense for the Tigers. But there were concerns as well on the team, with early season injuries to junior midfielder Jake Froccaro and sophomore defenseman Will Reynolds, and a goaltending change during the season. Even with the obstacles that the team encountered, the Tigers managed to win a share of the regular season Ivy League title and make it to the Ivy League Championship game.
Princeton started the season in fashion with three straight wins. They took care of Manhattan before getting past Hofstra in a snowy game, before heading down to Homewood Field to take on Johns Hopkins. It was an outstanding start, taking a 7-0 lead with 4:59 into the opening quarter, before the Blue Jays scored six unanswered. Hopkins eventually tied the game at ten with 8:33 left in the 3rd quarter, but the Tigers scored two straight to lead 12-10 with 13:53 left in the game. But Hopkins kept fighting, scoring four unanswered to take their first lead of the game at 14-13 with 7:53 left to play. The Tigers tied it up shortly after, before Joel Tinney scored with 2:13 left to give the Jays a 15-14 lead. But with seven ticks to play, Ryan Ambler scored his third goal of the game to tie it up at 15 all, heading into overtime. In OT, the Tigers went on man-up after a two-minute illegal body check penalty on Michael Pellegrino. With 1:07 left in the first overtime session, Gavin McBride gave the Tigers the win, to go 3-0 on the season.
The following week, the Tigers fell to Maryland 11-4 and started Ivy League play against Penn. Orban, Ambler, and MacDonald exploded on offense with seven, five, and three goals respectively in Princeton’s 17-11 win. The offensive explosion continued against Rutgers three days later, with MacDonald scoring seven more goals in a 12-11 win. Then against Yale, MacDonald and Orban combined for ten points as the Tigers edged out the Bulldogs 11-10.
As hot as the Tigers were, it started to cool off for the next three games. The Tigers lost to Brown, and then took losses that might have cost the team a chance at an at-large bid against Stony Brook and a tough 16-15 loss against Lehigh, giving up two goals in the final 3:04 to the Mountain Hawks to surrender a late lead.
The Tigers were on the fence on many NCAA Tournament projections of whether or not the team would make the big dance as an at-large team. The only way to solidify their chance to get a chance to win a national championship was to win the Ivy League Tournament. That quest began with a 16-5 win against Dartmouth, then escaped their game against Harvard with a 12-11 win, led by new starting goaltender Tyler Blaisdell’s career-best 15 saves, and Zach Currier’s clutch caused turnover late in the final quarter to run out the clock for the Tigers. But the Tigers fell the following week to Cornell 15-10 and would have to face the Big Red six days later on the campus of Brown.
And that rematch was a different story for Princeton. Four unanswered goals from the second quarter to the end of the third quarter helped the Tigers pull away from the Big Red 11-7, with Blaisdell recording 14 saves, two caused turnovers, and even a body check. But the mood was not the same in the locker room on Sunday in the Ivy League Championship game, as the Tigers had a slow start to trail Yale 4-2 at halftime. But Princeton managed to get back in the game and entered the final quarter tied at seven. But goals by Colin Flaherty and Ben Reeves gave the Bulldogs an 11-9 lead with 4:27 left, with help only coming from Mike MacDonald with 27 seconds left in the game. The game ended with a 12-11 loss, and so did the season, as Princeton did not get a chance to compete for a championship.
Mike MacDonald and Kip Orban have graduated, but word came earlier in the summer that Jake Froccaro and his younger brother Joey, who would have been one of Princeton’s 2015 recruits, decided to Villanova to play. Whereas Jake transferred and will be a redshirt-junior due to his injury this season, Joey was able to switch schools since Ivy League schools do not have National Letters of Intent. But Princeton hopes to bounce back with Ryan Ambler, Gavin McBride, Zach Currier, and Bear Altemus amongst others on offense, with Bear Goldstein, Tyler Blaisdell, and the return of Will Reynolds keeping the ball out of their own net.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Charlie Tarry | Defense | Bronxville (NY) |
| Dawson McKenzie | Attack | Culver (IN) |
| Michael Morean | Midfield | Cherry Creek (CO) |
| Charlie Durbin | Midfield/FO | Belmont Hill School (MA) |
| Strib Walker | Midfield | Collegiate School (VA) |
| Oliver Schmickel | Goalie | McDonogh (MD) |
| Emmet Cordrey | Attack | Delbarton (NJ) |
| Carter Flaig | Attack | St. Paul’s (MD) |
Princeton will have to replace eight departing seniors, along with Jake Froccaro, with eight incoming recruits. Losing top recruit and Under Armour All-American Joey Froccaro took a toll, but the Tigers have plenty of quality recruits coming in as well. Mike Morean from Cherry Creek is on Ty Xanders’ watchlist of top senior commits. Emmet Cordrey from New Jersey power Delbarton is #66 on Xanders’ list, and helped the Big Green win the Morris County Tournament, scoring the game-tying goal with three seconds left in regulation, and assisting on the game-winning goal. Charlie Tarry is a defenseman from Bronxville and is the 62nd best senior recruit. Dawson McKenzie is #60 on that same list and was on a dominant Culver team for the past few seasons. I think he will be a very good player in Matt Madalon’s offense. Finally, Carter Flaig is #37 on Xanders’ list, and the Tigers are getting one of St. Paul’s best players ever. In fact, he’s the school’s all-time leader in points for a team that was one of the best in the MIAA and in the nation in the past two season.
