Quick, name some of the top men’s programs in Division One lacrosse.
I’m sure teams like the defending national champion Duke Blue Devils came to mind. I’m also sure that teams like Syracuse and Notre Dame also came to mind.
Now, instead of naming teams at the top of the ladder, I want you to name five teams that are up and coming in the men’s lacrosse world. Can’t do it? Well, let’s take a look at five teams that may just have the chance to find themselves in Baltimore at the end of May 2014.
Albany Great Danes
After being ranked in the top twenty for most of the 2013 season, the Albany Great Danes are looking to make a run further than the first round of the NCAA tournament, which is where their season ended in 2013.
If there is any question of who will lead the offense for Albany next season, look no further than the Thompson family. Brothers Miles and Lyle will look to team up with their cousin Ty to lead the Great Danes to the NCAA tournament. The Thompson family netted over 50% of Albany’s total goals last season (147-287) and will look to add on to their totals next season.
With a collegiate season under his belt, sophomore Blaze Riorden will be guarding the net again in 2014. Although he gave up almost 12 goals per game, the experience that Riorden gained in his debut season will do nothing but help him as he proceeds in his college career.
Bucknell Bison
When a team loses their leading scorer to graduation, they might think that they are in trouble for the following season, but in the case of Bucknell, that does not seem to be the case.
Chase Bailey was able to find the back of the net 36 times for the Bison during the 2013 season and losing him to graduation will affect Bucknell, but maybe not as much as one would think. Responsible for taking over the goal scoring task will be senior attack Todd Heritage, who had 34 goals during the 2013 campaign, and sophomore midfield Thomas Flibotte, who netted 29 goals for the Bison.
Bucknell will also look to David Dickinson, who had an outstanding 48 assists in 2013. If Dickinson can find Heritage and Flibotte consistently, there’s no reason why the Bison could not find themselves in Baltimore at the end of May.
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
The bad news for Lehigh is that they have lost 13 seniors to graduation, which includes leading scorer from 2013 David Dimaria who tallied 33 goals during the ’13 campaign.
The good news, however, is that they are still set to have a large number of seniors next season with 11, all of whom have multiple years of NCAA tournament experience.
After bowing out in the first round of the tournament two years in a row to perennial powerhouses Maryland and Syracuse, the Mountain Hawks are looking to build on two straight Patriot League championships and make their way further into the NCAA tournament. Juniors Dan Taylor and Patrick Corbett will look to take a more active role in scoring duties with the departure of Dimaria.
Junior goalie Matt Poillion will be back in net for Lehigh next season after starting a season high 14 games in 2013.
Towson Tigers
After a strong run through the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament and an NCAA tournament appearance, the Tigers are poised to make a big run next year on the back of leading goal scorer Thomas DeNapoli, who put 41 goals into the back of the net in 2013.
The Tigers were able to make a run at the end of 2013 that allowed them a berth into the NCAA tournament, which is invaluable experience for a team that is only losing four seniors as they head into next season.
This will be the last year that Towson faces national powerhouse Penn State in CAA action, but before the Nitany Lions bolt for the new Big Ten Conference, Towson wants to make sure that PSU knows that the Tigers are for real.
Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats took a giant leap forward in their quest for national prominence by winning an always tough Big East regular season championship.
The road in 2013 was not an easy one for the Wildcats, but a tough schedule has become somewhat of a staple at ‘Nova as the Wildcats faced nine ranked teams throughout the season and can look forward too much of the same in the future.
Villanova has a lot of offense to replace for the 2014 season. Attack Jack Rice did most of the scoring for Villanova last year, putting 37 goals in the net. The closest non-senior to Rice’s goal total was 20 goals short.
If ‘Nova wants to continue to build on their recent successes, they are going to have to find production from their underclassman.
