February 5, 2010
Watch out for the Ivy
by Brian Miller/
Division 1 preview
Harvard
2009: 8-5, 3-3 Ivy League
Head coach: John Tillman (third year, 14-13)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Joe Pike, goalkeeper; Sam Slaughter, midfield; Max Motschwiller, midfield.
Overview: Things look good for the Crimson, who return their top five scoring threats from 2009, including sophomore attackman and leading scorer Jeff Cohen (41 points, 34 goals) and preseason All-America pick Jason Duboe (11 goals, eight assists) at midfield. Dean Gibbons was second on the team in scoring last season with 21 goals and Travis Burr followed him with 16 goals. Both are back, along with Jesse Fehr, who had 11 assists at attack.
Also on the upside is Harvard's current freshman class, dubbed one of the nation's best by several media outlets. Tillman's done a number on the Ivy League as of late, leading Harvard to a national ranking in his first year with the team. Heís also coached the most All-Ivy League selections for Harvard since 1999. To boot, the program won its most games last season since 2002.
Defensively, preseason All-America pick Billy Geist is back, but loses mate Sam Slaugther down low, along with goalkeeper Joe Pike.
Outlook: A top-notch offense returning most of its firepower and a talented freshman class could have the Crimson Tide thinking tournament for the first time since 2006. Harvard's been predicted to finish third in the Ivy, behind stalwarts Cornell and Princeton, so count those games as some of the biggest this season no matter where you call home.
Brown
2009: 12-4, 4-2 Ivy League
Head coach: Lars Tiffany (fourth year, 30-14 overall)
Postseason: Lost 12-11 in overtime to Johns Hopkins University in the first round of the Division I tournament.
Key losses: Jordan Burke, goalkeeper; Brady Williams, midfielder.
Overview: Two-time Ivy League Coach of the Year Lars Tiffany and his Brown Bears look to be in good shape following their 2009 campaign, as the team returns several of its top scorers and a few top-notch defensemen. The team had eight All-New England selections last season, and six of them are back.
Junior and Preseason All-America pick Thomas Muldoon comes back to Rhode Island after posting 36 goals and 11 assists last season, placing him 12th on the all-time Brown scoring list (89 goals overall). He'll team up with Andrew Feinberg (Ivy League Rookie of the Year), whose 41 goals led the Ivy League and put him seventh nationally in goals per game. Reade Seligmann also returns after scoring 12 goals and posting 21 assists to place fourth in scoring last year for the Bears.
The defense will have to replace All-everything and United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Goalkeeper of the Year Jordan Burke, with Matt Chriss as the leading candidate. Peter Fallon and Jake Hardy should anchor the defense.
Outlook: It was 12 years between tournament appearances for Brown; now the Bears will try for two in a row. The Bears have reached the NCAA tournament the second-most times of any New England Division I school, their 11 trips second to just Massachusettsí 17.
Massachusetts
2009: 9-6, 6-1 ECAC
Head coach: Greg Cannella (16th year, 131-84)
Postseason: ECAC regular season champions; lost 10-7 to Princeton University in the first round of the Division I tournament.
Key losses: Tim Balise, attack; Doc Schneider, goalkeeper; Jim Connolly, attack; Evan Blum, midfield; Rory Pedrick, midfield; Joe Reale, midfield.
Overview: The Minutemen rebounded from a tough 2008 season with a 9-6 showing last year, made the NCAA tournament after ending the season on a decent 6-2 run, but will certainly have its challenges this spring in their first season in the Colonial Athletic Association. UMass was hit hard by graduation, losing Tewaaraton Tropy finalist and goalkeeper Doc Schneider, leading scorer Tim Balise and attackman Jim Connolly, among others.
This season, monster defenseman and Pre-Season All-America nominee Diogo Godoi will lead the charge in front of a fairly young UMass squad with 13 sophomores and 12 freshmen. Also coming back are All-New England selections Art Kell (11 goals) and Bobby Hayes (team-leading 14 assists in 2009).
The duty of replacing Schneider will likely fall on Mael Walkowiak (six appearances in 2009 as a sophomore transfer), who will have his predecessor on the coaching staff after an MLL championship season with the Toronto Nationals this past summer.
Outlook: UMass should be a preseason top 20 pick in most polls and its young squad won't really face the meat of its schedule until about a month in. Godoi should have some experience at his side with defenseman Casey Rahn and long-stick midfielder Will Jeffrey, while the Minutemen look to get back to the tournament. UMass has the highest winning percentage of any Division I team in the region since 2005.
Bryant
2009: 10-5, Independent
Head coach: Mike Pressler (fourth year, 35-13 overall)
Postseason: Bryant is in its second Division I season and will not be eligible for postseason play until 2011.
Key losses: Zach Greer, attack; Kevin Hoagland, attack; Bryan Kaufmann, attack.
