Penn State is one of the hottest teams in Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse this season. The Nittany Lions are currently 4-1 and have climbed up to No.8 in the polls. They began the season unranked and many had questions about if the program was going to be able to bounce back from their successful 2019 and 2020 seasons.

The 2019 Penn State team was one of the most successful teams in Penn State Men’s Lacrosse history. The team was undefeated in the Big Ten and won the conference tournament. They cruised into Memorial Day Weekend before being defeated by Yale in the semifinals. Penn State had five players score 50 or more points that season. Grant Ament (30G, 96A) and Mac O’Keefe (78 G, 18A) played seemingly with the cheat codes on that season.

Before the season was shut down in 2020, Penn State was 5-2 and ranked No.7 in the country. O’Keefe and Ament were again firing on all cylinders. Looking at the last two seasons, you could make the argument that the shutdown altered the trajectory of the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions had a disappointing season in 2021 (4-7) and a devastating 2022 (3-11) leading to the uncertainty of 2023.

2023 Quick Recap

The 2023 season has been positive already in Happy Valley. Penn State has two straight wins over Yale and Penn in the last two weeks. They have the opportunity to make a statement for themselves and the Big Ten when they travel to Ithaca this weekend to face Cornell. A third straight win and a respectable showing in the conference play could have the Nittany Lions back in the tournament come May. 

Using data from the last five years on the Penn State Men’s Lacrosse team from Lacrosse Reference, I wanted to dig into the offensive and defensive numbers to see if data can help explain the dip in 2021 and 2022 and what has helped lead to a resurgence of the team in 2023.

Offensive Analysis

Between 2016 and 2020, Penn State had a top 15 offense in the country. As the data on the line graph shows, 2019 (1st) and 2020 (5th) were Penn State’s best-producing units. Ament and O’Keefe were on another level playing with each other. Dylan Folds, Nick Spillane, and Jack Kelly all helped contribute to Penn State’s dominance.

Ament graduated after the 2020 season and was selected as the No.1 overall pick by the Archers in the PLL. With Ament gone, the Penn State offense went from having the 5th to the 49th-best offense in the league. His teammates also experienced similar drops in production as the table below demonstrates. 

Penn State moved up to 38th in 2022. Will Peden had the most points on the season (11G, 22A) and Mac Costin was the only Nittany Lion to score more than 20 goals. The 2023 season is again showing signs of improvement and has Penn State ranked 24th in the country and just over 30% in offensive efficiency so far in the young season.

Defensive Analysis

Unlike the offense, the defense has never really been the calling card of Penn State. Between 2016 and 2022 the defensive efficiency numbers fluctuated between a low of 27.6% (2020) and 31.7%. A stronger offense was able to overcome those deficiencies prior to the pandemic. The Nittany Lions were not able to make up for it during the last two-year’s power outages. This year the defense ranks 11th. Sophomore Jack Fracyon has stabilized the Nittany Lions between the pipes. Defenseman Alex Ross (8CT, 7GB) and LSM Ryan O’Connor (5CT,10GB) along with midfielder Grant Haus (3CT, 12 GB) have allowed Penn State to play with an edge this season.

Saturday, Penn State travels to undefeated Cornell. Cornell is led on offense by CJ Kirst who is off to an electric start and has a very strong and formidable defense. Faceoff is at noon on ESPN+.

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Unpredictable. Chaotic. Exciting. All adjectives used to best describe the first month of NCAA Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse. Here are a few numbers before we get into the February report card.

• 1: Congratulations to Lindenwood and Queens on earning their first Division 1 wins this season.
• 5: Rock Fights. Five times this season both teams have failed to score at least 10 or more goals.
• 7: Undefeated teams. Virginia, Notre Dame, UMBC, Robert Morris, St. Joseph’s, Cornell, and Dartmouth. What’s the over/under for April 1? 1.5?
• 13: Winless teams. UMass Lowell, NJIT, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, St. John’s, Hampton, Canisius, LIU, Marist, Sacred Heart, Colgate, and Holy Cross.
• 19: Teams that have scored at least 20 goals on the season. Harvard is the only team to score 20 or more goals and lose.

Every week, Lacrosse Reference shares the Efficiency Matrix for NCAA Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse. The graph breaks down all of the teams in Division 1 on a scatter chart. The best offenses are placed to the right. The best defenses are on top. All of the numbers are adjusted based on the opponent’s strength of schedule.  Below is the February Efficiency Matrix and the five biggest takeaways from the first month of the season.

Notre Dame: A Balanced Attack 

The Irish are off to a strong start in 2023. They are 3-0 and have the 2nd best offense and 22nd defense. Offensively, the Irish are led by the Kavanagh brothers at attack. They are perfect complements of each other’s skill sets. Chris Kavanagh has 18 points (12G, 6A) and Pat Kavanagh has 17 points (3G, 14 A). Jeffrey Ricciardelli has done well replacing Jake Taylor who is out with a second ACL injury. Should Taylor return in April or May, it will add yet another devastating element for the Irish offense. Kevin Corrigan has done a remarkable job integrating the transfers into the Irish lineup. Brian Tevlin is a swiss army knife on both ends of the field, and Chris Fake and Chris Conlin continued in the tradition of a stout Irish defense. The Irish face a challenge on Saturday as they host the Terps.

Virginia: Waiting for the Defense to Catch Up

Virginia got everyone’s attention two weeks ago when they hung 20 on Harvard in the first half. The Cavalier offense has never been an issue in Charlottesville. Lars Tiffany and his staff have done a masterful job of stacking high school recruiting classes and using the transfer portal to reinforce its lineup. Virginia has the top-rated offense in the country and has an efficiency rating of 42.8%. The biggest question mark for the Cavaliers has come from their defense.  The defense has had a good but not great ranking in the 20s over the last two years. The Cavaliers‘ defense looked porous, to put it mildly, during the first two weeks of the season. Michigan and Harvard in the second half both seemed to score at will. Granted Lars emptied the bench against the Crimson, but having a 12 goal half-time lead shrinking to a four-goal win is not a great look. Virginia had their best look defensively last week against Ohio State. More balanced performances from the defense will make Virginia tough to beat in 2023.

Georgetown: Wake the Hoyas up When February Ends

February has been filled with landmines for the Hoyas. The offense looks out of sync and overly reliant on Tucker Dordevic and Graham Bundy, Jr. The pair have 19 points between them, but only three of those points are assists. Georgetown had the 6th best offense in 2022 and looked to improve with Tucker Dordevic, Brian Minucus, Jacob Kelly, and Nicky Solomon being added. The Hoyas also brought in John Hogan as their new offensive coordinator this offseason. The results just have not followed. The Hoyas would benefit from sharing the ball and passing up the good shot, for the best shot. This is where Maryland thrived last year, also with a roster chocked full of transfers. Georgetown has four games in March to get the offense and the defense (57th) sorted out before Big East play starts in April. Villanova and Denver will be waiting.

Defense: UMass, Cornell, and Loyola

Cornell, Loyola, and UMass have the strongest defenses so far in 2023. Cornell is #3 (16%), UMass is 7th (18.7%), and Loyola is 17th (21.6%). Each of the team’s long poles has wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. Cornell’s defensive unit (Singer, Follows, and Adler) have 14 caused turnovers and 23 ground balls. Loyola’s defensive unit (Hughes, Wyers, and Bean) has 15 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls. UMass’s defensive unit (Campbell, Wittmack, and Sharkey) has 13 caused turnovers and 11 ground balls. Each of the team’s goalies is in the Top 10 in save percentage: Staudt (Loyola, 65.1%), Knote (UMass, 63.5%), and Ierlan (Cornell, 58.5%). Each of the three teams will look to use their defense to put them in a position to come out on top of their respective conferences.

Which Way is Up?: Yale, Boston, and Providence

Looking at the chart there is a cluster in the bottom right-hand corner for Yale, Boston, and Providence. The three teams are statistically very close together, but the greater lacrosse community holds to different levels. Bobby Benson has done a nice job in Friartown with his offense. Sure Providence had a losing record in February, but a comparison with their 2022 schedule shows how the team has competed at a higher level in 2023. BU is on par with their 2022 season. Yale’s defense continues to be a troubling trend. They were 49th last year and sit 40 this year. As the Bulldogs learned last week, their offense isn’t going to be able to bail them out time and again. What success looks like is very different for each of these teams in 2023. They are just three of a number of teams in that middle cluster I will be keeping an eye on for the remainder of the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse season.

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The ACC and Big Ten continued to distance themselves from the pack this weekend after big wins. Penn State, Johns Hopkins, and Michigan each knocked off Top 20 teams to continue to strengthen the conference’s non-conference record. Michigan responded to a 9-4 deficit with a 9-0 run to knock off Delaware.

Virginia and Notre Dame helped the ACC earn two key non-conference wins. Virginia continued its dominance over the college lacrosse landscape with its 25-8 victory over Richmond. This is the second time this season that the Cavaliers have scored 25 goals in a game this season and the second straight week they held their opponent under ten goals.

Three of the four biggest games this weekend involved Big Ten teams. Let’s get you caught up on the three biggest headlines this week.

Grab your stick, it’s time to hit the wall!

Hoyas Change Their Way to Victory

Georgetown was too talented to start its season 0-3. They looked out of sorts and in a funk since the season started. Coach Kevin Warne and his staff made some changes this week to see if some new combinations would help provide a jolt to the Hoyas. Brian Minicus moved from attack to midfield, Graham Bundy Jr. moved from midfield to attack, and Michael Scharfenberger earned his first start in goal.

Minicus responded by having his best game of the season leading the Hoyas with three goals and two assists. Scharfenberger earned his fourth career win making 15 saves, and picked up his first win this season. Georgetown led Princeton 7-6 at halftime and used a 5-0 run in the third quarter to help put the Tigers away. Georgetown welcomes Richmond next week.

The troubles continue for Princeton. The Tigers dropped their second straight game at the Class of 1952 stadium. Coulter Mackesy led Princeton with five goals and three assists on Saturday. Princeton will look to reverse its fortunes next week when they travel to Rutgers next Saturday.

Luck of the Irish in OT

The game of the weekend was in College Park, Maryland. A heavyweight bout that saw No.3 Notre Dame outlast Maryland in triple overtime to earn a 13-12 win against the Terps.

Senior Pat Kavanagh scored with a little over two minutes remaining to keep the Irish in the unbeaten ranks. Kevin Corrigan made the call of the game when he inserted Jake Taylor into the lineup following a timeout. Taylor has been out all season recovering from an ACL injury. Taylor set the pick to give Kavanagh the necessary space to get his hand free for the winning shot.

Both teams’ depth was on display with 14 different players scoring at least one goal in the game. Irish attackman Chris Kavanagh (3G) scored the game-tying goal late in the fourth to send the game into extra frames. Owen Murphy (3G, 1A) and Daniel Maltz (2G, 2A) led the Terps with four points.

The game highlights the strength of the B1G and ACC this year. These two teams look ready to meet again on Memorial Day weekend. Maryland hosts Albany next Saturday and Notre Dame will welcome Ohio State to Arlotta.

