After an abbreviated 2021 season, Liberty League men's lacrosse teams are eager to participate in a more traditional campaign heading into 2022.
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) will look to continue its streak of dominance in Liberty League (nine straight conference championships) and Division III (eleven straight NCAA appearances) men's lacrosse as the Tigers are coming off winning their first national championship in program history, which they did in dramatic fashion with a double overtime 15-14 victory over Salisbury University. Despite the departure of quite a few players from the 2021 squad and a target on their backs as defending champions, the Tigers are poised to continue their successful run and the league coaches have unanimously selected them as the 2022 preseason favorite.
It will be a tight race to the conference postseason with eight teams battling it out for four playoff spots. In this year's poll, only ten points separate the preseason favorites from third place. RIT paces the league with 49 points and seven first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own teams). Union College is predicted to finish in second with a first-place vote and 41 total points. The Dutchmen narrowly edged out St. Lawrence University by two as the Saints, the 2021 Liberty League runner-up were picked to finish third with 39 points. Ithaca College was selected fourth with 31 points and the Bombers were followed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI, 23 points), Clarkson University (21 points), Skidmore College (11 points) and Vassar College (9 points).
Three Liberty League teams are featured in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) and Inside Lacrosse Division III preseason polls. RIT sits atop both polls at number one while St. Lawrence and Union are featured among the top-20 teams. The Saints are ninth in the Inside Lacrosse poll and 14th for USILA while the Dutchmen are 12th and 18th respectively.
RIT had an unblemished record of 14-0 last season and the Tigers won the national championship with six straight postseason victories (2 Liberty League tournament games, 4 NCAA tournament games). RIT will have some big shoes to fill with the graduation of the 2020 Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year, Dawson Tait, and 2020 Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year, goalkeeper Walker Hare, however a core nucleus of players from 2021 are back in Rochester. The offense should be fully loaded with the return of Ryan Barnable (All-Liberty League First Team), Ryan Rosenblum (All-Liberty League First Team) and Quinn Commandant (All-Liberty League Second Team). Barnable, who scored the game-winning goal in double overtime of the NCAA title game, was fourth in scoring in 2021, netting 13 goals and handing out 21 assists for 34 points. Rosenblum scored six goals and added four assists for 10 points. Commandant closed out last season tied for second on the team with 50 points (35 goals, 15 assists). He recorded at least a point in all 14 games and tallied 18 points in the NCAA tournament. All-Liberty League Second Team selection Taylor Jensen is also back; he finished 2021 second on the team in ground balls (35) and caused turnovers (15). Other key returnees include Pent Eistrat (5G, 5A, 14 GB, 8 CT) and Jimmy Spillane, who last played for the Tigers in 2020.
Union was 5-3 in 2021 and 4-2 in conference play. The Dutchmen advanced to the Liberty League postseason for the 12th time in 13 years. A trio of All-Liberty League first-team honorees headline the 2022 team in Ryan Puglisi, Keaton McCann and Kieran McGovern. Puglisi will spearhead the defense as the team held opponents to a league-low 8.63 goals against average last season. In seven starts, he caused a team-best 12 turnovers and scooped up 21 ground balls, good for fourth on the team. Puglisi also had a hand in the scoring with a goal and five assists (six points). McCann brings offensive firepower to the lineup for Union after recording a team-high 32 points on 26 goals and six assists in eight games. He was second among league leaders in goals per game (3.25) and third in points per game (4.10). McGovern, who started all eight games last year, netted eight goals and dished out five assists for 13 points. He also had 10 ground balls and two caused turnovers.
St. Lawrence had a strong campaign last season, finishing with an overall record of 8-3 and a 5-2 mark against conference opponents. The Saints earned the second seed and advanced to the Liberty League championship game for the first time since 2017. A pair of All-Liberty League First Team selections highlight the team's returning players—Jack Hennessey and Joe Scarfi. Hennessey scored a team-high 26 goals and recorded eight assists, totaling 34 points. He paced the league in shots per game (8.45) and recorded his 100th career goal last season. Hennessey also scooped up 23 ground balls and caused six turnovers. Scarfi bolsters the defensive corps after causing a team-best 13 turnovers and scooping up 25 ground balls. The Saints also welcome back Will Helm, the All-Liberty League second-team goalkeeper produced a 7-3 record to go with a 9.41 goals against average and a .536 save percentage in 2021. Among league leaders, he was second in goals-against average and sixth in save percentage. Mark Mahoney (All-Liberty League Second Team) is also a key returnee for the Saints as he led the team with 36 points a year ago (20 G, 16 A) and he picked up 27 ground balls.
