NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse: 5 Bold Predictions for the 2020 Season

The 2019 lacrosse season was a rollercoaster. New contenders emerged, and a squad adept at handling nail-biting games took home the NCAA title.

The anticipation is climbing with the birth of a new season just over a week away, and we can’t help but think about what new surprises are in store in 2020.

Below are five predictions for the upcoming season.

1. Another Penn State Star Garners Tewaaraton Love

Grant Ament (rightfully) nabbed headlines with regularity in 2019, but somewhat lost in the shuffle was Mac O’Keefe. He wasn’t completely forgotten about, but let’s all remember that he finished just four goals shy of the NCAA single-season record of 82 shared by Jon Reese and Miles Thompson.

If Ament is to challenge the yet-reached mark of 100 assists, then there’s reason to believe O’Keefe could chase 85-plus goals. With numbers like that, it’d be crazy to see a group of Tewaaraton finalists that doesn’t include both Ament and O’Keefe.

2. Two Virginia Players Break Doug Knight’s Single-Season Program Record of 56 Goals

Maybe even three?

Ian Laviano scored 51 goals last season, and Matt Moore (46) and Dox Aitken (44) followed closely behind. The graduations of Ryan Conrad and Mikey Herring create an opening to replace their 48 combined goals, so it’s feasible for multiple Cavaliers to approach the 56-goal mark set by Knight in 1996.

Another lengthy NCAA tournament run would help the cause, too. Knight scored 56 in 18 games, while Virginia played 20 times in 2019.

3. Rutgers Makes Its First NCAA Tournament Appearance Since 2003

Rutgers pushed the envelope from 2016-18 as a team at least in the NCAA tournament discussion, but the Scarlet Knights ultimately fell short. Last year, Rutgers provided a glimmer of hope by taking Penn State down to the wire in the regular-season finale, only to get blown out by Penn State in the opening game of the Big Ten tournament.

For Rutgers to finally take that next step, Adam Charalambidesm, who returned after missing two straight seasons to score 47 goals last year, needs to take over games. He should be one of the nation’s top attackmen if healthy. Zack Franckowiak is a key defensive midfielder, and transfer Moriah Yousefi could be an impact player at the X.

A rigorous schedule will be difficult to overcome, but maybe Rutgers can be a version of last year’s Penn State team — one who’s yet to break through but has the pieces to do so.

4. Princeton and Michael Sowers Make a Run

Michael Sowers has set Princeton’s single-season points record in each of his first three seasons. The dynamic attackman continues to improve and is already Princeton’s all-time leading scorer with 255 points.

The returning Tewaaraton finalist will be motivated as a senior to help guide Princeton to the NCAA tournament, but his sights are likely set on the Ivy League tournament first. The Tigers have only once played in the Ivy tournament in his career (2017), losing to Brown in the first round.

The Ivy League is loaded, with Yale, Penn and Cornell representing considerable contenders, but with a motivated Sowers guiding them, the Tigers could make some noise.

5. Hobart Leads the Nation in Scoring

All eyes are on Penn State and its vaunted offense, but don’t look past a Hobart offense that returns six of the top seven scorers from 2019’s ninth-ranked offense (13.94 goals per game).

Eric Holden set a program record with 67 points in 2019, and he’s back to lead the way. Ryan Archer (24 assists), Jason Knox (36 goals), Justin Scott (26 goals), Derrek Madonna (32 points) and Tommy Mott (25 points) are all back, too.