Two B1G Wins

Who has the bigger win in the B1G on Saturday? Johns Hopkins or Penn State? While answers will probably fall along lines of rooting interest, both wins will serve the conference well with the selection committee in May.

Hopkins welcomed Saint Joseph’s in an afternoon tilt at Homewood. On paper, it seemed like Hopkins was going to have its hands full with a strong faceoff and attack unit for the Hawks. The Jays brought the fight to SJU throughout the game. They weathered a 7-3 run by Saint Joseph’s in the fourth quarter to hold on for the 15-14 win.

This was a hard-hitting game and one that may help the Jays be in consideration for an at-large bid if they do not earn the Big Ten’s AQ. Garret Degnon led the Jays with four goals and one assist. He had a number of key pressures on the ride that also led to extra opportunities for the Jays. Hopkins will be the hunter once again Tuesday night as they welcome Virginia to Homewood before traveling to Syracuse next Friday.

Penn State was a 4.5-goal underdog heading into its matchup with interstate rival Penn on Saturday. It was a one-goal game for most of the first three quarters. The Nittany Lions though dropped the hammer in the final frame outsourcing the Quakers 6-0 to defeat their second Ivy League team in two weeks. The win was head coach Jeff Tambroni’s 100th career victory at Penn State. Three times in the 4th quarter Penn State FOGO won the faceoff after a goal and his Penn State teammates capitalized with another goal. Kevin Winkoff led Penn State with five goals. The Nittany Lions travel to Ithaca to go for the Ivy League sweet next Saturday.

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Two weeks ago, Duke had a comfortable 9-5 lead at Jacksonville. The Dolphins would outscore the Blue Devils 8-3 in the come-from-behind win. Last Friday, Duke struggled to keep pace with Denver and needed a late goal by Brennan O’Neill to force overtime. O’Neill bailed out his Duke teammates with a right-handed rip in overtime to give Duke the win. Duke is 4-1 in February this college lacrosse season.

4-1 is not quite good enough for “Lax Twitter” and the message boards. “February Duke.” Those two words have popped up in recent years and again this season.

Is it true though? Does Duke really play poor lacrosse in February? Let’s dig into numbers to find out. We used data from currency and history data from Lacrosse Reference between 2015 and 2023 to find out if “February Duke” is fact or fiction.

Record

Let’s start by looking at Duke’s February records between 2015 and 2023.

Duke averages 1.22 losses during the month of February. Having only lost more than one game only two times. The teams they lost to were usually pretty good too. Excluding the 2020 season, only three Duke teams failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Penn (2018) is the only team that Duke lost to with a losing record. High Point (2019) was 13-3 on the season and was a finalist in the SoCon Tournament. Jacksonville (2022) was 14-3 and also was a finalist in the SoCon Tournament.

Duke went 0-3 against the Pioneers from 2015-2017. Denver was pretty good during that stretch. The Pioneers were national champions in 2015, made the tournament in 2016, and made the Final Four in 2017. Air Force qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and last year Penn was the Ivy League Champion and a national quarterfinalist.

Taking a closer look at their records, the “February Duke” mantra doesn’t match up. Now let’s take a look at their February numbers in comparison to their final stats.

Efficiency

Maybe Duke lacrosse just starts slow or maybe they play too many guys in February. That could help explain why Duke struggles in February. With the help of Lacrosse Reference, we broke down Duke’s performance in six categories month-by-month from 2015 to last week’s game against Penn to see if we could see a trend or a February outlier.

• Win Percentage: Wins/Number of Games Played
  
  Duke’s highest winning percentage is in the month of February. ACC play takes place in March and April and the tournament begins in May. Probably not the strongest stat to make an argument, but still negates the “February Duke” mantra.

• Average Contributors: The Number of Players Who “Played” in Each Game (takes into account shots, penalties, caused turnovers, or anything that shows up in the play by play)
  
  Duke goes deepest in the roster in their February games. Had an argument/discussion on this topic last week on Twitter. In the age of fall ball and scrimmages, do coaches still need to go deeper in their bench in February to see who they have? It makes sense to me and the data seems to align with the facts. Coaches get their best evaluation when the lights are bright and the pressure is at it’s highest.

• Offensive Efficiency: Goals Scored/Number of Offensive Possessions
  
  February is Duke’s most efficient month offensively. Helps to refute the “February Duke” mantra.

• Defensive Efficiency: Goals Allowed/Number of Opponent Possessions 
  
  February is Duke’s second most efficient month defensively. Helps to refute the “February Duke” mantra.

• Save Percentage: Saves/Number of Shots
  
  Duke’s worst regular season statistic. 5 of their 11 February losses were by one goal. Would slightly better goalie play have made “February Duke” never really be a thing in the first place?

• Faceoff Win Rate: Faceoff Wins/Faceoffs Taken
  
  February is Duke’s second most efficient month with faceoffs. Helps to refute the “February Duke” mantra.

Verdict

Looking at the evidence presented, we the jury find “February Duke” to be a piece of lacrosse fiction. How many D1 teams would really trade places with the Blue Devils? We rest our case.

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Wins matter. It’s only February. Wins matter. Conference play is only just beginning. Wins matter. The 2022 selection committee made a statement last year putting in six Ivy League teams in the NCAA Tournament and having only one ACC earn an at-large bid. Wins matter. The Big Ten and ACC received the message loud and clear. They lead all conferences in quality wins to start the season. Let’s start by looking at the conference that was hurt the most in 2022; the ACC.

Virginia was the sole ACC representative in 2022. The Cavaliers are off to a fast start knocking off Michigan and Ohio State (B1G) along with Harvard (Ivy League). Notre Dame and Duke earned signature February lacrosse wins knocking off Georgetown (Big East) and Penn (Ivy League). UNC split against Johns Hopkins and Ohio State. Those are six big wins for a conference that was lacking quality wins in 2022.

The Big Ten had the second-best non-conference record in 2022, but only earned two at-large bids in addition to their AQ. Maryland bounced back from a loss to Loyola to defeat Syracuse (ACC) and Princeton (Ivy League) in back-to-back weeks. Ohio State (UNC), Penn State (Yale), and Johns Hopkins (Georgetown) each have added a quality win to give the Big Ten five quality wins in the young season.

Which conference is third in quality wins? If you guessed the Patriot League you are correct. Loyola started February on a tear before cooling off Saturday in Piscataway. The Hounds knocked off Maryland and Johns Hopkins to earn themselves and the conference two quality wins. The Ivy League has only one, Penn’s win over Georgetown.

We still have two months of play before the tournament begins in May. It’s already shaping up to be a helluva fight.

Grab your stick, it’s time to hit the wall!  

Notre Dame Lacrosse Statement Win

Notre Dame had a bad taste in their mouth after last year’s loss to Georgetown. The Irish spotted the Hoyas a 9-2 first-half lead and were unable to close the gap in the second half. The Irish didn’t wait on Saturday, racing out to a 9-3 lead before putting the Hoyas away in the second half and securing a 15-8 win. Eric Dobson, Chris Kavanagh, and Reilly Gray each had three goals for the Irish. The February woes continue for the Hoyas. Georgetown is 0-4 and looks out-of-sorts on offense. Tucker Dordevic had only one goal. Dordevic teams (he played for Syracuse last year) have not won a game since March 26, 2022. It’s not quite time to panic, but a change of pace or scheme may be in order for the Hoyas. The Notre Dame lacrosse transfers showed there may be no I in the team, but there is definitely a Brian Tevlin.

Princeton #BeTheBested Again

Princeton shook off a slow start Tuesday against Manhattan to come back for the win. They were not as lucky on Saturday against the Terps. Daniel Maltz had four goals for the Terps as they took down the Tigers 11-5 for the third time in the last two years. Princeton looked to gain momentum after a goal in the third quarter, but Maryland Head Coach John Tillman called for a stick check on Princeton’s FOGO Tyler Sandoval. The stick was found to be illegal and the Terps went man-up for the next three minutes and took with it any hopes of a Tiger’s comeback. Hats off to Brown’s Larken Kemp for a golden Ivy League chirp.

Yale Comes Out Cold

Yale was tied with Penn State 1-1 early in the first quarter. Penn State would then go on a 7-0 run and put Yale in comeback mode for the rest of the game. This is the second straight year that Yale’s defense has been seemingly nonexistent. Hats off to Penn State, who mixed in a zone to stifle the talented Bulldog offense for most of the day. Matt Traylor led Penn State with five goals and an assist. Chris Lyons had four goals for Yale.

Duke Outlasts Penn

Duke had another strong first half and was up 8-3 at the half. Unlike two weeks ago in Jacksonville, Duke held on to the 14-12 win, despite being outscored 9-6 in the second half. Andrew McAdorey and Dyson Williams each had three goals to lead the Blue Devils. Cam Rubin and Dylan Gergar each had three goals in the loss for Penn. Sam Handley was held to a single goal for the second week in a row. The big right-hander just seemed to have difficulty getting the ball in space or getting his hands free throughout the game.

UVA Clamps Down on Defense

Virginia was once again impressive on offense Saturday night in Naples. The Cavaliers dispatched Ohio State 17-6, but it was their defense that put on a show. Payton Cormier basked in the Florida sun and finished the day with 7 goals. The Cavalier defense was stout in the win. The Buckeyes ended the game with 23 turnovers to Virginia’s 12. The Cavaliers also had a 45-33 shot advantage. Virginia is one of the deepest and most talented teams in the country. They have great depth and are now starting to put it all together. Ricky Mizen had a nice hustle play for Virginia.

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Welcome to the Week 2 Lacrosse Wall Ball recap. Week 2 saw six Top 20 teams lose this weekend (Hopkin’s actually lost twice). Georgetown, Harvard, and Brown left Week 2 looking for the reset button and UMass-Lowell needing the number of a good personal injury lawyer.

Maryland and Syracuse didn’t make the list this week but played a thrilling game on Saturday from College Park. The Terps bounced back from last week’s loss to Loyola and without their starting goaltender, Logan McNaney, to defeat the Orange 15-12. The highlight of the game though came from No.22 on Cuse.

After you pick up your jaw watching the play four or five (hundred times), watch the Terp’s goalie. Teddy Dolan doesn’t move or react to the shot until the ball is in the cage. This isn’t a criticism of Dolan, more just a compliment to the amazing shot. And to think some were complaining about Spallina’s 1 for 15 performance in Week 1.

A shout-out to the Richmond Spiders who defeated Bucknell 18-5 on Saturday in the early frame. The Spiders started out the season on the wrong foot, losing 20-5 to Maryland to open the season two weeks ago. Hats off to the players and Dan Chemotti for not letting one game’s poor showing snowball.

Finally, congratulations to Army for holding on to defeat Rutgers 14-13 for their first win of the season. The Black Knights saw a three-goal fourth-quarter lead slip away. Paul Johnson scored with just under four minutes left which would prove to be the game-winner for Army. Rutgers’ Ross Scott had a chance to tie the game late, but his shot hit the post with a few seconds remaining in the game.

