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. 15-11.
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
15. JOHNS HOPKINS
2020 record: 2-4
Last seen: Edging Mount St. Mary’s in overtime in what would be the last of Dave Pietramala’s 207 coaching victories with the Blue Jays.
Initial forecast: Maybe a new voice will immediately revitalize Hopkins, which found itself overwhelmed against high-end competition before the season was halted. The Blue Jays’ first new coach in two decades is Peter Milliman, who did fine work at Cornell but is tasked with energizing a team that frankly was subpar at just about everything other than faceoffs (17th nationally) and man-up offense (33rd) in 2020. Milliman inherits an excellent offensive centerpiece in Joey Epstein, who dealt with injuries last year after a brilliant freshman season. There are a lot of places Hopkins needs to get better, but the defensive end again was a glaring issue. Little wonder Milliman’s early moves on the transfer wire addressed that end of the field. The addition of long pole Jared Fernandez (Syracuse) and goalie Josh Kirson (Ohio State) figure to make the Blue Jays more competitive, but it’s probably premature to expect an instant return to contending for Memorial Day weekend trips.
14. UMASS
2020 record: 5-2
Last seen: Handling Long Island U. 14-10 for a fourth consecutive victory, a winning streak that included an impressive triumph over Yale.
Initial forecast: Toss out a forgettable clunker of an opener at Army (while also acknowledging the Black Knights were pretty good while posting a 17-4 decision), and there was a lot to like about how the Minutemen handled their business in 2020. They beat Ohio State on the road a week after losing to Army, built a substantial lead over Yale before claiming a 13-10 victory and managed to do all of that before February was even over. Perhaps most exciting for Massachusetts was how Matt Knote (.521 save percentage) and Zack Hochman (.586 faceoff percentage) capably answered two obvious questions. Nearly the whole group is back, including table-setter Chris Connolly and offensive cogs like Kevin Tobin, Jeff Trainor, Gabriel Procyk and Billy Philpott, who had four goals in the defeat of Yale. The secret sauce in Amherst really isn’t much of a secret: Rugged, reliable and a tough out. The Minutemen should be the CAA preseason favorites.
13. GEORGETOWN
2020 record: 6-0
Last seen: Pummeling Towson 16-4, the last of the Hoyas’ string of a lot-to-a little victories in non-conference play. Georgetown won its six games last season by an average of 10.2 goals.
Initial forecast: We’ll never know just how good the Hoyas would have been against top-tier competition in 2020, but this much is clear: They shouldn’t be overlooked. Coach Kevin Warne got Georgetown to the 2018 and 2019 NCAA tournaments and may well have made it three in a row with a program that clearly has the culture component figured out. Both Jake Carraway (23 goals, 11 assists) and Dylan Watson (23 goals) are back to anchor the offense, and the Hoyas added attackman Nicky Petkevich, a four-year starter at Colgate, as a graduate transfer. Gibson Smith should be one of the top defensemen in the country, and standout options at goalie (Owen McElroy and his .630 save percentage) and faceoff (James Reilly, who won 68.9 percent of his attempts in 2020) remain in place. Georgetown is well-equipped to continue what it might have been on its way to doing last spring — developing into a top-10 team.
12. LOYOLA
2020 record: 4-2 (1-0 Patriot)
Last seen: Spotting Duke the first eight goals in a not-as-close-as-the-score-suggested 13-10 loss to the Blue Devils.
Initial forecast: Probably slightly better than what it was going to be heading into last season. The Greyhounds didn’t absorb heavy losses, with defenseman Alex Johnson, second-line midfielder Logan Devereaux and short stick Cole Boland the notable graduation departures. Loyola dealt with some injuries early last season and played a pair of poor halves (one each against Virginia and Duke) but otherwise looked like they had effectively figured out how to replace 2019 Tewaaraton winner Pat Spencer and longtime goalie Jacob Stover. Kevin Lindley (19 goals) and Aidan Olmstead (11 goals, 11 assists) should again anchor the attack, and sophomores Adam Poitras (five goals, seven assists) and Joey Kamish (eight goals, three assists) both got their careers off to good starts. Bailey Savio (.687) is one of Division I’s top faceoff options, and goalie Sam Shafer (.571 save percentage) settled in well and will have two close defense starters back. Expect the Greyhounds to contend for a Patriot League title, as usual.
11. OHIO STATE
2020 record: 5-2
Last seen: Handling Notre Dame 13-11 in Columbus two days before the season was shut down.
Initial forecast: The Buckeyes are going to look pretty familiar on the offensive end … and will have some new faces in key places on defense. Ohio State won’t benefit as much the blanket extra year of eligibility as some other programs, but it does have a pair of key figures back for a fifth season: Attackman Tre Leclaire (26 goals, eight assists) and do-it-all midfielder Ryan Terefenko (team-high 30 ground balls), who is on the short list of Division I’s most valuable players. Both were among the Buckeyes’ nine top point producers a season ago, all of whom are back in the fold. Now, for the questions. Goalie Josh Kirson (.584 save percentage) left for Johns Hopkins as a graduate transfer, and starting close defensemen Caleb Mahoney and Joey Salisbury graduated. Ohio State is not without options on D — including sophomores Jacob Snyder, a starter in 2020, and Ben Williams — but there is some retooling to do at that end of the field.