Overview: Bryant didnít beat a team in 2009 that had a winning record, but didnít have difficulty handling most of that crew either. However, Bryant is in just its second Division I season, with postseason opportunity around the corner under Mike Pressler.
The biggest footnote to Bryantís season will be the loss of the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer in attackman Zach Greer. The former Duke standout finished his career with 353 points, which tied him for second on the all-time list. His 4.53 goals per game also led the nation. Greerís partners on the pipes have also graduated, therefore Bryant is left without its top three scorers, who accounted for 160 goals of the teamís 291 last season. The graduation of Kevin Hoagland (33 goals, 14 assists) and Bryan Kaufmann (30 goals, 15 assists) leaves the Bulldogs without a player scoring more than 16 goals in 2009.
That means returning midfielders Matt Larson (16-6) and Max Weisenberg (10-9) are the next top scorers coming back. Travis Harrington and Gary Crowley each added nine goals last season.
Bryant's strength most likely continues at midfield, where faceoff guru Andrew Hennessey returns after posting an incredible .711 percentage. He also was Bryant's leader in groundballs with 118.
On defense, junior keeper Jameson Love should be back between the pipes after starting all 15 games last season. His 8.75 goals against average was supported by the likes of defensemen Matt Murnane and Anthony Iannello.
Outlook: While the Bulldogs certainly lost a boatload of scoring, their defense does return some talent with Love leading the way. Only time will tell how ready the program will be as it approaches a shot at the NCAA tournament next year. The program did beef up its schedule with more quality opponents in 2010, and dumped 0-11 Detroit Mercy for this spring.
Yale
2009: 5-8, 1-5 Ivy League
Head coach: Andy Shay (seventh season, 35-45)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Michael Karwoski, midfield; Matt Aronson, defense; Mark Schlam, defense; Kevin Discepolo, midfield.
Overview: Yale loses some firepower this season when it takes the field without Michael Karwoski, last year's leading scorer with 29 goals and 11 assists. However, the Bulldogs have a trio at attack that knows each other very well. The Brothers Gibson, Brendan (23 goals, 12 assists) and Matt (20-11) are back with Gregory Mahoney (17-2), giving Yale a solid offensive unit.
Goalie Johnathan Falcone will have his work cut out for him without Matt Aronson and Mark Schlam laying the lumber in front of him.
Quinnipiac
2009: 4-9, 2-3 GWLL
Head coach: Eric Fekete (ninth year, 38-66)
Postseason: Lost 15-11 to Notre Dame in the semifinals of the GWLL tournament.
Overview: GWLL Coach of the Year Eric Fekete has an interesting situation returning this season, with everyone who tallied more than four points in 2009 back. However, the team is very top-heavy with 17 seniors and 10 juniors. There are only 14 underclassmen on the roster.
Despite returning so many players offensively, the Bobcats only had two chip in with more than 15 goals. Jack Oppenheimer led the way with 20 and Kevin Kelly had 17. However, Ted Dimond scored 12 times and Gary Messina assisted 12 others.
Kevin Benzing returns to goal after a 9.07 goals against average last season and a .549 save percentage. The defense around him has a good amount of experience in Crandon Leahy, Matt Baker, Chris Coppolechia, and Jake Glebocki.
Dartmouth
2009: 4-11, 1-5 Ivy League
Head coach: Andrew Towers (first year)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Jimmy Mullen, midfield; Brian Koch and Tim Daniels.
Overview: Dartmouthís Andrew Towers takes the reins for the first time as head coach in Hanover after spending five years as an assistant coach to Bill Wilson, who resigned in May. Towers, a former Major League Lacrosse All-Star, is no stranger to New England, after coaching stints at Fairfield, Hartford and Yale. He coached and played at Brown, where he was a two-time All-American and remains the school's all-time leader in goals for a single season and career.
The Big Green return long-stick midfield talent Casey Hington and Ari Sussman (12 goals, 10 assists in 2009) and Kip Dooley (10 goals).
Fergus Campbell started nine games last season between the pipes for Dartmouth, allowing 11.88 goals per game. However, Pat Marschall and Micahel Novosel also return after starting three games apiece. Andy Gagel and Ben Rossman are the returning defensemen with the most groundballs in 2009.
Providence
2009: 6-10, 5-3 MAAC
Head coach: Chris Burdick (11th year, 74-86)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Bobby Labadini, attack; Robert Bryan, goalkeeper.
Overview: Providence is the only Division I team from New England other than Massachusetts and Brown which has reached the NCAA tournament since 2007, and made it there two other times since 2004. However, the Friars' road will get much tougher to continue that trend now that they have moved from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to join the Big East in its inaugural season. Providenceís competition? Just defending national champion Syracuse, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. Johnís, and Villanova.