Through three seasons of competition within the Liberty League,
Ithaca has reached the conference postseason all three times and the Bombers finished 2021 at 6-4 (4-2 Liberty League). Ithaca will be a seasoned team to open 2022 with 21 upperclassmen (14 seniors) on the roster. Demetri Lowry, an All-Liberty League First Team honoree, returns for his senior campaign after starting all 10 games in 2021. He was third on the team with 27 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers. He caused 1.60 turnovers per game, ranking him fourth among league leaders. 2020 Liberty League Rookie of the Year John Sramac and Jake Erickson (All-Liberty League First Team) will co-pilot the offense after leading the Bombers last year. Erickson was tops on the team in points (41) with 16 goals and a team- as well as league-best 25 assists. Sramac was second on the team ins scoring, netting a team-best 26 goals and handing out 11 assists for 37 points. The duo were ranked among league leaders in points per game at 4.10 (Erickson, 2nd) and 3.70 (Sramac, 4th) respectively. Ithaca also welcomes back Connor Brumfield (All-Liberty League Second Team), who recorded 17 points on 13 goals and four assists.
RPI saw limited action in 2021, only playing four games during the last two weeks of the season, where the Engineers went 2-2. Cooper Urban, the 2019 Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Jon Matkin and Garrett Volley return to the field for RPI after not getting the opportunity to play last spring. In 2020, Urban started all six games for the Engineers where he recorded 13 goals with five assists, totaling 18 points. He will look to return to his 2019 form where he recorded a point in all 17 games (39G, 21A, 60 points) in his first year with RPI. Volley and Matkin will anchor the Engineer defense this season. They both also played in all six games in 2020. Volley paced the team with nine caused turnovers and was fourth in ground balls (12) while Matkin scooped up three ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Clarkson will look to improve upon a 4-8 record from 2021 and the Golden Knights will be led by four All-Liberty League selections this season. Faceoff specialist Matt Hansen (All-Liberty League First Team) headlines Clarkson's top returning players. He paced the league in faceoff percentage, winning 64.3% (119-of-185) of his draws last year. Hansen was also tops on the team in ground balls (66), averaging 6.00 per game, which ranked him second among league leaders. Matt Szwagulinski started all 12 games for the Golden Knights in 2021 where he collected 17 caused turnovers and 28 ground balls. Bryan Penney and Billy Bergan, both All-Liberty League Honorable Mention picks, will be charged with igniting the scoring for Clarkson this season. They both played in all 12 games last year; netted 17 goals apiece and combined for 12 assists. Penney was third on the team with 26 points (17G, 9A) and Bergan (17G, 3A) was fifth with 20 points. Sebastian Geiger (16G, 5A) will also be a top contributor to the Golden Knights' offense.
Skidmore also saw limited game days last season with only six games played, five of which were against conference opponents. The Thoroughbreds will be a young squad in 2022 with 15 first-year players and 13 sophomores. However, a strong core group of returning players should translate well on the field. All three of the team's top scorers—Charlie McFadden, Charlie Kessler and Matt Pinckney are back in Saratoga. McFadden paced Skidmore with a team-high 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points in 2021. Kessler was second on the team with 15 points, thanks to nine goals and six assists. Pinckney scored six goals and handed out five assists for 11 points. Ryan Flynn is another key returnee, he picked up nine ground balls and recorded 10 caused turnovers last year.
Vassar played six games last season with five against Liberty League foes. The Brewers will be a young team with 36 underclassmen on the roster, however, eight returning starters should bring experience to the lineup. Connor Deehan and James Nicholas return after starting all six games for Vassar last year. The pair tied for third on the team in scoring with eight points apiece. Deehan scored five goals and added three assists while Nicholas recorded three goals and five assists. Vassar welcomes back Logan Hyde, who missed the 2021 season due to injury. He played in all five games for Vassar in 2020, where he paced the team in scoring with 22 points (12G, 10A). Henry Friedman is back for his senior campaign, last season he caused two turnovers and scooped up seven ground balls.
The 2022 season begins on Saturday, February 19 with three Liberty League teams hosting non-conference opponents. RIT opens the season at noon against Muhlenberg while RPI's game is at 1 PM versus Coast Guard and Skidmore faces off against MIT at 3 PM.
2022 Liberty League Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Place. Team, Points
1. RIT, 49 (7)
2. Union, 41 (1)
3. St. Lawrence, 39
4. Ithaca, 31
5. RPI, 23
6. Clarkson, 21
7. Skidmore, 11
8. Vassar, 9
(First-place votes are in parentheses)