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 | 16-5 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 5-1 (2nd in NEC) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 10.29 Goals Per Game (28th in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 7.90 Goals Against Per Game (5th in DI) |
| 2014 Goals Leader | #10 Shane Morrell – Sophomore (44 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #30 Alex Zomerfeld – Senior (25 As) |
| 2014 Points Leader | #10 Shane Morrell – Sophomore (61 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #40 Gunnar Waldt – Sophomore (.593 SV %) |
| 2014 Faceoff Leader | #41 Kevin Massa – Junior (.688 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #41 Kevin Massa – Junior (227 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | #15 Matt Macgrotty – Senior (19 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Bucknell (12-9), Drexel (12-6), Albany (12-11), Syracuse (10-9 – NCAA First Round) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | Yale (9-8), St. Joseph’s (9-7), Brown (13-11), Maryland (16-8 – NCAA Quarterfinal) |
| 2015 Record | 8-10 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 4-2 (3rd in NEC) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 8.28 Goals Per Game (59th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 8.22 Goals Against Per Game (10th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #1 Tucker James – Sophomore (34 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #10 Shane Morrell – Junior (20 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #10 Shane Morrell – Junior (51 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #40 Gunnar Waldt – Junior (.578 SV %) |
| 2015 Faceoff Leader | #41 Kevin Massa – Senior (.669 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #41 Kevin Massa – Senior (160 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #39 Connor Dent – Senior (17 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | Hartford (11-9), Mount St. Mary’s (8-6), Hobart (11-8 – NEC Semifinals), St. Joseph’s (10-6 – NEC Championship) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | North Carolina (10-9), Albany (10-8), Brown (9-8), Marist (10-6 – NCAA Play In) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
Bryant was nowhere near the team that they were back in 2014. They didn’t lose any major talent, except for Matt Macgrotty, who led the team in caused turnovers last season. Tucker James continued to grow, Shane Morrell is also a threat, and Kevin Massa was once again one of the best FOGOs in the nation even with the new rules. The only disappointing player was goaltender Gunnar Waldt. Waldt was a Second Team Preseason All-American, but didn’t look like it early in the season, nor did the entire Bulldog team. But once April hit, Waldt and Bryant showed who they really were, and the junior keeper was named a Third Team All-American, along with Massa. Bryant was able to win another NEC Championship, but had to play in their second consecutive Play-In game, and lost to MAAC Champion Marist.
The first two months for Bryant were very rough, going 2-7 in their first five games of the regular season. They opened the season with two losses against Patriot League foes Colgate and Bucknell, before beating Hartford by two goals. They didn’t use that momentum when they played against Yale, which resulted in a seven goal loss to the other Bulldogs. March hit, and the losses continued, falling to Drexel by three before a mid-week matchup in Chapel Hill against UNC. This was a turning point for the Bulldogs. Bryant scored five straight goals in the second quarter to take a 6-2 lead to the locker room at the half. UNC responded out of the gate, with three tallies from Luke Goldstock, followed by three more goals before Tom Kennedy cut the Tar Heel lead to a goal with a quarter left. Goals by Tom Forsberg and Shane Morrell gave Bryant yet another lead with 9:26 left to play. But Luke Goldstock scored his final two goals of the day, giving him six total, to escape an upset from Bryant. Bryant lost to Hobart in overtime 11 days later, but rebounded with a win against in-state rival Providence, before losing to NEC leading St. Joe’s by a goal.
Bryant was starting to play well entering March, but at 0-2 in conference play, they could not give up another conference game. But it would be tough to get wins against those NEC rivals. They were down 3-1 to Wagner with a quarter to go before the Bulldogs notched four tallies in the final stanza to give Bryant win number three on the year. A win over Sacred Heart by 10 goals was something to smile about, and so was a tough game against Robert Morris a few days later. They were on the wrong side of history as Lyle Thompson became the NCAA Division I point leader in a 10-8 loss to Albany, who scored two unanswered goals to take the game. They clinched the #3 seed in the NEC Tournament with an 8-6 win, but failed to complete a comeback against Brown in another midweek game, as they fell to the Bears 9-8.
The Bulldogs arrived on the campus of St. Joe’s as the #3 seed in the NEC Tournament, facing off against Hobart in a rematch of an overtime loss to the Statesmen. Hobart started hot, as they lead 7-3 midway through the second quarter, but Bryant would shut down Hobart’s offense for the remainder of the game. The Bulldogs scored eight of the final nine goals of the game to take an 11-8 victory to face St. Joe’s in the NEC Championship. Bryant took the lead early and did not give it up, beating the Hawks on their home turf 10-6 for their third straight NEC Championship. They had to travel to play MAAC Champion Marist in a play-in game, with the winner facing off in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse. The Bulldogs would not get the Orange for a third consecutive season, as they would fall to the Red Foxes 10-6 to end their season.
Bryant had high expectations after a very impressive run in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. However, those expectations were nowhere close to being met, especially in the earlier portion of the season. No more Kevin Massa taking faceoffs, which will be a huge blow to the Bulldog squad for 2016. Whoever takes draws next season—which could be younger brother Kenny Massa—has to continue the dominance in faceoffs if Bryant wants to compete for another NEC Championship and even a chance to go deep in the NCAA Tournament.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Jake Buonaiuto | Attack | Miller Place (NY) |
| Daniel Cotnoir | Defense | Longmeadow (MA) |
| Kevin Quigley | Midfield | South County (VA) |
| Mike Vailas | Defense/LSM | Bedford (NH) |
| Gabe Remshardt | Attack | Clayton (MO) |
| Ryan Cerino | Attack | Riverdale (SC) |
| Luke Finneran | Attack | Greenwich/Avon Old Farms (CT) |
| Jake Miller | Defense/LSM | Niskayuna (NY) |
| Locke Rohan | Attack | Lincoln (OR) |
| Kyle Rodney | Midfield | De La Salle (CA) |
| Jack Horan | Defense/LSM | Marin Catholic (CA) |
| Kevin Beimfohr | Defense/LSM | Mountain Lakes (NJ) |
Bryant will have to replace seven seniors, including Massa and starting defenseman Connor Dent, with 12 incoming recruits. No top recruits in this list, but there are recruits from different regions. The two recruits that stand out location wise are Gabe Remshardt from Missouri and Ryan Cerino from South Carolina. You don’t see those two states represented on a ton of teams currently. And Bryant also brings in recruits from tradition schools such as Longmeadow (Daniel Cotnoir), Avon Old Farms (Luke Finneran), and New York Class A State Champion Niskayuna (Jake Miller). Miller was one of Niskayuna’s backbones this season, helping them to their first ever State Championship.
