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 | 9-5 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 7-1 (2nd in Patriot) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 10.14 Goals Per Game (T30th in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 7.21 Goals Against Per Game (1st in DI) |
| 2014 Goals Leader | #21 John Glesener – Junior (43 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #33 Will Mazzone – Sophomore (15 As) |
| 2014 Points Leader | #21 John Glesener – Junior (57 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #2 Sam Somers – Junior (.622 SV %) |
| 2014 Faceoff Leader | #88 Alex Daly – Sophomore (.563 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #88 Alex Daly – Sophomore (85 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | #40 Jimbo D’Aprile – Junior (18 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Lehigh (6-5), Bucknell (11-6), Navy (14-7), Colgate (8-7) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | Rutgers (9-8 OT), Loyola (7-6), Lehigh (12-11 – Patriot League Semifinal), Notre Dame (18-17) |
| 2015 Record | 10-7 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 4-4 (5th in Patriot) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 11.24 Goals Per Game (19th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 8.00 Goals Against Per Game (T7th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #28 Cole Johnson – Sophomore (36 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #21 John Glesener – Senior (23 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #21 John Glesener – Senior (57 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #2 Sam Somers – Senior (.514 SV %) |
| 2015 Faceoff Leader | #99 Dan Grabher – Sophomore (.579 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #99 Dan Grabher – Sophomore (84 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #40 Jimbo D’Aprile – Senior (20 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | Bucknell (12-4), Boston (17-8), Loyola (12-11 – Patriot League Quarterfinal), Navy (11-7 – Patriot League Semifinal) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | Syracuse (12-9), Holy Cross (7-6), Navy (10-7), Colgate (8-5, 11-8 – Patriot League Championship) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
Army West Point came into the 2015 season as a ranked team at #20 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll, and they finished the season in that exact spot. However, the season did not give the Black Knights a chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament after reaching the Patriot League Championship against Colgate. Army had one of the best offenses, led by Third Team All-American senior John Glesener, and one of the nation’s best defenses, led by Honorable Mention All-Americans Austin Schultz at defense and Sam Somers in net. But similar to every team in the Patriot League, Army did not get through league play without a few bumps on the road, the big one coming in that Championship game against Colgate.
Army started the season hot, winning their first three games of the season, including their season opener against UMass, which was the team’s 750th overall win, being only the fifth team to ever get at least 750 wins. After blowout wins, both win Army scoring at least 20 goals in both, against VMI and Jacksonville, the team entered the Carrier Dome with an undefeated record against the Orange. The Black Knights stayed with the Orange for the entire game, but fell to Cuse 12-9 for their first loss on the season. Army opened Patriot League play with a 14-3 win over Lafayette, before earning a 9-7 win against Rutgers, but was then a victim of a Holy Cross upset victory, falling to the Crusaders 7-6, which was followed the next week by a 12-10 loss to Loyola.
Army rebounded the following three weeks with wins over Lehigh, Bucknell, and Boston, setting up their rivalry game against Navy. Army led 6-3 with 2:24 left in the 3rd quarter, before the Midshipmen scored seven unanswered goals, which would help eventually defeat the Black Knights 10-7. They lost to Colgate 8-5 in an important game that would decide seeding for the Patriot League Tournament.
As the 5th place team in the tournament, the Black Knights, who went through a school-wide brand change to Army West Point, would have to go on the road to take on Loyola. Down 11-6 with 11:51 left in the final quarter, the Black Knights mounted six straight goals, including a John Glesener tally with six seconds remaining to move on to yet again face Navy in Annapolis. Army continued their scoring, getting out to a 6-0 lead after a quarter of play, and never looked back, defeating Navy 11-7. But that miracle run came to a halt with a loss to Colgate in the title game, 11-8. The team finished out the regular season with a 17-8 loss to Notre Dame.
It will be very tough to replace Glesener, LSM Jimbo D’Aprile, and Somers next season, although the Black Knights have talent on offense with Connor Cook, Cole Johnson, and Ted Glesener, John’s younger brother. And take note that Austin Schultz is coming back for his senior season. At net, Paul Newbold played the most out of the four total backups (33:17). But Army West Point still has question marks that need to be answered in order to compete in the very competitive Patriot League.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Matty Biondich | Midfield | Northview (GA) |
| Luke Konen | Goalie | Bridgewater-Raritan (NJ) |
| Jason Brown | Attack | Calvert Hall (MD) |
| Robby Woodings | Midfield/FO | Shady Side Academy (PA) |
| Liam Frerichs | Goalie | Boys’ Latin (MD) |
| Zach Levy | Midfield/FO | Centennial (GA) |
| Sean O’Brien | Attack | Sachem North (NY) |
| Jordan Cole | Defense | McLean (VA) |
| Danny DeSanti | LSM | St. Anthony’s (NY) |
| Thomas Rigney | Defense | Patriot (VA) |
| Evan Condon | Midfield | Mercer Island (WA) |
| Kyle Brattan | Midfield | Garden City (NY) |
| Miles Silva | Attack | Ponte Vedra (FL) |
| Alex Edge | Defense | St. Alban’s (DC) |
| A.J. Barreto | Goalie | St. Paul’s (MD) |
| David Lipka | Midfield | Georgetown Prep (MD) |
| Griffin Schultz | Defense | Manheim Township (PA) |
| Peter Cox | Midfield | Jupiter (FL) |
| Jake Nordhausen | Defense | Loyola Blakefield (MD) |
The Black Knights will have to replace 12 departing seniors with 19 incoming recruits for 2016. But similar to what Navy does with sending many, if not all, of their recruits to their prep school, Army does a similar thing with sending many of their incoming recruits to go to the Military Academy Prep School, otherwise known as MAPS. One of their top recruits for 2014 in Kieran Mullins went to MAPS last season and will be up at West Point starting in 2016. As for their incoming batch of recruits, they have three notable players. The first is David Lipka, a midfielder from Georgetown Prep. He is on Ty Xanders’ watchlist of top seniors for 2015, and helped the Little Hoyas for an impressive four years down in the “DMV.” The other two players are goaltenders, a position needed after the departure of Somers. The first is Boys’ Latin product Liam Frerichs, who was on the 2014 undefeated Lakers team that won the mythical “National Championship.” The other netminder is St. Paul’s product A.J. Barretto, ranked #30 on Xanders’ list of top seniors and was an Under Armour All-American selection. My gut feeling is that he will be the starting goaltender right away in 2016, but if head coach Joe Alberici goes with someone else to begin 2016, I think Barretto will eventually get some starts later on.
