With the 2012 NESCAC men's lacrosse season beginning this weekend, questions surround Tufts' ability to rebuild after losing a strong senior class. Meanwhile, Amherst looks to be Tufts' biggest threat, and other personnel changes have similarly shifted the power dynamics across the conference.
The league also welcomes a new program as the Hamilton Continentals prepare for their first year of full membership. With five NESCAC teams ranked among the top 20 in the most recent USILA/Coaches' Poll, it remains to be seen whether Amherst, Middlebury and Tufts can meet expectations and set themselves apart as the conference's elite programs, or if a sleeper team might emerge.
No. 5 Amherst
The Lord Jeffs look poised to assume the NESCAC's top spot, returning four of their top six poles as well as the players who accounted for 98 percent of their scoring. They are coming off a strong 15-3 season during which they advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Three of the squad's quad-captains — midfielder Alex Fox and attackman Evan Redwood, both seniors, and junior long-stick midfielder Danny Gold — are preseason All-Americans, and sophomore Devin Acton, the NESCAC rookie of the year, led Amherst in scoring during his freshman season. Amherst has depth in the midfield and Gold, who had 64 ground balls last year, anchors a relatively experienced defensive unit.
With all that returning talent, the Lord Jeffs seem poised to improve on last year's performance.
Bates
Bates returns several starters, but that is little consolation for a team that went 1-8 in the NESCAC last season. Bates finished ninth out of 10 NESCAC teams in goals, assists and total points, and the team's only noteworthy offensive effort came from now-graduated attackman Luke Charest, the team's leading scorer. Charest finished fourth in the NESCAC in assists per game last season.
Senior Kevin Helm is the heart of the Bobcats' defense and Bates must improve between the pipes to compete. While nearly every other NESCAC team has two or more high-impact playmakers who can take games into their own hands, it appears that Bates lacks both the tools and the standout players to create game-changing opportunities against the conference's top programs.
No. 18 Bowdoin
Bowdoin shows threatening potential for the upcoming season, despite having graduated 10 seniors last season. The Polar Bears started 3-6 last year before surging to five consecutive wins, including a massive 15-9 upset of then-No. 1 Tufts and an equally one-sided 14-9 defeat of Amherst in the NESCAC quarterfinals.
Last season, Bowdoin trailed only Tufts in scoring and topped the rest of the league by a substantial margin. Current senior Brendan Hughes did well to ensure possession, winning 56.2 percent of his face-offs, and Bowdoin returns three of its top four scorers.
Year in and year out, one of Bowdoin's advantages is its size, and it must capitalize on the defensive end by playing a physical on-body game and forcing opponents into mistakes. Last year, the Polar Bears won 502 ground balls to opponents' 430.
Bowdoin has plenty to work with and returns capable players at every position excluding goalkeeper, a spot where it can arguably only improve. If the Polar Bears continue to capitalize on their size and develop the depth on their maturing bench, they can make coach Thomas McCabe's 22nd and final season with the program a memorable one.
Colby
Judging by its 4-5 conference finish, Colby was an average team last year, but with junior midfielder Ian Deveau leading the way, the Mules have the potential to improve and finish a few games above .500 in the conference this spring.
Deveau, who led the team with 49 points, returns along with classmates John Jennings and Greg McKillop to round out the menacing trio of junior attackmen who accounted for exactly half of Colby's total scoring last season.
Colby's most glaring disadvantage compared to last season will be at the faceoff X; two-time All-American and All-NESCACfaceoff man Craig Bunker graduated last year. The short-stick specialist led the NESCAC with an unprecedented .714 faceoff percentage.
Senior Eric Eberhart and junior Bjorn Knutson, who combined to go 32-for-51 on faceoffs last season, have massive shoes to fill, but if they can continue to post percentages in the high .500s, Colby can minimize the impact of Bunker's absence.
On defense, Colby graduated tri-captain Chris Healy, but four of its top six defenders are back. The Mules can score, but what will determine their success is their ability to win faceoffs in Bunker's absence and the degree to which their young defensive unit improves.
Conn. College
Last year, Conn. College finished a disappointing 6-10 and won just two NESCAC contests, while many of its statistics-padding wins came against weak non-conference teams. Conn. College finished above only Williams and Bates in points per game. As a team, Conn. College committed 70 turnovers and forced just 16.
The Camels are unlikely to improve significantly. The team lost three of its top five scorers, including tri-captain Mark Mangano, an All-NESCAC midfielder who was the Camels' leading goal scorer last year. The Camels' junior class will provide leadership in the midfield and attack units, but the dearth of formidable scoring threats puts pressure on the younger players.
In 2011, the Camels finished third in the NESCAC in goals allowed, and they now return their entire defensive unit, including Mike O'Donnell, Nick Rodricks and All-American pole Clay Hillyer. The Camels must play consistent defense to hold opponents to goal totals their limited offense can match.