Grab your stick, it’s time to hit the wall!

Virginia Lacrosse Makes a Statement

Harvard had a Ron Burgundy moment on Saturday during the first half against Virginia in one of the most impressive lacrosse halves ever seen. The Cavaliers scored nine unanswered goals in the first eight minutes and never looked back. Virginia would go into halftime with a 20-8 lead which is crazy for lacrosse. Hats off to the Crimson who kept fighting and making the 25-21 final score appear more respectable. This was a statement win for the ACC and will be on the committee’s mind come Selection Sunday. Connor Shellenbeger led Virginia with 10 points (3G/7A) and will be a top name in the Premier Lacrosse League.

Penn Adds to Georgetown’s Woes

If you would have told Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Warne on Saturday morning that his defense would limit Sam Handley and Dylan Gregar to two goals and a combined 17% shooting percentage, he would have probably felt pretty good about the game. Unfortunately, a stout defense wasn’t enough to put the Hoyas back in the win column after last week’s disappointing loss to Johns Hopkins. Penn defeated Georgetown 9-7 on Saturday. Cam Rubin led the Quakers with four goals. Tucker Dordevic led the Hoyas with three goals. The schedule doesn’t get any easier next week as Georgetown welcomes Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon.

Loyola Puts “Is Hopkin’s Back?” On Ice

Loyola continued their dominance in The Battle of Charles Street. The Hounds won for the fifth time in their last seven games against Johns Hopkins. What a difference a week makes. Last week at this time, many in the media considered the Jays a top ten team. Back-to-back losses bring up a lot of the same questions Jay’s fans have been asking about the team during the last two seasons. The Jays were short-handed missing Russel Melendez and Jacob Angelus, two of their top four-point scorers this year. Four Greyhounds scored at least two goals in the win. Luke Staudt had another solid day in net, making 10 saves (67%).

Week 2 Called Game

Three games went to overtime this week. The sudden victory format keeps fans and players on the edge of their seats. Week 2 didn’t disappoint.

Duke Denver

The overtime excitement got started for Friday’s happy hour matchup between Duke and Denver. Duke’s Brennan O’Neill showed off his right-handed to help the Blue Devils bounce back after last week’s loss to Jacksonville. O’Neill led Duke with seven points (4G/3A).

Boston Bryant

BU and Bryant played a wild fast-paced game on Saturday afternoon. BU trailed Bryant by three with just over eight minutes left in the game. The Terriers avoided starting the season 0-2 when senior Thomas Niedringhaus scored the game-winner to lift BU on the road against Bryant. Nierdringhaus led BU with four goals on the day.

Vermont Utah

Brock Haley had a picturesque Saturday. Haley helped lead the Catamounts to their second straight victory in their 14-13 win on Saturday in Utah. Haley sent the game to overtime when he scored with 30 seconds remaining in the game and then tallied the game-winner in OT. The snow-capped mountains in the background made for quite the scene.

D3 Overtime Life

One overtime was not enough for No.1 ranked RIT in its opening game against Muhlenberg. Senior Zeb Hollinger scored in the third overtime to lift the top-ranked Tigers to their first win on the season. Muhlenberg outscored RIT in the fourth quarter 4-0 to force extra time. RIT is the back-to-back defending national champion in D3.

Sunday: A Game for Everyone

What type of game do you want to see? A high-scoring affair with teams flying up and down the field and goals coming by the dozen? Or do you prefer a defensive contest, where every possession counts? Sunday had something for everyone.

If you enjoy the high-scoring game, Philadelphia was your place. Yale and Villanova combined for 34 goals in the Bulldog’s 20-14 victory. Chris Lyons led Yale with nine goals on the afternoon. Lyons was the beneficiary of all of the attention being drawn to other ⅔ of Yale’s attack unit: Matt Brandau and Leo Johnson.

If you are more of a defense-wins-championships fan, Columbus was the place to be. Ohio State used a five-goal fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat North Carolina 8-5 in front of a soldout crowd at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.

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Data and analytics provide insights beyond film study. Lacrosse Reference is one of the best resources in lacrosse. Created in 2016 with the goal of bringing the analytical methods used in other sports to college lacrosse, the site focuses on finding innovative ways to compare teams and players beyond the traditional metrics of points or goals/per game.

This season we’ll partner with Lacrosse Reference to use its data to help tell stories and analyze the 2023 Division 1 Lacrosse season. Last week, we previewed the 2023 Michigan Wolverines using data from the Lacrosse Reference site. This week we’ll break down the 2023 college lacrosse strength of schedule (SOS) metric.

SOS is a metric used to determine whether or not teams make the NCAA Tournament and where they will be seeded. The NCAA calculates SOS based on the current year’s RPI. We will use this article to evaluate which teams and conferences have the most challenging college lacrosse strength of schedules and who cannot afford a bad loss during the year. As we saw in the 2022 selection process, good wins and bad losses matter. Committee chair Donna Woodruff said as much when asked about both Duke and Notre Dame being left at home.

We can and will save the debate for the criteria that the NCAA selection committee should use for analysis in April and May. Let’s get started by looking at the 2023 season.

Top 10 Toughest Schedules

The Big Ten and ACC are tied with four teams apiece ranked in the top ten SOS. The Jays are 2-1 this season with strong wins over Jacksonville and Georgetown. This season the Jays face Virginia (8) and Delaware (14) at home along with Syracuse (7) and Loyola (15) on the road in their non-conference slate.

The Irish will kick off their season this week against Marquette. Irish Head Coach Kevin Corrigan will play 13 games this season instead of their usual 12. The extra game provides an additional data point for the committee in their considerations. The Irish will face Maryland (6), Michigan (12), and Georgetown (19) on the road and Ohio State (9) at home in their non-conference schedule.

Penn and the rest of the Ivy League get started this weekend. The Quakers welcome back Sam Handley and Dylan Gergar to build off last year’s quarterfinal run. Penn opens the season this weekend at Georgetown (19) and then hosts Duke (5) the following weekend.

Thin Margin for Error

Eighteen teams will compete in May to win the national championship. Nine conference tournament winners will automatically qualify (AQ) to compete in the tournament. The ACC is the only non-AQ D1 conference because they do not have a minimum of six teams in their league.

Last year there were ten AQ conferences and eight large bids. The Ivy League took five of the at-large spots, followed by the Big Ten with two, and the ACC with one. Duke had the lowest SOS of a team left out of the tournament at 14. Rutgers had the highest SOS rating of a team that made the tournament at 21. Sorry, Anish, Notre Dame’s SOS was 23.

Looking ahead to 2023, here are the teams with schedules ranked 13 or higher that could find themselves on the outside looking in if they do not win their conference tournament, lack quality wins, or have multiple bad losses.

The Ivy League is clustered in the 13-18 range again. The league benefited from the best non-conference record in the nation in 2022 to earn its six spots. They will move from the hunter to the hunted in 2023 and a similar mark should get at least four or five schools in the tournament again. The conference schedule will be a weekly challenge, heightening the importance of a strong non-conference record and no bad losses. The top three teams in 2022 had 4-2 records and teams four through six had 3-3 records. No doubt that 2023 will be no less intense.

Georgetown and Rutgers are in similar spots. They both have talented rosters and may be left in a similar position to Duke or Notre Dame last year if they falter in their respective conference tournaments or suffer bad losses. Rutgers has struggled to compete with Maryland. Ohio State, Michigan, and Johns Hopkins all appear formidable and stand in the Scarlet Knight’s way. Georgetown was upset in Week 1 at Homewood Field. The team is seemingly too talented to have 3+ goal leads slip away multiple times, especially with Denver and Villanova lurking in the conference.

At-large spots do not seem likely to come outside of the Ivy League, Big Ten, or Big East. Boston, Vermont, and St. Joseph’s all rode strong 2022 seasons into securing tournament bids. They will have to continue to be just as strong in 2023, with no team really even cracking the Top 25 in SOS. Vermont and BU squared off this weekend in a closely contested game that saw the Catamounts down the Terriers. It serves as an important lesson in 2023 as the season kicks into high gear. You can leave nothing to chance in college lacrosse and need to win so strength of schedule doesn’t even matter in the end.

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Let’s see those betting slips from the weekend. Each of the top three teams in the country entered the weekend as heavy favorites. Virginia (-7.5), Maryland (-8.5), and Georgetown (-6.5) faced challenges from the big underdogs. Teams like Loyola and Johns Hopkins showed the college lacrosse world that they mean business. By the time Saturday was over, all three failed to cover and only one of them would win their game outright.

Wall Ball is here to help you get up to speed on the major storylines and highlights in D1 Lacrosse from the weekend. Before we jump into the action, the Palmetto State had plenty of action this weekend.

Grab your stick, it’s time to hit the wall!

D2 Scoreboard Watching

While we largely focus on D1, let’s give a shout-out to D2 life! Chowan and Anderson (SC) played on February 4th. Anderson lit up the scoreboard in the 32-12 win over the Hawks. The highlight of the night came from Anderson freshman Mathew Rogers who scored 11 goals in the win. What did Rogers do for an encore? He scored eight more on Friday night in their win over Florida Southern. The freshman has 19 goals on only 26 shots in two games for the Trojans.

Eye of the Tiger

Speaking of South Carolina, the Clemson Women’s Lacrosse team opened up its inaugural season this weekend. We spoke with Tiger Head Coach Alison Kwolek earlier this fall about building out her first team and the excitement surrounding their brand new women’s lacrosse-only facility. One of the coolest videos from Week 1 came from Clemson’s social media team. The team put out a fantastic overview getting Clemson fans up to speed on the rules of women’s lacrosse.

Clemon opened their season Saturday afternoon against Wofford. You could say that the Tigers got off to a fast start. Kwolek and the Tigers get their first victory of the season with a 23-1 victory. Kowlek used the transfer portal to help build her initial team and the results paid dividends on Saturday. Hanna Hilcoff (Oregon) and Gianna New (Davidson) each had five goals to lead the Tigers. Clemon hosts Furman on Wednesday.

22 Orange Crush

Last week, Twitter lost its mind over Joey Spallina’s 1-15 shooting performance in their opening game against Vermont. Those fears were greatly exaggerated. Spallina had five goals in seven shots in Syracuse’s 20-7 win over Albany. Spallina was the No.1 high school player of 2022 and it was only a matter of time before his shots started to fall for the Orange. 

The Orange had a balanced and depth of scoring on Friday night. Ten different scorers made the stat sheet. Jackson Birtwistle was impressive, especially early. Goalie Will Mark had another solid night saving 14 shots (67%). The Orange face their biggest test of the season on Saturday when they travel to College Park to take on the Terps.

Mic’d Up in Charlottesville

Virginia hosted Michigan at noon on Saturday in a high-scoring, fast-paced game. The game was broadcast on the ACC Network, but commentators Anish Shroff and Paul Carcaterra had technical difficulties and were not able to call the first half. Viewers were treated to the onfield microphone where we got an opportunity to listen to the players, coaches, and referees. It was a really cool opportunity to just watch and listen to the game.

