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, Hobart Statesmen, Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Drexel Dragons, Harvard Crimson, Loyola Greyhounds, Air Force Falcons, Detroit Titans, Fairfield Stags, Bucknell Bison
COMPARING 2014 AND 2015 IN NUMBERS
| 2014 Record | 11-4 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 6-0 (1st in NEC) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 11.13 Goals Per Game (20th in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 8.20 Goals Against Per Game (6th in DI) |
| 2014 Goals Leader | #18 Ryan McGee – R-Junior (34 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #18 Ryan McGee – R-Junior (22 As) |
| 2014 Points Leader | #18 Ryan McGee – R-Junior (56 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #28 Dustin Keen – Junior (.572 SV %) |
| 2014 Face-Off Leader | #22 Will Abbott – Senior (.496 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #40 Will Farrell – Junior (42 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | #40 Will Farrell – Junior (30 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Richmond (7-4), Bryant (9-7) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | High Point (9-7), Hobart (10-9 2 OT – NEC Semifinal) |
| 2015 Record | 11-6 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 6-0 (1st in NEC) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 10.71 Goals Per Game (T23rd in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 7.65 Goals Against Per Game (5th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #3 Mike Rastivo – Sophomore (43 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #18 Ryan McGee – R-Senior (25 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #3 Mike Rastivo – Sophomore (62 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #13 T.J. Jones – Sophomore (.537 SV %) |
| 2015 Face-Off Leader | #14 Mike Lanham – Sophomore (.548 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #14 Mike Lanham – Sophomore (70 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leaders | #40 Will Farrell – Senior (23 CTs) #36 John Winchell – Junior (23 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | High Point (12-11), Bryant (8-7), Hobart (7-6 OT) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | Penn (11-10 OT), Michigan (9-8 4 OT), Bryant (10-6 – NEC Championship) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
You can certainly put St. Joe’s as one of the better small-conference teams, as they have dominated the NEC for the past two regular seasons. Take emphasis on “regular,” as for the past two seasons, the Hawks could not win the NEC Championship, which was held on Hawk Hill both seasons, and earn an AQ into the NCAA Tournament. They got one step further than they did in 2014 with making the NEC Championship, but could not get past a Bryant team that was starting to roll along. The Hawks have one of the best defenses in the nation, spearheaded by Will Farrell, and a very good offense to complement.
The Hawks started their season on the road against defending Atlantic Sun champion Richmond, who moved to the Southern Conference. St. Joe’s couldn’t start the season on a high note and fell to the Spiders 9-5. The following week, they took on another opponent from the SoCon, this time it was High Point. The Panthers had the lead for most of the game, but the Hawks took the lead back midway through the 4th quarter before Dan Lomas tied the game up at 11. That’s when Ryan McGee gave the Hawks their first win with two seconds to play.
They were back in action the following Tuesday against city rival Penn, and it looked very good early on. St. Joe’s stormed out to a 9-4 lead after three, before the Quakers scored six straight goals to take the lead, before Kevin Forster tied the game at 10, sending the game to overtime. But with 51 seconds left in the extra session, Nick Doktor completed the comeback for the Quakers. The Hawks would get back on track with a win against VMI, but fell to another city rival in Drexel 11-7.
After a win over Monmouth, the Hawks travelled to Charlottesville to face off against Virginia in a back-and-forth affair. Leading the Cavaliers 14-13, Greg Coholan and Ryan Lukacovic gave Virginia the tight 15-14 win. Next up was a home game against Michigan, which would produce one of the best games of the regular season. The Hawks scored three goals in the last 4:48 of the final stanza to send the game into overtime, then another, then another, and then another, until Peter Kraus of Michigan scored with 1:10 remaining in overtime number four to down the Hawks in another thrilling game.
The team turned around after that long loss, first with a win against Delaware. Then they travelled to Rhode Island to take on defending NEC champ Bryant. And the Bulldogs were having their way for most of the game. Up 7-5 with 1:50 left to play, the Hawks had very little time to try to get a win. But Pat Swanick scored with 1:10 left to play and Tucker James took an illegal body check penalty with 32 seconds left. That call left the door open for the Hawks to tie the game, which happened with just six seconds left, thanks to Mike Rastivo. It looked like the game would go to overtime, but Mike Lanham won one of his four faceoffs right after the goal and gave the ball to his offense, which would find Ryan McGee with a second left to give the Hawks arguably their best win of the season.
They would finish the regular season undefeated, beating the rest of their NEC foes, including an overtime victory over Hobart. They’d host the NEC Championship for the second straight year, and would get past Mount St. Mary’s in the semifinals before falling to Bryant in the NEC Championship.
The Hawks got further than they did in 2014, but they need to perform better in non-conference games. They came very close to finishing teams such as Penn, Drexel, Virginia, and Michigan, but could not do the job. They’ll need a few more pieces in order to get over that hump in 2016. But losing McGee and Farrell won’t help.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Zach Hare | Midfield | Spring-Ford (PA) |
| Daniel Lanham | Midfield/FO | Garnet Valley (PA) |
| Dustin Buchanan | LSM | Central Bucks East (PA) |
| Michael Major | Attack | Holy Ghost Prep (PA) |
| Zack Reiss | Defense | Middlesburg Academy (VA)/Trinity-Pawling (NY) |
| Drew Gaffney | Midfield | Covenant School (VA) |
| Thomas Tarleton | Defense | Ridgewood (NJ) |
| Jack Lombardo | Midfield | Loyola Blakefield (MD) |
| Danny Bullis | Attack | Mount Sinai (NY) |
| Liam Fitzpatrick | Midfield | Gonzaga (DC) |
| Thomas LaRose | Midfield | Seton Hall Prep (NJ) |
| Nick Buckley | Defense | La Salle College High School (PA)/Bellarmine (KY) |
The Hawks will replace 12 departing players with 12 incoming recruits. There might be some players that have an impact, but there may not be a Chris Blewitt-like player in the bunch. Dustin Buchanan of CB East played an important role in the Patriots’ defense for the past few seasons, and will be a stingy addition for the Hawks. Michael Major of Holy Ghost Prep dominated not only the lacrosse field for the Firebirds, but also the ice rink. Major was a part of the PA State Champion hockey team last season, and also helped the lacrosse team record its first playoff win in 2014. Major is also on the Team USBOXLA U18 team. Middies Jack Lombardo and Liam Fitzpatrick come from power conferences in the Mid-Atlantic area in the MIAA and WCAC respectively. Finally, they get a transfer in Nick Buckley from Bellarmine and nearby La Salle. Buckley, who went to school with current Hawks Kevin Forster and Brian McNamara, played football and lacrosse for the Explorers, and brings in a lot of grit and toughness for the Hawks defense.
