The COVID era of college lacrosse gave us a period of five-year players, more player movement than we’re used to seeing and rosters stacked with both talent and depth.
With that period almost fading away, we heard a similar theme all through the preseason as we interviewed college head coaches: Questions and uncertainty. In other words, this season could be more unpredictable than anything we’ve seen recently.
The opening weekend didn’t live up to that theme with just a pair of minor upsets – Utah’s 19-13 win at No. 19 Ohio State and Rutgers' 10-6 win at No. 20 Lehigh, but we did see a few questions begin to get addressed.
Buckle up. It’s going to be a fun season watching new stars emerge.
Random Observations
Ohio State’s struggles in recent years have been more on the offensive side of the ball, but Utah’s offense did the damage in Saturday’s 19-13 win for the Utes in Columbus.
Utah opened with three straight losses last year, including an 11-8 loss at Ohio State, before bouncing back to win 12 games and reach the NCAA tournament. Freshman Luke McNamara, a two-time USA Lacrosse All-American from Kansas, poured in five goals for the Utes against Ohio State, who won their season opener for the first time since 2020.
The good thing for Ohio State is that it gets a chance to get back on the field quickly as it hosts Detroit Mercy on Tuesday afternoon.
Ohio State’s rival to the north, Michigan, had no such defensive problems. Junior goalie Hunter Taylor played lights out, making 10 saves while allowing just one goal, a new school record for fewest goals allowed in a game in a 14-1 victory over a Marquette. The Golden Eagles have mostly been forced indoors in the preseason due to weather conditions in Milwaukee and it showed in a 23-turnover game.
Taylor wasn’t the only Big Ten goalie to shine. Maryland’s Logan McNaney, now in his second year back following his 2023 season-ending injury, looked to be in his 2022 form when he helped the Terps win a national title. McNaney pitched a first-half shutout against Richmond and finished the game with 14 saves while allowing just six goals in the Terps 12-7 win over the Spiders.
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Hop to It
Johns Hopkins went across the country and avenged a season-opening loss to Denver from a year ago in a Top 10 showdown won by JHU 13-10. The Blue Jays got four goals from Russell Melendez and Loyola transfer Luke Staudt made 12 saves to earn his first win as a Blue Jay. Read More
What a debut for Georgetown freshman faceoff specialist Ross Prince. Prince, who won 748 faceoffs in his career at Springside Chestnut Hill (Pa.), won 16 of 20 faceoffs as the Hoyas overcame a 4-1 deficit after the first quarter to beat Loyola 13-6.
Duke’s new-look attack looked quite comfortable in a 26-7 win over Bellarmine. Maryland grad transfer Eric Malever set career-highs in goals (4) and points (6), Richmond grad transfer Luke Grayum had three goals and two assists and true freshman Liam Kershis had a goal and an assist.
Penn State’s 2025 season started much better than its 2024 campaign. Senior Matt Traynor had five goals and two assists as the Nittany Lions beat Colgate 14-9. Last year, Colgate stunned Penn State 13-12 in the season opener.
In the newly-reformed Northeast Conference, Robert Morris is the only school among the eight teams to have more than one NCAA tournament appearance at the Division I level. Robert Morris has gone three times (2018, 2019 and 2022) while Detroit Mercy (2013) and LIU (as C.W. Post in 1986) have gone once.
Iona’s first varsity season started strong as freshman goalie Denny Piekutowski made six first quarter saves before giving up his first goal nearly 10 minutes into the game, but Hofstra eventually poured it on in a 20-2 victory.
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Orange McCool
Jimmy McCool, making his first career start for Syracuse following the graduation of Will Mark, made six saves while allowing just two goals in 45 minutes of action as the Orange dominated Jacksonville 24-5.
By the Numbers
70 • Seconds it took until the first goal of the 2025 NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse season was scored. The honor went to Manhattan’s Tyler Mosca. The sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., notched the tally, one of two for him in the game, in the Jaspers 14-3 win at Wagner.
32 • Consecutive season-opening wins for Maryland.
8 • Goals for Richie Joseph and assists for Ryan Bell in Providence’s 15-8 victory over Holy Cross. Five of Bell’s assists came on goals scored by Joseph and the Friars had assists on 12 of their 15 goals.
2 • Goals by Duke faceoff specialists – one each for Cal Girard and Ben McCarthy.
6 • Consecutive goals scored by Lafayette, bridging the third and fourth quarters, as the Leopards rallied from a 7-5 deficit to beat Air Force 11-8. Six of Lafayette’s 11 goals were scored by freshmen.
6 • Career-high goals for Mount St. Mary’s sophomore Brody Atkinson in a 14-9 win over Queens. Named to the MAAC’s All-Rookie team last year after leading The Mount with 30 goals, Atkinson broke his previous best total of four, which he accomplished against Binghamton and Marist last season.
1 • Number of games on Sunday’s schedule. St. Bonaventure hosts VMI at 11 a.m. tomorrow.