On the field, there was plenty of action. Virginia was able to outlast the upstart Wolverines 17-13. Connor Shellenberger (3G,3A), Thomas McConvey (3G,3A) and Payton Cormier (5G,1A) led the Cavaliers with six points apiece. Ryan Cohen (3G,2A) led the Wolverines with five points. The Wolverines were impressive and showed that their offense will be a force to be reckoned with in 2023.

Duke Flounders in Jacksonville

Things were looking up in Jacksonville for the Blue Devils. Duke turned an early 4-2 deficit into a 9-5 halftime lead and started to look comfortable. Unfortunately, the Dolphins didn’t get the memo. Jacksonville would explode in the third quarter and outscore Duke 7-2. The Dolphins held on in the fourth quarter to knock off the Blue Devils for the second year in a row. Duke had a chance to tie it at the end of the game with 20 seconds left, but an errant pass sealed the game for Jacksonville. Brennan O’Neill led Duke with five goals.

Hounds Run Over the Terps

20-8. That was the final score last year when the Loyola Greyhounds and Maryland Terrapins met to open up the 2022 lacrosse season. What a difference a year makes. Evan James led a balanced Loyola scoring attack that saw seven Hounds register at least one goal in the major lacrosse upset over Maryland. Luke Staudt was a brick wall between the pipes and finished up with 19 saves. Maryland looked out of sorts most of the day despite winning the faceoff battle 18-4. This was the first time the Terps were held under double-digit goals since May of 2019 against Johns Hopkins. Watch out for the Loyola Men’s Lacrosse program this season.

The Band Plays at Homewood

Something was missing in 2022. Johns Hopkins looked outmatched physically and mentally when they faced superior teams last year. They would see the other team go on runs and have no answer. The 2023 Jays are different. They went down to a rowdy atmosphere in Jacksonville last week and handled their business. On Saturday, they welcomed the No.3 team in the country to Homewood Field.

The Hoyas jumped out to a 4-1 first-quarter lead, only to see the Jays fight back with a four-goal run of their own to go back up 5-4. The Hoyas would go back up by three goals and held an 11-8 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Jays once again responded with a five-goal run in the fourth quarter and forced a late Tucker Dordevic turnover to secure the victory over the Hoyas. Johns Hopkins secured arguably the biggest win in the Peter Milliman era and is playing with new confidence. The Jays travel two miles down Charles Street next Saturday to face Loyola.

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Michigan begins its twelfth season in NCAA Division 1 Lacrosse next week in Charlottesville. Many view the Wolverines as a sleeping giant in the midwest. They have top-rated academics and an athletic department committed to the sport with a dedicated lacrosse-only facility built in 2018. Despite these supports in place, the program has struggled to find its footing.

Michigan has just two winning seasons and is 6-37 in Big Ten play. Kevin Conry enters his sixth year as head coach in 2023. He is coming off 2022 where the team started 7-0, but ended the season on an 0-8 run. In 2023, he returns to an experienced roster with some key additions. We will start our preview by looking back at the 2022 season before turning the page to 2023.

2022: A Tale of Two Seasons

Everything seemed to be coming up maize and blue during the first two months of 2022. Michigan’s offense was explosive. They scored 20 or more goals in four of their seven wins. The offense was efficient, scoring on almost 40% of their possessions. The offense took a step back in the program’s eight losses with their offensive efficiency falling to 26.5%.

The Wolverines were led on offense by attackmen Josh Zawada (43G/34 A) and Michael Boehm (33G/30A). Zawada became the all-time leading scorer in 2022 and will look to add to that number in 2023. The Wolverines brought in Scott Bieda to replace Justin Turri in the offseason. Bieda comes in from Lafyette where he led the Leopard’s offense.

The defensive efficiency numbers faced even larger disparities in their wins and losses. In their seven wins, opponents scored on less than 20% of their possessions. In their eight losses, that number jumped to nearly 40%. A closer look at the schedule illustrates how the strength of their schedule impacted the Wolverine’s performance.

The Wolverine’s seven victories were against teams with an average RPI rating of 56.7, Delaware was the highest at 18. In their eight losses, that number jumped to 14.1. A closer look at Big Ten play shows the Wolverines were competitive. Removing their game agaisnt Maryland, the Wolverines lost by an average of 1.75 goals against their four other Big Ten counterparts. The losses included a pair of one-goal losses to Penn State and Rutgers, a two-goal loss to Ohio State, and a three-goal loss to Hopkins.

There are no moral victories and being close isn’t what Coach Conry or the Michigan Lacrosse program are striving for. Looking ahead to 2023 though, the Wolverines have reasons for optimism.

2023 Roster

The Wolverines were young in 2022 with most of their lineup consisting of sophomores and juniors. With very few losses to graduation, Michigan will return an experienced team that will be reinforced with an addition from the transfer portal and getting healthy.

Peter Thompson comes in from Georgetown to help fortify the Wolverine’s midfield. The lefty grad transfer midfielder is an Ann Arbor native. Thompson was a 2x high school All-American and the state’s Player of the Year in 2018. Thompson will be reunited with attackman Bryce Clay. The two played their summer ball together in high school. Clay missed 2022 with an ACL injury but should be a nice compliment to Boehm and Zawada. Clay has scored at least 20 goals in each of the three seasons he played, including the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Michigan brought in eleven freshmen from the class of 2022. The class includes six four-stars and five three-star players. Three of those four-stars come from the Midwest. The class is headlined by Bo Lockwood (Hartland). He was the 2022 Player of the Year in the state of Michigan and led Hartand to the school’s first state championship.

2023 Schedule and Outlook

The Michigan Lacrosse schedule looks different in 2022. They have added games against Virginia and Hofstra to go with rematches against Marquette, Delaware, Notre Dame, and Harvard. The schedule will provide a stronger test for the experienced Wolverines and better prepare them for the challenging Big Ten slate. The Big Ten looks to be more open than it has been in years past.

Maryland graduated four SSDMs and needs to replace five of their six top scorers from 2022. Ohio State and Rutgers used the transfer portal to fortify their rosters and take aim at the Terps. The Wolverines are on par with Penn State and Johns Hopkins. Look for them to find their way into the top four of the Big Ten and go over Lacrosse Reference’s wins prediction.

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Wall ball is a great way to improve your lacrosse skills. Each week, Lacrosse All Stars will hit the wall with the five biggest stories, headlines, wins, and stats from the week. This will get you caught up on what you might have missed and prepare you for your Twitter and Discord debates.

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B1G Statement

The Big Ten had a nice little Saturday winning each of their five games. Ohio State opened its brand new stadium with a 15-7 win over Air Force. Jack Myers and Scott White led the Buckeyes with four goals apiece. Myers added five assists to give him nine points on the day. Drew Blanchard won 85% of his faceoffs and the Buckeye defense did a good job of limiting Brandon Dodd to one goal on six shots. Ohio State welcomes Cleveland State next Saturday in Columbus.

Brian Brecht won the 150th game of his career (85th at Rutgers) in the Scarlet Knight’s 20-8 victory over Marist. Dante Kulas led Rutgers with eight points (5G/3A). Four Scarlett Knights notched at least three goals in the win. Rutgers will welcome Stony Brook next Saturday to Piscataway.

Maryland continued to #BeTheBest in their 15-4 win over Richmond. Ten Terps scored at least one goal. Owen Murphy (4G) and Daniel Maltz (2G/3A) led the Terps. Logan McNaney saved 80% of the shots he faced before giving way to Teddy Dolan. Maryland travels to Baltimore to take on Loyola next Saturday.

Johns Hopkins ruined Jacksonville’s lacrosse beach party on Saturday night. The Jays outscored the Dolphins 6-2 in the second half to win 12-7. Strong performances in goal and at faceoff helped lead Johns Hopkins to this big early season lacrosse victory. Tim Marcille made 11 saves and Logan Callahan won 77% of his faceoffs. Nine Jays had at least one goal. Jacob Angelus and Dylan Bauer led the Jays with two goals apiece. Johns Hopkins will host Georgetown next Saturday at Homewood which could the most exciting lacrosse game of the day.

New Faces lead Syracuse

All eyes were on the Dome as Syracuse opened their season against Vermont. Gary Gait brought in an impressive freshman class led by Joey Spallina and a host of transfers to look to build off a rough 2022. While many eyes were on Spallina, Finn Thompson stole the show from his freshman counterpart. The right-handed Canadian had a goal and two highlight-reel assists.

Transfer Will Mark (LIU) had a big day between the pipes for the Orange. He made a number of big saves early to keep Syracuse in the game. Spallina tied the game at five with under a minute to play in the third quarter. While many may look at his 1 of 15 shooting, Spallina showed he is ready to lead the Orange to better things in 2023. 

Denver Starts Off On The Right Foot

Bill Tierney began his final season for Denver on Saturday against Utah. Denver defeated the Utes 12-4 in front of their home crowd. Eight Pioneers scored at least one goal, with four of them scoring two goals. Jack Thompson made nine saves for the Pioneers and Alec Stathakis won 65% of his faceoffs. Denver travels to Air Force next Saturday to play the Falcons.

Navy Plays Two

The Midshipmen played back-to-back games this weekend against. They defeated Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday 13-7 and welcomed Queens College to Division 1 lacrosse with a 19-5 victory on Sunday afternoon. Patrick Skalniak led the Midshipmen with six goals on the weekend. Xavier Airline had two goals and three assist on the weekend including this highlight reel goal on Saturday.

Dan Daly and Andrew Calabrese each split time in goal this weekend, splitting each of the halves. Navy travels to Hempstead to take on Hofstra on Saturday afternoon.

By the Numbers

1: Bobby Benson notched his first victory in Providence’s win over Holy Cross.

7: Points for Merrimack’s Jack and Tommy Rooney. The pair led the Warriors to their opening win over Hofstra. Tommy was part of the play of the game (see below).

10: Dutch Furlong had 10 points in Bucknell’s 20-6 win over Mercer.

16: Duke’s new attack line of Brennan O’Neill, Dyson Williams, and Andrew McAdorey, accounted for 16 points in the Blue Devils win over Bellarmine. The trio had as many shots (29) as Bellarmine.

Play of the Weekend: Put ‘Em on Skates

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The 2023 season kicks off on Saturday, February 4th. We look to offer our college lacrosse winners and contenders for each of the ten conferences. In order to get you started, let’s get you caught up on a busy offseason. Movement was a key theme in 2023.

The NEC and SoCon stopped sponsoring lacrosse in 2022. Most of those teams joined forces to create the Atlantic 10. Arguably one of the strongest and most competitive mid-major college lacrosse conferences from top to bottom. Jacksonville made the move to the ASUN and Merrimack and Bryant went to the America East.

Players were also on the move. Kevin Warne wears the transfer portal king crown once more in 2023. He brought in Tucker Dordevic (Syracuse) and a host of Tar Heels to make a run at Memorial Day weekend. A number of D3 players made the jump to D1 for their grad transfer year. Donal Mullane will try his hand at being the best as he transfers from Bowdoin to Maryland. Mullane was on fire in 2022 scoring 59 goals and 46 assists. He will be counted on to help the Terps who will be missing some key offensive firepower from their championship squad.

