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 | 4-10 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 3-5 (6th in Patriot) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 8.93 Goals Per Game (51st in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 9.36 Goals Against Per Game (20th in DI) |
| 2014 Goal Leaders | #27 Sam Jones – Senior (23 Gs) #39 Tucker Hull – Senior (23 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #27 Sam Jones – Senior (19 As) |
| 2014 Points Leader | #27 Sam Jones – Senior (42 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #14 John Connors – Sophomore (.535 SV %) |
| 2014 Faceoff Leader | #55 Brady Dove – Freshman (.564 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #55 Brady Dove – Freshman (83 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | #40 Pat Kiernan – Senior (23 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Holy Cross (21-12), Lafayette (11-3), Boston (13-7) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | Georgetown (9-8 OT), Loyola (7-6 2 OT), Johns Hopkins (6-5) |
| 2015 Record | 9-5 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 6-2 (1st in Patriot) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 9.79 Goals Per Game (38th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 8.57 Goals Against Per Game (13th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #42 Jack Ray – Freshman (22 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #23 Patrick Keena – Junior (22 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #23 Patrick Keena – Junior (36 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #14 John Connors – Junior (.509 SV %) |
| 2015 Faceoff Leader | #55 Brady Dove – Sophomore (.626 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #55 Brady Dove – Sophomore (78 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #20 Matt Rees – Sophomore (20 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | Towson (8-7 3 OT), Lehigh (13-12), Colgate (7-6), Army (10-7) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | Maryland (8-1), Johns Hopkins (13-8), Loyola (17-7), Army West Point (11-7 – Patriot League Semifinal) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
The Midshipmen look like a team to be starting to regain momentum in the Patriot League after a few down years. They’re nowhere near their 2004 National Championship appearance counterpart, but they could be back in the title hunt in a few years thanks to some quality production. One big addition was freshman Jack Ray. The 6-6 attackman from Don Bosco led Navy in goals last season with 22, and uses his advantage in size to get some gritty tallies. Ray, along with Patrick Keena, helped the Midshipmen become Patriot League Regular Season Champions, before falling to Army West Point in the semifinals of the league tournament.
Navy started the season with two polar opposites of games. They opened the season with a 21-7 win over VMI, in which Ray wasn’t a part of. He was a part of the Maryland game six days later, in which the Midshipmen scored only a goal in an 8-1 loss. Navy also lost their Patriot League opener to Bucknell 8-7 on a goal by Sean Doyle with 51 seconds to play. Navy went on a tear for the remainder of the regular season, starting off with a 7-6 win over Holy Cross thanks to an extra man goal by Dave Little. They followed by knocking off Towson in triple overtime 8-7 by T.J. Hanzsche’s game-winner. A slow start at Homewood Field against Johns Hopkins cost the Midshipmen a chance to knock off their third straight ranked opponent, but rebounded nicely with an 18-4 win over Lafayette. They continued beating Patriot League opponents by a goal against Lehigh and Colgate to go to 4-1 in Patriot League play. They improved to 5-1 against Boston thanks in part to a great third quarter run against the Terriers. After a loss to Loyola, the Midshipmen took on archrival Army for a chance to earn the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Navy scored seven unanswered goals from near the end of the third quarter to 38 seconds left in the game, to defeat the Black Knights 10-7.
Navy would get to host the Patriot League Tournament and took on the Black Knights again, but this time, they were the Army West Point Black Knights after a brand-name change for their athletics. It wasn’t the same result, as the Black Knights scored six straight goals in the first quarter to cruise to an 11-7 win over Navy, ending their chances of an NCAA Championship. But the Midshipmen did finish the season on a high note, defeating Air Force 9-8 on a Colin Flounlacker goal with 39 seconds left.
Navy showed the Patriot League that they should be a team to watch for upcoming seasons, but it will be tough to continue being regular season champs, especially in a crowded and talented Patriot League. Navy has to be consistent in 2016 in order to have a chance to take home the Patriot League’s AQ. They’ll bring back key contributors in Keena, Ray, FOGO Brady Dove, and Third Team All-American defenseman Chris Fennell.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL | |
| Gordon Livermore | Midfield/FO | Servite (CA) | |
| Ryan Kern | Goalie | Salesianum School (DE) | |
| Michael Henesey | Midfield/FO | Salisbury School (CT) | |
| Luke King | Defense | Severna Park/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Ian Burgoyne | Midfield | Darien (CT) | |
| Rob Keehfuss | Defense/LSM | Penn Charter (PA) | |
| Connor Freeborn | Defense | Salesianum School (DE) | |
| Brandon Aro | Defense | Rising Sun/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Brad Alexander | Midfield | Ridgefield (CT) | |
| Colin Bosak | Midfield/FO | Haverford School (PA) | |
| Troy Jahelka | Defense | Paul VI (VA) | |
| Thomas Miller | Defense | St. Mary’s (MD) | |
| Brandon Jacob | Midfield | Haverford School (PA) | |
| Jack Pollard | Midfield | St. Paul’s (MD) | |
| Mitch Mona | Midfield | St. John’s (DC) | |
| Thomas Evans | Defense | Landon (MD) | |
| A.J. Ferraro | Defense/LSM | Stoneman Douglas (FL) | |
| Patrick Walsh | Midfield | St. Joseph’s Prep (PA)/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Brock Martin | Midfield | Athens Drive (NC) | |
| Nick Hutson | Attack/Midfield | Bellevue (WA)/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Ryan Wade | Attack | Norfolk Academy (VA)/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Greyson Torain | Midfield | DeMatha/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Sam Kopf | Midfield/FO | Seattle Prep (WA) | |
| Chapman Jasien | Attack | Robinson (VA) | |
| Matt Smith | Defense | Parkland (PA)/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Connor Young | Attack | McDonogh/Navy Prep (MD) | |
| Noah Seely | Midfield | Governor’s Academy (MA) | |
| Christian Fiordelisi | Attack | Huntington (NY) |
Navy will lose eight players to graduation for 2016, but bring in a ton of recruits. But if you know a thing or two about the country’s Naval or Military academies, both have Prep schools that most lacrosse players go to before heading up to the big show. Eight players that spent last season at Navy Prep, which were 2014 recruits, will be heading over to Annapolis next season. There is a chance that some 2015 recruits head on over to Annapolis as well. But out of the Navy Prep kids, Pat Walsh was the Philadelphia Catholic League’s MVP in 2014 and packed a punch from his time at St. Joe’s Prep. Greyson Torain was a two-sport stud in football and lacrosse at DeMatha and will add some toughness to the Midshipmen as well. As for this year’s recruits, A.J. Ferraro and Ryan Kern are on Ty Xanders’ watchlist.