Hamilton
The Continentals are largely untested in NESCAC waters, and their biggest advantage may be their unpredictability. A former Liberty League member, Hamilton opens its season with its first contest against Tufts in 12 years.
The Continentals, who outscored opponents 154-87 last season, return the players responsible for 97 percent of their points. Attackman Jon Leanos, an All-NESCAC caliber player, will lead Hamilton's scoring efforts. The Continentals also have strong players in All-Liberty League attackman Henry Burchenal and midfieldersPaxAnthos and Luke Walsh. In addition, they return four of their top five defenders.
When it comes to schedule overlap for the sake of comparison, there's not much to work with; in 2011, Hamilton shared just one mutual opponent with Tufts. Hamilton narrowly won its season opener against Babson, 8-7, while Tufts handily defeated the same Babson squad 15-6 on April 25.
No. 8 Middlebury
The Panthers graduated their two most dominant scorers in All-NESCACattackman David Hild and midfielder Andrew Conner. John McGoldrick, who had 28 points in his rookie year, is also no longer with the program, meaning that attackmen Tim Cahill and Mike Giordano must lead a young offensive unit.
The Panthers have an experienced corps of midfielders and return five of their top six defenders. While they lost keeper Ryan Deane, senior tri-captain defenseman Matt Rayner, fully recovered from a broken foot sustained in the fall, returns to offer leadership in the backfield.
Despite significant losses on the attacking end, Middlebury has garnered recognition in the preseason polls. It needs feeds from Giordano and increased offensive production from its midfielders in order to finish in the top three again.
No. 16 Trinity
In head coach Michael Higgins' first season, the Bantams finished fourth with a 6-3 conference record. Trinity's only NESCAC losses came to Tufts, Middlebury and Amherst — the three strongest teams in the conference — and the Bantams proved that they could hang with the big dogs.
However, the Bantams lost nearly their entire defensive unit to graduation, including All-American Teddy Bascom, a ferocious ground-ball getter and defender. On the other hand, they return players who contributed 94 percent of their points. Also, Peter Johnson, one of the best goalkeepers in the NESCAC, will back a young defense between the pipes. In his junior season, Johnson finished third in saves, saves per game and save percentage, posting a .620 mark in the last of those categories.
As the Bantams adjust to Higgins' system, their style of play will likely develop, and if they can hold things down on the defensive end, they could return to the late rounds of the NESCAC tournament.
No. 2 Tufts
The Jumbos feature a revamped offense and a well-tested defense. Tufts' mature back line, bolstered by the junior trio of Matt Callahan, Sam Gardner and John Heard, can jumpstart its success, while several strong poles and depth in goal will create problems for opponents.
Coach Mike Daly generally emphasizes strong defensive play and quick transition scoring, putting less stake in time of possession. In many ways, then, an experienced defense and young offense fits well into to the Jumbos' style of play.
With a plethora of scoring options and a midfield captained by All-American Kevin McCormick, the Jumbos can adapt to massive personnel changes. It remains to be seen if the new faces in the attack and midfield units can convert on the same transition opportunities that graduated quad-captains D.J. Hessler (E '11), Ryan Molloy (LA '11), Alec Bialosky (E '11) and Matt Witko (LA '11) used to sting opponents last season.
Wesleyan
In 2011, the Cardinals finished 5-4 in the NESCAC. They led the conference in caused turnovers, averaging 4.93 a game, and senior tri-captain goalkeeper Grant Covington posted the league's second-lowest goals against average.
Like the Jumbos, the Cardinals often play an up-tempo game and look for scoring opportunities in transition. Senior midfielder Teddy Citrin must step up, and Wesleyan hopes that Christian Kennedy, a transfer from Div. I Georgetown, will also contribute in the midfield.
The Cardinals, who return four of their top five poles, will miss long-stick midfielder Gabe Kelley but have responded by shifting junior Mike Robinson up to that position. Overall, the Cardinals have the ability to improve on last year's mark by a few wins.
Williams
The Ephs finished at the bottom of the pack last year, posting a 1-8 record and finishing dead last in points per game and turnovers.
Like the Bobcats, the Ephs return the majority of their scoring, but this doesn't reveal much considering the Ephs were arguably the worst offensive team in the conference.
Williams lost its biggest asset in All-NESCACfaceoff man Corey Jacobs. The Ephs' bright spot in 2011 was at the X, where they finished second in faceoff percentage, largely due to Jacobs' .586 mark.
Jacobs' absence does not bode well for the Ephs. If they cannot control possession, it is unlikely that they will create scoring opportunities and doubtful that they will be able to shut down some of Div. III's strongest offensive players. If they couldn't do it with Jacobs, they won't do it without him.