ACC

The ACC is ready to turn the book in 2022. Virginia was the lone representative in the NCAA Tournament and were bounced in the quarterfinals by Maryland. Duke and Notre Dame battled inconsistencies throughout the season to miss the tournament. Virginia comes into 2023 as arguably the most talented team in D1. Connor Shellenberger and Petey LaSalla will be on a mission this year and will look to lead the Cavaliers back to Memorial Day weekend.

Notre Dame started the season 2-4 before ripping off six straight wins. They will once again be without Jake Taylor to start the season. The attackman sparked the Irish on their winning streak. Duke battled inconsistency in 2022 despite having arguably the most talented player in the game, Brennan O’Neill. Questions in goal and at faceoff see them as the third best in the conference and possibly once again on the bubble for May.

Pick: Virginia

Contender(s): Notre Dame

America East

Vermont rode a slow start to capture the America East title in 2022. Repeating may prove challenging with Thomas McConvey taking his grad transfer at Virginia and Chris Fief having to replace both coordinators in the offseason. Bryant and Merrimack come in from the NEC, adding depth to a strong conference. Scott Marr and Albany will look to bounce back after a disappointing 2022.

Pick: Vermont

Contender(s): Albany, Merrimack

ASUN

Robert Morris upended their old coach Andrew McMinn and Utah in the inaugural ASUN tournament in 2022. This year the conference welcomes Jacksonville and Mercer (SoCon), along with Lindenwood and Queens (D2). John Galloway and the Dolphins had a strong 2022 and reinforced their roster by adding Dylan Watson (Georgetown) and Cole Daninger (Rutgers). Air Force will be led by attackman Brandon Dodd. He led the Falcons with 46 goals and 23 assists in 2022. The ASUN will be playing a number of their conference games on Wednesdays. A great opportunity for exposure for smaller college lacrosse conferences.

Pick: Jacksonville

Contender(s): Utah and Air Force

Atlantic 10

Five of the six teams in the newly formed Atlantic 10 qualified or came within a game of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons. St. Joseph’s looks to be the odds-on favorite to come out of this conference. Zach Cole will play make it, take it, with a returning attack unit that notched close to 150 points in 2022. UMass comes over from the CAA and a strong defensive approach that should put them in contention. High Point and Richmond face roster turnover from 2022 and will have a number of new faces in bigger roles in 2023.

Pick: St. Joseph’s

Contender(s): UMass

Big East

Bill Tierney announced that 2023 will be his last season in coaching. The Hall of Famer will look to try to find a way to knock off Kevin Warne and the Hoyas who have won the last four Big East Conference Tournament Championships. New faces in Providence (Bobby Benson) and at St. John’s (Justin Turri) should continue to add depth to the conference going forward. Does Mike Corrado and Villanova have an upset on their mind in 2023?

Pick: Georgetown

Contender(s): Villanova and Denver

Big Ten

Maryland is 35-1 in the last two seasons. John Tillman has dominated their Big Ten counterparts and haven’t lost in conference play since 2019. The Terps will have to replace their four SSDMs and their top four point scorers from 2022. Nick Myers knows this is his chance and was active in the transfer portal to strengthen the Buckeyes. Myers added Richie LaCalandra (LIU), Marcus Hudgins (Army), Justin Sherrer (Maryland), and Kyle Lewis (Lynchbyrg) to a strong roster. Rutgers and Brian Brecht refortified in the portal to continue to build off the momentum of 2022.

Pick: Ohio State

Contender(s): Maryland and Rutgers

CAA

Delaware found consistency and won the CAA and then knocked off the No.2 Hoyas on Sunday night of the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This was a strong and balanced league in 2022 with each of the teams finishing 3-2 or 2-3 in conference play. Stony Brook comes from the America East. The Sea Wolves were kept out of postseason play due to switching conferences in 2022. They pose the biggest threat to the Blue Hens repeating as CAA champions in 2023.

Pick: Stony Brook

Contender(s): Delaware

Ivy League

What can the Ivy do for an encore? The league sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2022. Princeton and Cornell both made it to Memorial Day weekend. The Ivy League put the ACC and Big Ten on notice by having the best non-conference record amongst the big three. Each of the teams will return a lot of the talent from their 2022 teams. Matt Brandau, Sam Handley, Sam English, CJ Kirst, Sam King, and Devon McLane are ready to lead their respective teams back to the NCAA Tournament in May. Buckle up for another fast-paced action packed season where the Ivy will once again leave the rest of D1 green with envy.

Pick: Yale

Contender(s): Princeton, Cornell, and Penn

MAAC

The MAAC is one of the largest college lacrosse conferences in D1. Manhattan upset St. Bonaventure last year in the conference tournament to capture the NCAA Bid. The Jaspers are now breaking in a new coach and the Bonnies are off to the Atlantic 10. This conference should be wide open. Like the ASUN, the MAAC will make use of Wednesdays as an opportunity to showcase their conference games.

Pick: Marist

Contender(s): Siena and Mount St. Mary’s

Patriot

Boston University was a feel-good story for 2022. They won the Patriot League regular season and conference championship to make the program’s first NCAA appearance. They return a high-scoring attack unit and FOGO Conor Calderone. Joey Kamish, Evan James, and Adam Poitras will look to slow the Terriers for Loyola. Navy will also look to take a big step in 2023. Midfielder Xavier Arline will be pulling double duty this spring playing for the lacrosse team and taking reps as the starting quarterback for the football team.

Pick: Boston
Contender(s): Loyola and Navy

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The 2023 NCAA Men’s Division 1 College Lacrosse season begins on February 4th. DraftKings has put out the team futures odds to win it all in 2023. Here are the three biggest takeaways based on the odds.

The Favorites

John Tillman and Maryland (+450) are favored to repeat as champions. The Terps have been dominant over the last two years going 33-1. They will be without their top four offensive players and will have a new set of SSDMs to break in. Tillman has used the transfer portal to reinforce the offense and can also rely on Luke Weirman, Ajax Zappitello, Brett Makara, and Logan McNaney to keep the Terps in the hunt again on Memorial Day.

Notre Dame (+650), Virginia (+700), and Duke (+850) round out the top four. Having Notre Dame and Duke this high is a bit surprising given how both teams missed the tournament in 2022. The three ACC teams mentioned have some of the best talent in the Men’s Division 1 College Lacrosse landscape. Duke and Notre Dame will be playing with blood in their mouths this season. Duke will be led by Brennan O’Neill, the youngest member of Team USA. Notre Dame will be led by the Kavanaugh brothers and imported Brian Tevlin and Chris Fake from Yale.

Virginia might have the best all–around talent. Lars Tiffany and company continue to recruit at a high level and bring in the top graduate transfers through the transfer portal. Everyone is excited to see how Ricky Miezan looks for the Cavaliers. The former No.1 lacrosse commit spent the last five years as a linebacker at Stanford. 

No Respect Ivy League

The Ivy League sent six teams to the tournament in 2022. Cornell and Princeton both made trips to Memorial Day weekend. Cornell (+1200) has the 6th best odds and returns a ton of talent in CJ Kirst, Michael Long, and Gavin Adler.  Princeton (+2000) comes in with the 10th best odds despite returning six of their seven leading scorers from 2022.

Yale (+1600) has the 7th best odds. Yale had some problems getting defensive stops last year but very little on offense. Leo Johnson and Matt Brandau will probably have close to 175 points combined this season. Penn (+2000), Brown (+3000), and Harvard (+3500) are all outside the top 10. Each of these teams has some of the top players in the game and proved that in 2022.

Sleeper Candidates

Georgia rode the “no respect” card all the way to a national championship in football this year. While that may not have been entirely true, teams are always looking at bulletin board material for motivation. Here are my three sleeper candidates based on the odds.

1. Georgetown (+1000)

The Hoyas looked dominant for most of the 2022 season. They had a lockdown defense and a dynamic offense that allowed them to race out to a 15-1 start before the NCAA Tournament. A short bench and an amped-up Delaware put an early end to the season. Georgetown brought in Tucker Dordevic from Syracuse and looks to come back with a vengeance. They are the highest-rated team outside of the major conferences.

2. Yale (+1600)

Brian Tevin and Chris Fake have transferred to Notre Dame. Matt Brandau and Thomas Bragg haven’t gotten creative to extend their time with Andy Shay and the Bulldogs. Faceoffs and defensive lapses hurt Yale in 2022. They will once again be one of the most explosive offenses in Division 1 College Lacrosse. Shoring up the defense to go along with the 10–man ride will put a lot of teams in the hole early.

3. Ohio State (+2200)

I don’t understand the disrespect for the Buckeyes. Nick Myers bolstered his offense and defense in the transfer portal this spring. The Buckeyes open a new facility and represent a strong challenge to Maryland for the top of the Big Ten and a candidate to win it all in May.

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Representation matters. Colleges across the country will be starting their season this month and the PLL announced its 2023 schedule at the start of the year. Both events are met with excitement from players and young fans alike. 

Young boys and girls will be watching the games in person, on their phones, and on their televisions this spring. They will marvel at the talent on the field and dream of being like their favorite players one day. Do the players they hope to emulate look like them? For players of color, this at times can be a challenge.

Jules Heningburg is looking to change that with Boost Camp. He teamed up with the Nations Lacrosse Club to provide minority lacrosse players a chance to come together to train, learn, and be mentored by professional lacrosse players of color. 

Growing up in Maplewood, N.J., Jules had difficulty finding college players who looked and played like him. 

“There weren’t a ton of attackmen who were players of color. That speaks to sort of the issue at hand. Which is your attackmen are your smartest players and players who have the most skill. Your attackmen are your quarterbacks, they’re the guys that are your decision-makers. You didn’t see a lot of black players who are playing attack. 

I had Johnny Christmas and Chazz Woodson for me when I was growing up, but Johnny Christmas played before I was watching college lacrosse, and Chazz Woodson was at Brown and wasn’t on TV a ton. I wasn’t a midfielder. So, I wasn’t looking at Kyle (Harrison). That wasn’t my style of play and who I wanted to be. But I did have people locally that were mentors for me that were players of color. So I had a kind of an unique experience.“

Heningburg would go on to play high school lacrosse at Seton Hall Preparatory and played college lacrosse at Rutgers. In college, he was a dynamic attackman and was a 2x First Team All-Big Ten selection and a 2x All-American. He was drafted by the Florida Launch in the 2018 MLL draft seventh overall and has played with the Redwood LC since 2019.

Origin of Boost Camp Lacrosse 

Informed by his experience growing up and the events surrounding George Floyd’s murder and protests in 2020, Jules wanted to do something more for young players of color. 

“Three years ago, when everything was happening with George Floyd across the country there was a national movement towards what can we do to improve the situation of diversity that’s happening across the country in so many different environments and industries.