Coming back this season for the Friars is second-leading scorer Conor Tigh, who was the only Friar other than Bobby Labadini to tally more than 16 points last season. Joining him on the offensive attack will be Jackson Fallon at midfield, who had 13 points in 2009.
Back on defense, one of Providenceís big losses will be its starting goalkeeper from a year ago in Robert Bryan. In front of whomever gets in net will be first-team MAAC selection Ryan Riedl on defense.
Sacred Heart
2009: 4-10, 1-4 CAA
Head coach: Tom Mariano (13th season, 74-104)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Dan Casciano, attack; Bobby Rushton, attack; Bobby Karl, attack; Zach Smith, midfield/faceoffs; Shawn McDonough, defense.
Overview: A large incoming class of 19 a year ago will most likely be relied upon to mature this season as Sacred Heart hits the turf in 2010. Timmy Katz, a senior do-it-all, led the team in points in 2009 with 21 goals and seven assists. Elsewhere, the Pioneers had Jon Flood score 11 and Dennis Gannon tally 10 last season. Sacred Heart also will have to replace Zach Smith at the face-off circle.
Defensively, goaltender Zach Frank was the lead guy between the pipes, starting 12 games. However, the team allowed over 10 goals per game.
Fairfield
2009: 7-6, 4-3 ECAC
Head coach: Andrew Copelan (second year, 7-6)
Postseason: none
Overview: Copelan's Stags are a preseason No. 4 pick in the ECAC, and return five of their top six scorers from 2009, including leading point-man Brent Adams (16 goals, 11 assists). Sophomore John Snellman tied Chris Ajemian for the team lead in goals last season with 18 and Nick Baglio had 14 goals.
Fairfield's core group of attackmen return (with Snellman, Chris Trombino, and Logan Rausse), but it lost two key defensemen in Matt Petre and Billy Honovich, who both started every game down close. Sean Bannon and Chris Creighton saw some time on defense, with over 20 groundballs each.
Meanwhile, in the cage, Charlie Cipriano nabbed the starting spot last year from expected incumbent Joe Marra, and came away with a healthy 8.78 goals against average.
Outlook: Fairfield brings back a fair amount of its scoring from 2009, but will need some young defensemen in Bannon and Creighton to step up into starting roles, or perhaps Mike Gianelle and Brendan McTague. Both also saw plenty of time last year. Fairfield hasn't been to the tournament since 2005, one of only two times it has made the dance.
Vermont
2009: 4-10, 1-4 America East
Head coach: Ryan Curtis (fourth year, 13-31)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Andrew Kelleher, attack; Justin Lubas, goalkeeper.
Overview: Gone are Andrew Kelleher's team-leading 36 goals and gone is Justin Lubas, who started 10 games in net last season. But that might be OK for coach Ryan Curtis' Catamounts, who return a pair of attackmen in co-captain Geoff Worley and Derek Lichtfuss who can run the show on offense. Worley tallied 18 goals and 20 assists last season as a freshman and Lichtfuss put up 22 goals.
UVM also has other spots with experience back as the defense will welcome the likes of Matt Jankow, co-captain Evan O'Brien and Chris Maubach, who all saw significant time in 2009. Sophomore Peter Oswald took the majority of the faceoffs last season.
In goal, Alex Plavner actually played in eight games last year, starting three of them. Overall, the team has 25 letter winners returning and 16 new faces to the America East.
Hartford
2009: 2-11, 1-4 America East
Head coach: Peter Lawrence (fifth year, 7-49)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Eric Guevara, defense; Mark Liberti, defense.
Overview: Hartford pulled off the biggest win of coach Peter Lawrenceís tenure last season, defeating tournament-bound and 9th-ranked UMBC during the final weeks of the regular season. The Hawks finished 2-11, and have yet to find a winning season (or more than three wins) since Jack McGetrick left after the 2003 season.
This season the Hawks return their top four point scorers from a year ago in Aidan Genik (24 goals, 10 assists), Ryan Compitello (20-13), Carter Bender (18-11), and Justin Bearse (12-10, also 2008's leading scorer).
Holy Cross
2009: 3-12, 0-6 Patriot League
Head coach: Adam Pascal (sixth season, 17-54)
Postseason: none
Key losses: Jimmy Harrison, goalkeeper.
Overview: The Crusaders return their top six scorers from a year ago and several experienced defensemen for coach Adam Pascalís sixth season at the helm. Colin McGeehin led the team with 28 points (21 goals) and Chris Smirti was just a few behind (21) as the Crusaders look for its first winning season since 1988.
On defense, Brendan Candon led the team with 43 groundballs last year and should be joined with Tim Barrar, Douglas Broussard and John Rapport at the back end.
Senior Connor Sweeney and junior Brandon DeLisio will contend for the starting goaltender spot with two freshman netminders who are new to the roster.
