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 | 6-10 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 4-2 (2nd in Big East) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 9.25 Goals Per Game (43rd in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 11.56 Goals Against Per Game (52nd in DI) |
| 2014 Goals Leader | #23 Tyler Melnyk – R-Senior (36 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #23 Tyler Melnyk – R-Senior (15 As) |
| 2014 Points Leader | #23 Tyler Melnyk – R-Senior (51 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #5 Jimmy Danaher – Freshman (.466 SV %) |
| 2014 Faceoff Leader | #50 Paul Riportella – Sophomore (.459 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #25 Jacob Richard – Sophomore (47 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | #21 Liam Byrnes – R-Sophomore (25 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Hofstra (11-9), Rutgers (14-13), St. John’s (11-10 2 OT) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | Jacksonville (9-8), Villanova (10-8, 9-6 – Big East Semifinal), Bellarmine (10-7) |
| 2015 Record | 10-6 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 3-2 (3rd in Big East) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 10.19 Goals Per Game (T28th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 10.50 Goals Against Per Game (T39th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #47 Jordan Greenfield – Graduate (34 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #47 Jordan Greenfield – Graduate (18 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #47 Jordan Greenfield – Graduate (52 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #5 Jimmy Danaher – Sophomore (.503 SV %) |
| 2015 Faceoff Leader | #11 K.C. Kennedy – R-Junior (.426 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Ball Leaders | #25 Jacob Richard – Junior (52 GBs) #21 Liam Byrnes – R-Junior (52 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #21 Liam Byrnes – R-Junior (26 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | Lehigh (10-9), Hofstra (11-10), Ohio State (10-9), Villanova (9-8) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | Georgetown (10-9, 12-8 – Big East Semifinal), Bellarmine (9-3), Notre Dame (14-7), Denver (18-11) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
One of the biggest surprise teams of 2015 has to be Marquette. They had an okay 6-10 campaign in 2014, which placed them second in the Big East, but nobody expected the Golden Eagles ranked inside the top 15 during the season. After starting 7-0, Marquette started to lose steam, and ended up on the outside of the NCAA Tournament. However, even though a poor second half hurt the team, Marquette has a lot of potential for upcoming seasons, and proving to be the next big program to come out of the Midwest region.
Marquette started the season winning their first three games by a goal, with their first two wins against ranked teams. They outlasted Lehigh in a snowy affair 10-9 before scoring three straight in the final 3:57 of the fourth quarter to defeat Hofstra 11-10. The following week against Richmond, the Golden Eagles scored six goals in the final stanza to tie the game at 10, before Jordan Greenfield scored his sixth of the game to give Marquette another 11-10 victory. They went down to Bellarmine for the Midwestern Lacrosse Classic, where they took down Detroit and upset Ohio State by going on a 5-0 run in the 4th to beat the Buckeyes by a goal. After another strong fourth quarter pulled Marquette ahead of Jacksonville, they took care of Mercer 14-6 to earn win number seven on the season, entering their Big East opener against a strong Georgetown team in two weeks.
Down 9-6 entering the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles yet again made a comeback to tie the game up at nine. But with 3:45 left in the game, Craig Berge scored the eventual game-winner to give the Hoyas the 10-9 win and Marquette’s first loss on the season. Facing Villanova the following week, it was a back-and-forth game with the Wildcats, with no team ever leading by more than a goal the entire way. With the game tied at eight, Blaine Fleming’s tally with 1:58 to play to give Marquette a 9-8 win. But the wheels came off only three days later, when Bellarmine upset Marquette 9-3, which would play a big role in Marquette’s chances of receiving an at-large bid. The team rebounded with a 14-12 win over St. John’s, but could not pull off an upset of their own against #1 Notre Dame, as they lost 14-7. After a win in Providence over the Friars, the team would end their season with losses against top teams in Duke and Denver, before ending their season in the Big East semifinals with a 12-8 loss to Georgetown.
There wasn’t a more surprising team in the nation for the first half of the season than Marquette, by far. Who had the Golden Eagles at 7-0 as the other undefeated team in the nation, other than Syracuse, before their game against Georgetown on March 21? It’s great to see what head coach Joe Amplo is doing with this team. And there’s more to be impressed with in 2016, with the addition of Andrew Stimmel as Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Coach. He worked with Yale’s defense the past couple of seasons after serving as head coach at Grove City for two years and made the Bulldogs a top ten defense in 2015. Marquette will have to replace their top scorer in Jordan Greenfield, who came from Fairfield for graduate school, but they should be poised for another strong run in 2016, as they look to not slow down in the second half of the season and make a run at the NCAA Tournament.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Brendon Connolly | Defense/LSM | St. Paul’s (MD) |
| Bobby Pelton | Midfield | Forest Hills Northern (MI) |
| Brett Molina | Midfield/FO | Cathedral Catholic (CA) |
| Scott McNamara | Midfield | Academy Holy Angels (MN) |
| Colin Strange | Midfield | Hempfield (PA) |
| Matt Del Duca | Attack | Ramapo (NJ) |
| John Wagner | Attack | Cranbrook (MI) |
| Josh Williamson | Attack/Midfield | Redondo Beach (CA) |
Marquette will have to replace three players with eight incoming recruits. It’s a small group with no top recruits, but Brendon Connolly from MIAA power St. Paul’s is a good addition. A former commit to Division III power Gettysburg, Connolly was an Under Armour Underclass Elite Star and part of the Baltimore Underclass Championship team. He should be a good addition for the Golden Eagles in a few years, hopefully as a team still contending in the Big East.