Lacrosse is one of the few spaces that still lacks diversity. Why is that? Was it a lack of opportunity? Is it because players don’t want to play? What’s the real reason behind that? And the more that I started to look at it, the more that I kept asking questions about it.”

Heningburg partnered with Thomas Stallworth, Executive Director of Operations with Nation’s United Lacrosse Club to start Boost Camp. According to their website, Nation United is a minority-owned and operated organization dedicated to increasing diversity in sports through elite-level competition, team building, and community service. Heningburg shared with me his pitch to Stallworth on how Boost Camp could benefit its players.

“I was like, look, a lot of what you guys are doing is great, but a lot of these players are going to the next level, in terms of college, and I don’t think that they’re fulfilling their potential. And it’s something that we can try to solve.

I came up with the concept of Boot Camp with (Tommy). The first year’s focus was on college players. Giving them an opportunity where they can be mentored by pros, in a space where they can learn from us. We can take some things that we knew were helpful for us. Knowing that again, at the end of the day, getting some of these guys to the PLL or NLL to play professionally. It’s important, that’s going to create more representation at the highest level, and more visibility, especially as lacrosse continues to take off in terms of media.“

Playing the Game the Right Way

One of the focuses of Boost Camp is to help players increase their “lacrosse IQ.” The game is growing beyond the traditional hotbeds of Baltimore and Long Island, where many players are known for having strong “lacrosse IQs.” Boost Camps work to fill in some of those gaps as those players transition to the college game. 

“It’s not only players of color and minority players, it’s everyone. Lacrosse is growing. The people who know the game at the highest level, their ability to coach and teach the game is continuing to spread through social media, TV, and different mediums. Prior to that being the case, it’s almost as if the way to play the ‘right way’ was safeguarded by specific prep schools and colleges, and a lot of those coaches were located in and around Long Island or Baltimore. Not for any reason in particular, but the game just is not widespread with enough high level coaches.

There are lot of these players that come from different backgrounds, different areas, who are not getting the same level of coaching. Oftentimes, what they do possess is athleticism. Guys can “play” lacrosse, find enough success to make plays and get recruited, but when you get to college, it’s a huge jump. If you don’t understand how to play the game, it doesn’t matter how athletic you are. It’s not one of those sports where your athleticism can take you above and beyond anyone else. There’s too much nuance to the game. 

There are a lot of these players playing high school who are getting a lot of notoriety and who are playing at a high level. They would go to college and they would come back and say like, you know, I’m not getting time or being put at d-middie. Whatever the case might be, the reality is they’re not learning the game.“

In the PLL tweet at the start of this story, it mentioned how some players will play lacrosse in college and leave with regretful experiences and unrealized potential. I asked Heningburg to dig deeper into what that means and how Boost Camp could address those feelings. 

“We want to focus on the development piece, but we also want to work on their experiences. It’s not every player, but it has been a theme, with a lot of the guys we’ve spoken to. A lot of guys have great experiences. At the end of the day, it’s not a cookie-cutter issue. But we’ve seen guys who do go to school when they have to wrestle with their experiences. It’s a combination of not becoming the player that they know they could have been and not enjoying their time as a teammate in the locker room.

Those are all things that we’re passionate about with these guys. We want them to have great experiences, and then some of them to continue to get better and get to the highest level. We could have another Kyle Harrison coming up. Think about how many guys Kyle inspired across the country in lacrosse. And imagine if we had five of those at the same time. That could change the game.“

The PLL Difference 

I have no doubt that Jules Heningburg is inspiring young fans at home today. There are a number of players of color in the PLL today that young fans can look up to. Lyle Thompson, Myles Jones, Trevor Baptiste, Ty Warner, and JT Giles-Harris are a few. I asked Heningburg about how the PLL helps to foster and promote diversity. 

“It’s definitely a priority for the PLL. Having diversity, specifically with Native Americans, and highlighting the game in a way that can really alter the perception of lacrosse as a quote, unquote, white prep school culture sport. Which, again, I don’t consider that to be like, quote, unquote, bad.

I was fortunate enough to attend a prep school my last two years of high school and had a tremendous experience. But that isn’t the only space and way the game can be played and enjoyed.

I just think that it’s limiting for inclusivity and expanding the base of players and access to the game and the fan base.

For the PLL, it starts with getting people to understand that this is a Native American sport, and that its roots are based in Native American culture is really important. From there, what they’ve done is they’ve definitely supported: 1) Black Lacrosse Alliance from it’s inception and 2) They support diversity initiatives in the PLL specifically with PLL Assists partners. Finally, they do a great job of trying to highlight and promote those programs, which, back to my point earlier, if no one knows about it, if it isn’t being spread on social media, it’s not happening.“

One of the biggest areas that the PLL has also supported is by giving their players the space and the opportunity to go out and champion issues that they are close to. 

“I think that at the end of the day, the PLL can only do so much, right, they do a lot of different things. Which is why someone like myself can have the space to be like, okay, like, how can I help? I know the PLL views the number of black coaches in the league and the number of black players as a number that they want to continue to grow if they really want to make lacrosse a mainstream sport. That’s what we’re aiming to do is create more avenues for young black players and players of color, minority players, to get to the pro league and continue to highlight the game in a way that isn’t normally shown. I appreciate the PLL getting behind that and prioritizing it.“

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Who is the face of lacrosse? I posed this question a few weeks ago. Paul Rabil was the easy answer for 15 years. Rabil has moved from the field to the front office full-time. The game is in need of a face to connect with fans and younger generations. I came up with a list of the Top 5 names to consider: 

1. Blaze Riorden
2. Lyle Thompson
3. Trevor Baptiste
4. Charlotte North
5. Joey Spallina

I’ve made the case for Blaze Riorden and Lyle Thompson. One other name continued to pop up in the comments and social media as we posted the articles: Trevor Baptiste.

2022 was a great year for Trevor. He won 70% of his faceoffs and wrapped up his third Paul Cantabene Face-Off Athlete of the Year award. He was an All-Star Team captain and was named MVP of the league.

Baptiste arrived on the scene as a freshman for the 2015 national champion, Denver Pioneers. Baptiste helped the Pioneers play the make-it-take-it brand of lacrosse that they were known for before the implementation of the shot clock.

Baptiste was elite at Denver. Taking a look at his stats makes you appreciate more just how good he was.

• 4x Tewaaraton Award Nominee
• Tewaaraton Award Finalist (2017, 2018)
• 4x USILA First Team All-America (first to do since Mikey Powell 2004)
• 4x First Team All-BIG EAST
• NCAA career record holder for faceoff wins at 1158
• NCAA career record holder for faceoff winning percentage at .714
• Went 63-2-4 in faceoff match-ups in his career

Trevor has continued to be a master of his craft in both the indoor and outdoor game. Baptiste is considered to be the best faceoff man in the game. This summer he will represent Team USA in the World Games in San Diego.

Baptiste was voted the No.3 lacrosse player by his peers in the PLL’s Top 50 Players Ranking. The list was voted on by current PLL players. The players voted in September to rank their Top 25 players in the league. The PLL then ranked the Top 50 players based on the rankings. Paul Carcaterra shared what makes Baptiste so special.

“A lot of time faceoff specialists don’t get the respect they deserve because they’re specialists. But Trevor Baptiste is a lacrosse player. Yes, he can dominate at the stripe, but watch what he does when the ball’s in his stick – he always starts offense for the Atlas and he can score when defenses don’t pick him up and respect him as a shooter…with Trevor Baptiste, don’t think of him as a specialist. Look at him as a lacrosse player.”
– Paul Carcaterra

Baptiste also can help to change the face of lacrosse. Representation and diversity matter. Something that the PLL has taken very seriously. The PLL has taken this up very seriously and also something that Trevor shared in a PLL Roundtable back in the summer in Albany.

“Our environment is composed of individuals. We need more people that look like us. We need more diversity in the game. We need more exposure. We need people to see those different types of situations.” Trevor can be that face to help expand and grow the game.

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“When you know, you know.” Denver Men’s Lacrosse Coach and Hall of Famer Bill Tierney announced that the 2023 season would be his last on Thursday night.

Coach Tierney coached for 48 years at two high schools and four colleges. His numbers alone would put him among the Mount Rushmore of lacrosse coaches. Denver’s press release laid out the numbers.

• He enters his final season with a 429-147 (.745) record
• 30 NCAA Tournament appearances
• 25 trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals
• 15 NCAA D-I Championship Weekend appearances
• 9 appearances in the Division-I title game and
• 7 national championships (a record)
• 14 Ivy League Championships
• 7 BIG EAST regular-season crowns and 2 BIG EAST Tournament championships
• Inducted into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2002

Tierney has won and brought a standard of excellence to every program he has been to. Always making sure to leave it in a better place than where he found it. Tierney started his college coaching career at RIT where he led the Tigers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1983 and 1984. From there he went on to become an assistant lacrosse (and head men’s soccer coach) at Johns Hopkins University where he won two national championships.

In 1988 he was hired as the Head Coach at Princeton University. Tierney transformed the Tigers into a dominant force in the Ivy League and throughout Division 1 Lacrosse. Tierney would capture 14 Ivy League championships and six national championships in eight attempts.

In 2009, Tierney would make the biggest move of his career. He left Princeton to go out west to Denver. He told Inside Lacrosse that summer: “If I fall on my face and end up in a pile of snow, so be it. But I feel like I felt 23 years ago when I came to Princeton. I feel scared, I feel excited, I feel young. And these are all feelings that 57-year-olds don’t normally get the opportunity to feel.”

Needless to say, Coach Tierney didn’t fall flat on his face. He has led Denver to a 157-54 record, 10 NCAA tournament appearances in 13 seasons, played in Championship Weekend five times, and shocked the world when they became the westernmost program to win the national championship in 2015.

Coach Tierney opened Division 1 lacrosse to the West. Even more than all of the wins and championships, that may be his single greatest gift to the game. Coach Tierney embodied the Grow The Game mentality and spirit.

Thank you Bill Tierney for all you have given to the game. We look forward to following you and Pioneers in 2023.

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Happy New Year! The PLL unveiled their 2023 schedule on Sunday afternoon. The PLL will continue to help grow the game by bringing the top players in the game all over the United States in 2023.

The 2023 season will include 10 regular season weekends, 3 post-season, and 1 all-star weekend. Regular season weekends will feature four games, with all eight teams playing once per weekend. The league has not yet released the exact dates and times for the contests as of yet.

Before we get into the schedule here are a few takeaways looking at the schedule:

Keep Playing the Hits

Ticket sales revenue has increased 24% year-over-year in the PLL first four years. 2022 saw the PLL have sellouts at four of their locations; Albany, Fairfield, Baltimore, and Denver. The league will be making return trips to each of these stadiums.

College & Soccer Stadiums

I loved seeing that the PLL is finding the right size stadiums to showcase their game. As much as I love the league playing at Gillette Stadium, a packed Homewood or Barton Stadium add another level of electricity to the games.

This year the league will play at six college stadiums, four soccer stadiums, and three NFL facilities. The average capacity for the regular season games this season will be 6,550.

