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.
Check out previous recaps: NJIT Highlanders, UMass Lowell River Hawks, VMI Keydets, Manhattan Jaspers, Canisius Golden Griffins, Robert Morris Colonials, St. John’s Red Storm, Wagner Seahawks, Binghamton Bearcats, Bellarmine Knights, Jacksonville Dolphins, Furman Paladins, Lafayette Leopards, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, Siena Saints, Delaware Blue Hens, UMBC Retrievers, Dartmouth Big Green, Providence Friars, Mercer Bears, Penn State Nittany Lions, Hofstra Pride, Michigan Wolverines, UMass Minutemen, Monmouth Hawks, Vermont Catamounts, Sacred Heart Pioneers, Holy Cross Crusaders, Penn Quakers, Villanova Wildcats, Boston Terriers, Quinnipiac Bobcats, Hartford Hawks
COMPARING 2014 AND 2015 IN NUMBERS
| 2014 Record | 5-10 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 3-3 (4th in NEC) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 8.67 Goals Per Game (53rd in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 10.40 Goals Against Per Game (T34th in DI) |
| 2014 Goals Leader | #12 Jake McHenry – Senior (29 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #31 Cam Stone – Senior (23 As) |
| 2014 Points Leaders | #12 Jake McHenry – Senior (32 Pts) #31 Cam Stone – Senior (32 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #44 Peter Zonino – Senior (.525 SV %) |
| 2014 Face-Off Leader | #16 Jake Shapiro – Freshman (.451 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #16 Jake Shapiro – Freshman (64 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | #40 Peter Bolte – Senior (17 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Canisius (11-10 OT), St. Joe’s (10-9 2OT) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | Binghamton (11-10 OT), Sacred Heart (10-9) |
| 2015 Record | 7-7 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 4-2 (2nd in NEC) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 8.43 Goals Per Game (57th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 9.36 Goals Against Per Game (20th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #4 Alex Love – Senior (22 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #4 Alex Love – Senior (9 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #4 Alex Love – Senior (31 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #39 Jackson Brown – Sophomore (.561 SV %) |
| 2015 Face-Off Leader | #15 J. Andrew Spallanzani – Freshman (.394 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #2 Cooper Stefaniak – Junior (43 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #48 Grant Soucy – Sophomore (13 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | Bryant (7-6 OT), Sacred Heart (13-5) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | St. Joe’s (7-6 OT), Bryant (11-8 – NEC Championship) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
The Statesmen improved on their performance in 2014 with a 2nd place finish in the NEC in 2015. Losing Jake McHenry and Cam Stone, Hobart relied mainly on Alex Love for their offensive production, along with other underclassmen elsewhere, including Jackson Brown in net. Hobart started NEC undefeated, including beating defending league champ Bryant. But their last three losses of the season were all in league play, including their finale against Bryant in the NEC Semifinal.
The season began with an opening win against defending MAAC Champion Siena 12-8, before falling to Cornell and defeating Binghamton by a goal. After a midweek showdown with Colgate was cancelled, the team fell to 2-2 after a loss to Georgetown. The Statesmen took care of Canisius before losing a tough game to Towson to go to 3-3. Hobart’s best run of the season took place after the Towson loss, with victories over Bryant, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, and Wagner, three of those wins came in overtime. But to match those four wins, the Statesmen lost their final four games of the season, against rival Syracuse, followed by NEC foes St. Joe’s in overtime, then Mount St. Mary’s, and Bryant in the NEC Semifinal, giving up a two goal lead at halftime.
Hobart will need to rebuild slightly on offense for another season after losing their leading scorer in Alex Love. They are fine defensively with a lot of youth at close defense as well as Brown in cage. St. Joe’s won’t be going away in 2016, and will definitely look to get over the hump of not winning an NEC Championship, while Bryant will also still be a threat, even without Kevin Massa as a FOGO. Hobart looks like they will be the 3rd or 4th best team in the NEC for another season, but that doesn’t mean that the Statesmen can put up a performance in the NEC Tournament to get an AQ bid for the NCAA Tournament.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Chris Aslanian | Attack | Westfield/Hun School (NJ) |
| Tyler Skretny | Defense | West Seneca East (NY) |
| Gerald Flood | Attack | St. John’s (DC) |
| Bayley Tranmer | Midfield | Trinity-Pawling (NY) |
| Matthew Pedicine | Midfield/FO | Arthur L. Johnson (NJ) |
| Tyler Trammell | Midfield | St. Joseph’s Collegiate (NY) |
| Parke Schweiter | Defense | Conestoga (PA) |
| Franklin Marquet | Defense/LSM | Dallastown (PA) |
| Max Spaan | Attack | Penfield (NY) |
| Bryan Hancock | Midfield | Mountain Vista (CO) |
| Grant Giuliano | Defense | St. Ignatius Prep (CA) |
| Tristan Dougherty | Goalie | Bishop Timon-St. Jude (NY) |
| KoKo Avedisian | Midfield | Landon (MD) |
| Ben Bechter | Attack/Midfield | Regis Jesuit (CO) |
| Chris Nolan | Midfield | Trinity-Pawling (NY) |
| Zac Cooley | Midfield/FO | Schroeder (NY) |
| Kyle Grimaldi | Attack | Corning (NY) |
Hobart will bring in 17 incoming recruits to replace only six departing seniors, but those losses include Love and midfielder Taylor Vanderbeek. About half of the recruits are midfielders, including Ben Bechter of Colorado power Regis Jesuit. Chris Aslanian is a very good recruit coming from a post-grad year at Hun School, a top five team nationally this season. He is very strong and explosive, and can also contribute on rides. He could be a big replacement for Love next season, as he was a huge asset to the Raider offense this season.
