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
COMPARING 2014 AND 2015 IN NUMBERS
| 2014 Record | 2-11 |
| 2014 Conference Record | 0-6 (Last in NEC) |
| 2014 Scoring Offense | 6.92 Goals Per Game (63rd in DI) |
| 2014 Scoring Defense | 12.38 Goals Against Per Game (62nd in DI) |
| 2014 Goals Leaders | #26 Patrick McMenamin – R-Freshman (16 Gs) #16 Paul DeVita – Sophomore (16 Gs) |
| 2014 Assists Leader | #26 Patrick McMenamin – R-Freshman (13 As) |
| 2014 Points Leader | #26 Patrick McMenamin – R-Freshman (29 Pts) |
| 2014 Goaltending Leader | #9 Nicholas Gibaldi – Senior (.490 SV %) |
| 2014 Face-Off Leader | #25 William McMenamin – R-Freshman (.514 FO %) |
| 2014 Ground Balls Leader | #25 William McMenamin – R-Freshman (43 GBs) |
| 2014 Caused Turnovers Leader | #19 Daniel Valencia – Sophomore (21 CTs) |
| 2014 Quality Wins | Monmouth (7-6 4OT), VMI (7-6) |
| 2014 Bad Losses | Vermont (11-10 2OT), Mount St. Mary’s (9-5) |
| 2015 Record | 4-9 |
| 2015 Conference Record | 1-5 (Last in NEC) |
| 2015 Scoring Offense | 7.15 Goals Per Game (64th in DI) |
| 2015 Scoring Defense | 8.23 Goals Against Per Game (11th in DI) |
| 2015 Goals Leader | #3 Andrew Streilein – Freshman (21 Gs) |
| 2015 Assists Leader | #14 Billy Battaglia – Junior (10 As) |
| 2015 Points Leader | #3 Andrew Streilein – Freshman (30 Pts) |
| 2015 Goaltending Leader | #6 Anthony Peruso – Senior (.533 SV %) |
| 2015 Face-Off Leader | #25 William McMenamin – R-Sophomore (.457 FO %) |
| 2015 Ground Balls Leader | #4 Matt Bunting – Senior (35 GBs) |
| 2015 Caused Turnovers Leader | #19 Daniel Valencia – Junior (26 CTs) |
| 2015 Quality Wins | VMI (12-4), Mount St. Mary’s (6-5 OT) |
| 2015 Bad Losses | Lafayette (10-5), Monmouth (7-3), Bryant (5-3) |
YEAR IN REVIEW
A program that only recorded more than two wins back in 2002 had its best season in program history. But it still was not enough to get into the NEC Tournament. 2014’s wins came against VMI and a first year Monmouth team. This season, they defeated first year programs UMass Lowell and NJIT, and also defeated VMI and upset Mount St. Mary’s in overtime.
The season started with losses against Lafayette and Rutgers before defeating UMass Lowell for their first win of the regular season. They took two more losses against Monmouth and Dartmouth before compiling up a three game win streak against VMI, Mount St. Mary’s, and NJIT. The winning stopped there, as the Seahawks would lose their final five games, all of them NEC conference games, to end the season at 4-9.
A bright spot is the consistent production from the freshmen and sophomores on the team. And another positive sighting is the improved goals against statistic, jumping from 62th in the nation to 11th. Wagner hopes to improve on this season, arguably its best ever, in 2016 with more quality wins and being more competitive in the NEC.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
| NAME | POSITION | HIGH SCHOOL |
| Nico Houser | Midfield/Attack/LSM | Santa Margarita Catholic (CA) |
| Matt Sefcik | Goalie | Morristown Beard (NJ) |
| Dan Hughes | Defense/LSM | Owen J. Roberts (PA) |
| Riley Owens | Defense | St. John’s (DC) |
| Spencer Kaufman | Midfield | Calhoun (NY) |
| Drew Mulholland | Attack/Midfield | Summit (NJ) |
| Johnny Norton | Attack | Mount St. Joseph (MD) |
| Shane Taylor | Attack | Archbishop Ryan (PA) |
| Connor Davis | Defense | Bishop Shanahan (PA) |
| Gavin Callahan | Defense/LSM | Boys’ Latin (MD) |
Wagner will lose eight seniors to graduation, but will gain 10 new recruits, including Gavin Callahan and Johnny Norton, two kids from MIAA schools, as well as Connor Davis from PA rising power Bishop Shanahan, and Drew Mulholland from Summit. Callahan knows success, coming from Boys’ Latin and a national power in the past few seasons, and would like to continue that success in Staten Island. Shane Taylor comes from Archbishop Ryan of the Philadelphia Catholic League, which is usually dominated by La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep. Taylor helped the Raiders become the third best team in the league, and also won league MVP honors. He could be a dark horse for the team come next season.