New Venues

The PLL will visit two new venues in 2023. They make their return to the Midwest and will play in Ohio State’s brand new state-of-the-art facility. The new facility will seat somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 fans and should make for an elite fan experience. 

The league will also change venues in Seattle. Last year the PLL played in the Tacoma Dome. This year they are moving to Cheney Stadium. Cheney Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tacoma that houses both the Tacoma Rainiers (MiLB) and the Tacoma Defiance (MLS Next Pro).

All-Star Game

The league did not announce where the 2023 All-Star game will be held. I think this would be a great opportunity for the league to jump into California and also bookend the World Lacrosse Games experience. The games will be held from June 21 to July 1st in San Diego at San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. San Diego State just opened the newly constructed 35,000-seat Snapdragon Stadium.

Here is a closer look at the 2023 schedule.

Week 1 (Albany, NY)

Site: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium

Seating Capacity: 8,500

Dates: June 2- June 4

Week 2 (Charlotte, NC)

Site: American Legion Memorial Stadium

Seating Capacity: 10,500

Dates: June 9 – June 11

Week 3 (Columbus, OH)

Site: OSU Lacrosse Stadium

Seating Capacity: 3,000

Dates: June 16 – June 18

Week 4 (Minneapolis, MN)

Site: TCO Stadium

Seating Capacity: 6,000

Dates: July 7 – July 9

Week 5 (Fairfield, CT)

Site: Rafferty Stadium

Seating Capacity: 3,500

Dates: July 14 – July 16

Week 6 (All Star Game)

Week 7 (Dallas, TX)

Site: The Star

Seating Capacity: 12,000

Dates: July 28 – July 30

Week 8 (Baltimore, MD)

Site: Homewood Field

Seating Capacity: 8,500

Dates: August 4 – August 6

Week 9 (Denver, CO)

Site: Barton Stadium

Seating Capacity: 2,000

Dates: August 11 – August 13

Week 10 (Seattle, WA)

Site: Cheney Stadium

Seating Capacity: 6,500

Dates: August 18 – August 20

Week 11 (Salt Lake City, UT)

Site: Zions Bank Stadium

Seating Capacity: 5,000

Dates: August 25 – August 27

Playoffs

Quarterfinals (Boston, MA)

Site: Gillette Stadium

Seating Capacity: 65,878

Dates: September 1 – September 4

Semifinals (Long Island, NY)

Site: Shuart Stadium

Seating Capacity: 11,929

Dates: September 8 – September 10

Championship (Philadelphia, PA)

Site: Subaru Park

Seating Capacity: 18,500

Dates: TBD

Tickets for the PLL 2023 schedule have not been released as of yet. Those interested can sign up for access to tickets HERE!

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Who is the face of lacrosse? I posed this question last week. Paul Rabil was the easy answer for the past 15 years. Rabil has moved from the field to the front office full-time. The game is in need of a face to connect with fans and younger generations. I came up with a list of the Top 5 names to consider.

1. Blaze Riorden
2. Lyle Thompson
3. Trevor Baptiste
4. Charlotte North
5. Joey Spallina

I made my case last week for Blaze Riorden. He is a phenomenal athlete playing forward for the NLL Wings and goalie for the Chaos LC. Two other names emerged from the comments and replies to my story; Lyle Thompson and Trevor Baptiste.

Today, I will make the argument for Lyle. He is in his 8th year of professional lacrosse and just wrapped up his second season with the Cannons LC in the PLL. Lyle continues to be one of the top players in the game. This year he was awarded the Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year Award.

Lyle is one of the most creative and must-see players in lacrosse. He played with his brothers Miles and Ty and rewrote the NCAA record books. Thompson helped lead the Albany Great Danes to three America East Championships and back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in 2014 and 2015. Here are a few of his college highlights.

• 2x Tewaaraton Winner (2014, 2015)
• First-ever male to win the Tewaaraton in consecutive seasons
• First Native American to win the Tewaaraton
• Finished his career as the all-time Division 1 points (400) and assists (225) leader
• Had more than 120 points in a season two times (121 in 2015), (128 in 2014)

As a professional, Lyle has been a standout in the MLL, NLL, and PLL. He was the 1st overall pick selected by the Florida Launch in the 2015 MLL Draft. Lyle has won MVPs and championships as a professional in both the indoor and field game. In both of his championship seasons, he demonstrated that he was playing on a different level.

In 2017, Thompson captured the NLL MVP title and NLL championship with the Georgia Swarm. Lyle accumulated 116 points (45G/71A) on the season.

In 2019, Lyle won the MLL MVP title and MLL Championship with the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Lyle had an eye-popping 73 points (46G/27A) on the season.

Unlike many of the top players in the MLL. Lyle didn’t initially come to the PLL when it started in 2019. Lyle signed a long-term deal in 2017 that kept him with the Bayhawks in 2019 and 2020.

The Rabil brothers and lacrosse fans wanted to see Thompson come and play with the best in the PLL. Paul Rabil admitted as much in the Fate of Sport.

“At the heart of the PLL and MLL merger, bringing in Lyle Thompson.”
– Paul Rabil, PLL President

To be considered the face of the game, you need to be more than just a great player. For Rabil, that was being the sports ambassador and using the media to advance the game of lacrosse.

For Thompson, it’s his humanitarian efforts outside of the game of lacrosse. He was awarded the Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award by the PLL in 2022 for the second consecutive year.

Lyle has used his platform to help continue to connect the greater lacrosse community to the Creator’s Game’s indigenous roots. 

“That’s where all the teaching are. Our culture, our law is nature. We personify that stick. My grandfather has played the game. My father has played the game. People say it’s our game, but it’s not our game. We brought it to the people of this earth. It was a gift to us from the creator, we’re just passing this on.”
– Lyle Thompson, PLL and NLL Player

Lyle has also used his platform to stand up to racism and injustice. Thompson himself had to deal with racist taunts in a 2019 incident in Philadelphia while playing against the Wings. Lyle responded to the incident by calling out the actions and talking about how his braid symbolizes PRIDE.

Over the past two seasons, Lyle has also worn an orange ribbon in his braid to raise awareness for the #EveryChildMatters campaign.  The #EveryChildMatters campaign honors and remembers the 150,000 Indigenous children that attended residential schools in Canada between the late 1800s through the 1990s. There are an estimated 5,000 children that died under residential care. Those that survived along with their families still deal with and face the trauma of the abuse they experienced at their schools.

Lyle Thompson is a remarkable lacrosse player and an even more remarkable human being. This makes him an easy choice to be the face of lacrosse in 2023.

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The Premier Lacrosse League debuted their Top 50 players of 2022. The list was voted on by current PLL players. The players voted in September to rank their Top 25 players in the league. The PLL then ranked the Top 50 players based on the rankings.

Tom Schreiber of the Archers was selected as this year’s top player. This is the second time (2020) that Schreiber was selected as the league’s top player. Schreiber had 35 points on the season and was selected as the Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year in 2022.

Lyle Thompson, Trevor Baptiste, Jeff Teat, and Michael Ehrhardt rounded out the Top 5. Here are the five biggest takeaways from this year’s list.

Team Distribution

The Waterdogs led all teams with 11 players in the PLL Top 50. After going .500 in the regular season, the Waterdogs came alive in the playoffs to capture the championship in Philadelphia. Zach Currier (7) and Michael Sowers (10) were each in the Top 10 for the Dogs.

The Whipsnakes fell just short of the Waterdogs with 9 players selected to the PLL Top 50. The Whips were 9-1 in the regular season before falling to the Waterdogs in the semifinals. Michael Ehrhardt (5) and Matt Rambo (9) were both in the Top 10 for the Snakes.

The Atlas and Arches both had 6 players in the PLL Top 50. Trevor Baptiste (3) and Jeff Teat (4) were in the Top 5 for the Bulls. Schreiber was the only player for the Archers in the Top 10.

Position

The attackmen and midfielders took more than half of the spots available. This was especially true with the Top 10. Five of the Top 10 players were attackmen. Lyle Thompson led all attackmen (and the league) with 44 points, followed by Teat with 38, Schreiber with 35, and Rambo and Sowers both notching 32 points on the season.

Look for Charlie Bertrand to continue to move up to the list in 2023. Bertrand had some big games in 2022 for the Redwoods and will continue to hone his skills in the NLL for the Desert Dogs.

Trevor Baptiste (3) was the highest FOGO. Batptiste had a dominant 2022 winning 70% of his faceoffs and was named the league MVP. 

Blaze Riorden (8) was the highest-rated goalie, Blaze was ranked No.1 on the 2021 list. Danny Logan continued his emergence in 2022 and was the highest-rated SSDM at 12. Michael Erhardt (5) and JT Giles-Harris (14) were the top-ranked long poles, collecting a combined 57 groundballs and forcing 22 turnovers.

2022 Rookies

The 2022 class were under-ranked and deserved better. Logan Wisnausakas and Brendan Nichtern transformed the Chrome in 2022. The Chrome were 2-7 in 2021. The rookies helped lead the Chrome to a 7-3 regular season before falling to the Chaos in the quarterfinals. Both were in consideration for MVP and Nichtern was the Rookie of the Year. Both should have been included at least in the Top 20, no less than 25.

Chris Gray had 34 points in his rookie season. His ranking may reflect the second half slide that the Atlas experienced. Gray and Jeff Teat will have to continue to grow and develop while also having the opportunity to add Sam Handley to the mix in the 2023 draft. A new coach will have to find a way to help the Atlas harness and realize their full individual potential.

Jack Hannah is a gunslinger. The Waterdogs midfielder is a big believer in the old adage of “throwing the ball at the net and good things happen.” Hannah will continue to move his way up the list in 2023.

Moving on Up

Kieran McArdle made moves in 2022. He and fellow Waterdog teammates Dillon Ward along with Connor Kelly helped lead the Waterdogs to their first PLL title. McArdle had his best season in the PLL with 42 points. McArdle had not scored more than 25 points in a PLL season prior. Ward had a memorable 2022 capturing both championships with the Colorado Mammoth in the NLL and with the Waterdogs in the PLL. Kelly notched his best season in professional lacrosse tallying 26 points.

Free Falling

Two Redwood midfielders experienced big drops in the 2022 rankings. Myles Jones fell 31 spots and Jules Heningburg dropped 23 spots. The Jones fall is a head scratcher. Jones is one of the most lethal 2-point threats in the game and has continued to evolve as a distributor to match his ability as a shooter. He is a free agent this year and may welcome a change of scenery.

Heningburg also seems low. He has completed his transition to midfield and continues to be an effective scorer and distributor. Costabile had a respectable 2022, but the ranking shows how attack-dependent the Atlas became during the season. Grant Ament’s ranking reflects his slow return from injury in training camp.

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Who is the current face of lacrosse? For 15 years, lacrosse fans could all (mostly) agree on one name; Paul Rabil. From the time he graduated from John Hopkins in 2008 until he retired in 2021, Rabil was the face of lacrosse. Let’s be honest, the biggest story in lacrosse this past year was still focused around Paul Rabil, even if he wasn’t playing.

