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
COMPARING 2014 AND 2015 IN NUMBERS
| 2014 Record | NA |
| 2014 Conference Record | NA |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | NA |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | NA |
| 2014 Goals Leader | NA |
| 2014 Assists Leader | NA |
| 2014 Points Leader | NA |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | NA |
| 2014 Face-Off Leader | NA |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | NA |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | NA |
| 2014 Quality Wins | NA |
| 2014 Bad Losses | NA |
| 2015 Record | 1-13 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 0-6 (Last in American East) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 6.79 Goals Per Game (65th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 14.79 Goals Allowed Per Game (68th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #19 Jon Phillips – Freshman (14 Gs)#15 Sean Tyrrell – Freshman (14 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #19 Jon Phillips – Freshman (14 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #19 Joe Phillips – Freshman (28 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #10 Giles Ober – Sophomore (.445 SV %) |
| 2015 Face-Off Leader (min. 50 FOs) | #7 Eric Corella – Freshman (.315 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #23 Michael Adler – Freshman (45 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #88 Bain Schroeder – Freshman (22 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | NJIT (9-7) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | Albany (25-0), VMI (11-10) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
The second first year program had a little bit better success than NJIT in that it recorded a win, although that win was against the Highlanders. They had 29 of their 42 players as freshman and the majority of the team will be returning next season, as there were no seniors on this year’s team.
The season started on Valentine’s Day at Yale, where the Bulldogs were not so sweet as they defeated the River Hawks 19-4 in UMass Lowell’s first game in program history. They played their first home game a week later in a 13-9 loss to Siena. They received their first win in program history against NJIT March 7th by a score of 9-7 after taking an 8-1 lead at halftime. The losses continued thereafter, including a 25-0 drubbing at Albany. They took on VMI in their final game of the regular season in Scranton and were tied with the Keydets at seven entering the final quarter. Matthew Balter gave the River Hawks the lead before VMI tied it up 17 seconds later. Kyle Strong gave UMass Lowell a 9-8 lead before VMI scored three unanswered, including the eventual game winner with 29 seconds left on a man-up goal, giving the Keydets their first and only win of the season.
Similar to NJIT, UMass Lowell has more than half of the roster as freshmen. But unlike the Highlanders, the River Hawks have a ton of depth as well as players that have played at other schools, including Martin Winter (Jacksonville), Alex Desmarais (Salisbury), Sam Klingsporn (High Point), and Luke Roever (Mount St. Mary’s). Many of these players, barring any transfers or dismissals from the program, will be back for the team’s second season, which proves to be better than year one.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Michael Rouskas | Midfield/FO | DePaul Catholic (NJ) |
| Gage Sevigny | Midfield | Bishop Guertin (NH) |
| Clifford Kurker | Midfield | Needham (MA) |
| Nikko D’Eramo | Midfield | Burlington (MA) |
| Dillon Hayes | Midfield/FO | Bishop Guertin (NH) |
| Ryan Garry | Midfield | Port Washington (NY) |
| Mark Campanile | Attack | West Chester Rustin (PA) |
| Ryan Morrison | Attack | Edge (ONT) |
| Gregory Ponce | Goalie | West Islip (NY) |
| Grant Lardieri | Goalie | Forest Hills Northern (MI) |
| Will Russo | Midfield | Sachem North (NY) |
| Blaine McMahon | Midfield | New Milford (CT) |
| Austin Lane | Attack/Midfield | Hill Academy (ONT) |
The team looks to notch their first American East conference victory in 2016, and with depth and chemistry that has been built from last season along with some freshman from this incoming class, UMass Lowell looks like they might be able to get that first conference victory. The school has also done a solid job so far recruiting talent from good schools such as Hill Academy and West Islip and also recruiting talent from their own back yard in the New England area such as Bishop Guertin.
