The 2020 lacrosse season ended abruptly, and it’s anyone’s guess exactly when the 2021 season will begin. But there’s been plenty of movement in the offseason.
While it’s probably a greater challenge to forecast the upcoming season than in most years, US Lacrosse Magazine will give it a try.
Up today: Nos. 10-6.
Early 2021 Rankings
Division I Men
No. 25 - No. 21
No. 20 - No. 16
No. 15 - No. 11
No. 10 - No. 6
No. 5 - No. 1
Division I Women
No. 25 - No. 21
No. 20 - No. 16
No. 15 - No. 11
No. 10 - No. 6
No. 5 - No. 1
10. NOTRE DAME
2020 record: 2-3
Last seen: Dropping its third consecutive game, a 13-11 decision at Ohio State
Initial forecast: Along with Duke, the Fighting Irish are the transfer portal champions this offseason. Notre Dame picked up faceoff specialist Kyle Gallagher and defenseman Kyle Thornton from Penn, attackmen Sean Leahey (Providence) and Will Yorke (Bucknell) and midfielder David Lipka from Syracuse. That’s a lot of help to add to the above-average core a typical Notre Dame team already has in place — guys like Pat Kavanagh (10 goals, six assists) and Griffin Westlin (six goals, 10 assists) among them, though Bryan Costabile opted to turn pro rather than take a fifth year. Gallagher, who so galvanized Penn two seasons ago, instantly helps fix Notre Dame’s possession problem (.427 faceoff percentage in 2020). There was another more glaring area: Division I’s worst man-down unit (.308), something that no doubt will be an offseason priority before the Irish take the field again.
9. YALE
2020 record: 3-1
Last seen: Bouncing back from its lone loss by handling Michigan 17-11 in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Initial forecast: The Bulldogs might be the most interesting team to think about at this point. They lost a talented senior class, some of whom turned pro (attackman Matt Gaudet, defenseman Aidan Hynes and long pole Will Weitzel among them) and a few who transferred elsewhere (like Denver-bound Jackson Morrill and Lucas Cotler). But Yale still has a couple great equalizers. One is faceoff specialist TD Ierlan (.764 in 2020), who is expected to be back for his fifth year of eligibility and third in New Haven. The other is coach Andy Shay, who warrants the benefit of the doubt given how well the Bulldogs’ program is constructed. Matt Brandau (10 goals, six assists) and Thomas Bragg (eight goals, two assists) are the top offensive returnees, and Chris Fake is still around to anchor the defense. Yale might not be at quite the level it was in 2018 and 2019, but it will still be a factor this spring.
8. CORNELL
2020 record: 5-0
Last seen: Edging Penn State 18-17 in Charlotte, N.C., on a pair of goals in the final 20 seconds.
Initial forecast: Connor Buczek, a 2015 Cornell graduate, may well be ready to be the Big Red’s head coach. One thing is beyond debate: Having Jeff Teat around is going to help him tremendously in his debut season. Buczek took over when Peter Milliman left for Johns Hopkins, and the former All-American midfielder will preside over one of the most potent offenses in the country. The Big Red bring back five starters from a team that averaged 18.4 goals in 2020, and while Teat (12 goals, 15 assists) is a vital piece, the likes of John Piatelli (20 goals), Jonathan Donville (13 goals, seven assists) and Michael Long (11 goals, eight assists) enhance Cornell’s explosive ability. The emergence of Angelo Petrakis (.613 faceoff percentage while splitting time) solved a major question for the Big Red, but it is fair to wonder about the defensive side of the ball. After all, Cornell yielded 33 goals in its final two games.
7. NORTH CAROLINA
2020 record: 7-0
Last seen: Holding off Bryant 18-16 in a midweek matinee in Chapel Hill
Initial forecast: Last year marked the first step forward for the Tar Heels since their 2016 national title run, something that was starting to look more like a random peak than the first of many trips back to Memorial Day weekend. We’ll never know if Carolina had the goods to make a similar push in 2020, but a 15-13 victory at Denver on March 1 that saw the Tar Heels take an eight-goal lead into the fourth quarter was a welcome sign. Another one? That Boston University transfer Chris Gray (27 goals, 21 assists) did exactly what was hoped of him, providing a riveting presence for an offense that really didn’t have a clear-cut top option the previous year. Nicky Solomon (13 goals, 16 assists) nearly matched his freshman production in half as many games, and the Tar Heels had seven players with double-digit points and shot 39.1 percent as a team. Uncertainty about the defense keep Joe Breschi’s team out of the too-early top five, but Carolina is set up to be one of the more enjoyable teams to watch in 2021.
6. DENVER
2020 record: 4-2
Last seen: Claiming a 14-11 victory at Notre Dame and closing out the ACC portion of its schedule at 1-2.
Initial forecast: Denver already had a pretty good offense. Jack Hannah (17 goals, 10 assists) in the midfield. Ethan Walker (15 goals, 10 assists) back for a fifth year on attack. Known commodities in JJ Sillstrop (10 goals) and Alex Simmons (eight goals, five assists) returning from a team that was set up to contend in the Big East as it always does. And then Bill Tierney bolstered things even more, adding Jackson Morrill and Lucas Cotler away from Yale since they couldn’t remain with the Bulldogs for another year. That’ll work well for the Pioneers, who won 62.4 percent of their faceoffs last season, have one of the great Swiss Army Knife d-middies (Danny Logan) and figure to be solid enough on defense. In a perfect world, Denver would have a better idea who its goalie will be now than it did around this time last year. Considering it had three players start multiple games in the cage in 2020, it probably doesn’t. Get a guy who can stop more than half the shots on cage, and the Pioneers will likely score enough on the vast majority of nights to be just fine.