Rabil was brilliant on the field. His accolades can make anyone blush.

• 2x All-American in high school
• 2004 Washington Post Player of the Year
• 3x  USILA First Team All-American
• 2x National Champion (2005, 2007) at Johns Hopkins
• 10x All-Star
• 2x Champion
• 2x MVP
• 2x World Champion
• All-time leader for total points (657)
• 2nd all-time in total goals (355)

Off the field, Paul was one of the first to become a true professional lacrosse player. He leveraged YouTube and social media to grow his brand and more importantly grow the game. From shooting drills to dodging, to throwing a ball across the Baltimore Inner Harbor, Rabil put lacrosse on the map.

In 2018, Paul made his biggest move. He started a new lacrosse league, the Premier Lacrosse League. Rabil sought to create a new professional league to showcase and bring lacrosse to the next level.

“We’re building a professional sports league that lacrosse deserves. The best players in the world will be showcased like never before, thanks to a unique touring model, a robust media-rights partnership, and player content strategy. Additionally, our players will be owners in the PLL, contributing to the build, competition, and ultimate success of the league. This is a product that aligns a league and the players like never before, serving a passionate fan base that deserves access to the sport nationwide, at state-of-the-art venues, and on screens everywhere.”
-Paul Rabil, October 22, 2018, PLL Press Release

As I reflect back on the first PLL season without Paul Rabil on the field, I notice that something is missing. Who is there to carry the torch? Who is considered the new face of the PLL? When you ask that question today, you may get a variety of responses in your group chats, Discord channels, and even in the replies to this story on social media.

The truth is, lacrosse is currently missing that face. It is our job as writers and fans of the game to help find that face. The sport needs us. Paul Rabil made himself the face with his own hard work and determination. The next person to succeed hasn’t done that yet. If they did, I wouldn’t have to be writing this article.

Here are five names that I would put out as the 2023 face of lacrosse.
 

1. Blaze Riorden

2. Lyle Thompson

3. Trevor Baptiste

4. Charlotte North

5. Joey Spallina

I will begin the discussion by casting my bid for Blaze Riorden, plus I promised Carc that I would.

This is not detracting from any of the four other candidates as I could make worthy arguments for each of them, but I wanted to pick just one to talk about. Blaze exploded onto the scene for me when he was a goalie at the University of Albany. I still get goosebumps every time I watch the highlights of “Big Blaze splitting the double” in Ithaca.

Blaze has become one of the most elite goaltenders of all time since becoming a professional for the Rochester Rattlers in 2016. He has put together quite an impressive resume ever since.

• 3x Goalie of the Year
• 3x All-Star
• 3x All-Pro
• 1x Champions (2021) in the PLL
• 1x MVP

These numbers alone should put him in consideration for being one of the top players in the game, but we also have to look at his career in the NLL. I am sure Blaze would make a fantastic goalie in the box game. Dillon Ward led the Colorado Mammoth (NLL) and Waterdogs LC (PLL) to championships with big help from his goalie play in 2022.

Blaze doesn’t play goalie though. He is a forward for the Philadelphia Wings. Blaze has tallied 158 points (64G/94A) in his box career heading into the 2023 season. Blaze scored five of the Wing’s eight goals in their opening game loss to the Swarm.

The amount of skill and talent to play and excel at two completely different positions is why I am giving Blaze Riorden my vote for the face of lacrosse in 2023. He can help serve as the bridge between the box and field game as we head into the future.

My challenge to all of you is to keep the conversation going. Do you think I’m wrong? Great. Tell us why in an article, podcast, or reply of your own. We need discourse. We need the discussion. We can have multiple faces, but they need us to help them tell their story. Paul gave us the path, we just have to follow it.

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I had the opportunity to sit down with two Harvard Men’s Lacrosse players, Chase Yager and Greg Campisi. The purpose of the interview was to find out about their trip to Washington D.C. to play in the Bob Kemp Classic. I enjoyed our conversation so much that I wanted to learn more about their stories as players. What led them to come to play lacrosse at Harvard and what it is like to play for Coach Gerry Byrne?

Chase Yager is currently a senior midfielder who transferred to the Harvard Men’s Lacrosse program last season from Amherst College. Chase was named to the All-Ivy Honorable Mention Team and was an Ivy League Academic All-American. He is currently studying government and minoring in computer science.

How did your time at Amherst prepare you for Harvard?

I can’t speak highly enough about Division 3 lacrosse. It gets kind of a funny rap sometimes. It’s a much wider array of schools that play. There are like 200 schools that play D3 lacrosse and only 70 that play D1.

But getting to play at a program for two years, playing at a competitive level, honing my skills, how I play, and what I could bring to a team set me up for success. Even though I was moving from D3 to D1, I had a lot of confidence in what I was doing and my team skills.

I had some good leaders and role models at Amherst. I definitely learned a lot at the school about operating at a high academic and high athletic caliber school that I could bring with me when I went to Harvard. It prepared me well, the places were similar.

You are one of the many college athletes that have used the transfer portal. You were at Amherst for your first couple of years before coming to the Harvard Men’s Lacrosse program. Can you talk about the transfer process and what brought you to Harvard?

I was fortunate in some ways that during the COVID-19 year, I didn’t want to take online classes and be asynchronous for my junior year of college. I took that year off from Amherst.

Over that time, I decided I loved Emerson and it offered me a lot, but I was ready to see if there was an opportunity to play Division 1 lacrosse. I entered the portal at the end of the season and started sending out some emails to see what kind of schools were interested.

My list was pretty short because the NESCAC is a very competitive academic conference. I didn’t want to sacrifice what I had going on there in terms of the education I was getting, so I limited it to a handful of Ivy League schools and some other Division 1 schools.

Coach Byrne was one of the coaches that got back to me and encouraged me to send in an application. From there, it was all self-driven. It was like applying to college all over again. I had to go back into the Common App and send out applications. I’m was not particularly eager to do that process again.

It worked out well in the end. Harvard is the best opportunity that I could have asked for. It’s in Boston, I love being here, and it’s a Division 1 opportunity at a building program with a great coach, with a good culture.

Last year the media said that Harvard is a younger men’s lacrosse program and may not be ready to compete at the highest level. But you guys had a nice season, qualifying for both the Ivy League and NCAA tournaments. What do you think it was that helped bring you guys together?

It started with our senior class. We had about four or five guys who took some time off from school so that they could hang around and play that final year with us. They stepped up and took an amazing leadership role. So that was Kyle Mullin and Charlie Olmert in particular.

Those two guys set a high standard for the team athletically with what we wanted to do through the season, but also worked hard to incorporate the freshmen into everything as well as the younger guys coming in.

Coming off the COVID year, this was true for all the Ivy League teams. We’d gone, you know, two years without playing real lacrosse. It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the field, not together, but in general. A lot of people like our entire freshman and sophomore class were kind of coming in not knowing what to expect not having played a year of college lacrosse.

The team being young didn’t feel weird because the whole team was kind of in the same boat. We were all learning Coach Byrne’s methods, a new offense, a new defense, we were getting ready for the season together as a team, but it never felt like there was a hierarchy that separated us.

What is your experience like playing for Coach Byrne?

From an X’s and O’s standpoint, he has a mastery of defensive concepts. The defense that he implemented at Notre Dame and has implemented here is pretty complex and hard to get your hands around at first, but once you get a thorough understanding of it, it really starts to click. He has so much knowledge and wisdom about the finer details of that and drilling the little tiny pieces that might seem inconsequential, but add up to big defensive stands. It’s hard as a player sometimes to recognize all the good that’s going into it and all the thought that’s going into it, but when you see it come together on the field, it’s a pretty magical experience.

Outside of the X’s and O’s pieces and the onfield stuff, Coach Byrne is very competitive and he sets a very high bar for us. It’s a fun program to be around because we know we’re going places and he’s a fun person to interact with. He can crack a joke. It’s not all serious, but he definitely brings an intensity with him to everything that we do and it rubs off on the players.

When we have captain’s practices or get out in the field on our own in our free time, it’s almost like he’s still there. Everybody is so bought in and intense because of the energy and enthusiasm that he brings.  We are driving ourselves in a lot of ways toward the goals that we want to reach and that starts with him.

He’ll stress more than anybody that his teaching style and his leadership style are that he wants the players on the team to be leading each other. When we do teachings as a group, he’ll introduce a concept and then split us into small groups and let us drill it together. The idea there is that players are coaching each other, giving each other advice, and helping each other to master the concepts.

Greg Campisi is a junior long stick midfielder for the Harvard Men’s Lacrosse program. Last year he was named to the All-Ivy First Team. Studying applied mathematics with an application in economics.

You grew up on Long Island and played at St. Anthony’s where you won a state championship. Can you talk a little bit about your recruiting process? What was it that made Harvard the right choice for you?

I actually was recruited during the pre-junior September 1st rule and ended up committing the summer after my freshman year. During my recruitment, I went to multiple top-tier schools. What stuck out to me was kind of the players here and the culture at the time. In this sense, Harvard as an institution, and what the team was developing, even at that time, really was a place designed to excel.

You hold yourself to a standard, and everything you do in terms of classwork, school work, and how you hold yourself off the field is embodied every single day and that’s what drew me here.

Last year the media said that Harvard is a younger men’s lacrosse program and may not be ready to compete at the highest level. But you guys had a nice season, qualifying for both the Ivy League and NCAA tournaments. What do you think it was that helped bring you guys together?

In terms of leadership our captains last year, Charlie Olmert and Kyle Mullin, were phenomenal leaders. Each was a fifth-year senior and had seen the program before and after, with Coach Byrne coming in as the head coach. They took it upon themselves to prioritize and stress the success of the team. They set a really strong foundation for our team.

Part of it also has been our culture. There’s a huge drive between each one of us to get better every time we’re out on the field. That’s a constant that Coach Byrne has been trying to relay to us. It’s not him forcing us to get better. We all want to play, we all want to compete. It’s a mixture of good strong leadership last year with the young team and a team-wide desire to play as best as we possibly could and know what we can do.

What is your experience like playing for Coach Byrne?

We have a great coach-player relationship. I was one of six players who were on campus during the COVID year post-2021 when there was no Ivy League competition. I was able to get one-on-one coaching with him during that semester.

The way we play defense relies heavily on knowing what every other person is doing and understanding what we’re doing every time we’re on the field. I can always talk to him all the time. I mean, myself, and all the players will bounce ideas off of him. He’ll reference what we should have been doing, but it won’t be the sense of absolute certainty that we have to be doing it. It’s more of a discussion of, like, what is the most efficient way of doing things. It leaves this kind of open ended sense that we have rules that we want to play by, but there’s a lot of interpretation between the players, between the coach, and amongst the entire defensive unit that coalesces into a strong foundation.

Coach Byrnes exemplifies somebody that always highlights the right things you want to do. We have all highly respected him. And well, I mean, we’re all proud that he is our coach, and he’s done a good job motivating us.

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