Preseason Predictions
1. RIT
2. RPI
3. Union
4. St. Lawrence
5. Skidmore
6. Clarkson
7. Ithaca
8. Vassar
RIT- Perennial powerhouse RIT is back in the top spot within the Liberty League. Fresh off another Final Four run in 2023 with an overall record 21-2 and a perfect 7-0 in Liberty League action. While it feels like the last few seasons the Liberty League as gotten closer to taking RIT down, we have to go all the way back to 2011 to find the last time that RIT has not won the Liberty League Tournament. That makes 12 tournaments in a row that have crowned RIT the championship, so until further notice RIT is at the top of the Liberty League predictions. I think 2024 will show RIT some good competition within the Liberty League for them RIT is looking to claim their 13thtitle in a row and more importantly looking to get back to Championship Weekend on the Sunday of Memorial Day and play for another National Championship. RIT schedules a loaded lineup in 2024 to help them prepare for their run they are about to go on this season. The season starts with Denison 2/17, Grove City 2/24, York 3/2, Ursinus 3/9, Washington and Lee 3/15, Tufts 3/16, St. John Fisher 3/20, and Cortland 3/27. As usual RIT is returning a loaded cast from 2023 and leading the offense we have Clifford Gaston 68 points, John Mozrall 65 points, Seth Grottenthaler 52 points, and Kaden Brunson 29 points. On Defense watch out of Michael Grace 67 GBs 35 CTs and Axel Sanderson 31 GBs 13 CTs to make big plays all season long. In Net for RIT Kyle Burbank will be back looking to stand tall and help get RIT back to championship weekend. At the faceoff X Nick Farrell will be grinding it out and working hard to get RIT extra possessions this season. While it looks like RIT had a good amount of Seniors and graduate students from a season ago it is RIT, they haven’t lost the Liberty League Tournament since 2011. I fully expect this team to fill any gaps that were lost in the off season with the next man up or bringing in top recruits this off season. We will be following the Liberty League all season long as this is a great conference and we will be excited to see what this conference can do from top to bottom as well as what RIT can put together in their 2024 campaign.
RPI – Ill tell you what, watch out for RPI these boys are buzzin coming in 2024. In 2023 RPI went 9-7 overall and 6-1 in Liberty League action. The only regular season game RPI dropped In the Liberty League was against RIT. RPI had their season cut shorter than expected when they lost in the Liberty League tournament Semifinals against Union. The way the 2023 season ended left a bitter taste in this RPI team and they are out for revenge in 2024. What makes this season great for RPI is the cast they are returning, this RPI team is returning a ton of key players from the 2023 season. The high powered offense will once again be led by Luke Murphy 57 points, Cooper Manzi 46 points, Tyler Ruffini 32 points, Anthony Mazzella 28 points, Zach Swanson 25 points, and Sean Smith 23 points. On the other end of the field Jack Greene 31 GBs 27 CTs, Caleb Oswari 41 GBs 24 CTs, Will McGrath 31 GBs 11 CTs, and Ty Stanek 10 GBs 7 CTs will all be back and ready to slow down teams and pick up right where they left off on holding teams to 9 goals a game. While this RPI racked up a few All Americans last season two important All Americans that are returning are Goalie Joseph Perry and FOGO Angelo Venuto. Nothing helps teams win games more than controlling the faceoff x and creating more opportunities to score as well as having a goalie who can make saves an push transition the other way. Early season games that are going to help RPI get ready for Liberty League play are going to be York 2/10, Geneseo 2/21, Muhlenberg 3/2, Middlebury 3/6, MIT 3/9, and Willaims 3/20. RPI is returning a loaded team from top to bottom and this was a team that went 6-1 in arguably one of the most challenging conferences in division 3 lacrosse and had a lot of young players step up last season. They are going to build off of a successful 2023 season and make a splash in 2024. I fully expect this team to land in the top of the Liberty League and well see how far they can push RIT and what kind of run they can put together this season. Watch out for these guys and do not take them lightly.
Union – There is no argument that the Liberty League is one of the top conference in Division lacrosse and I think Union is a prime example of how competitive and how good the quality is that competes in the Liberty League. In 2023 Union went 12-7 overall and 4-3 in conference play. They put together wins over Babson, Williams, and St. John Fischer. In Liberty League action Union had challenges with Clarkson, RIT, and RPI, as well to show how competitive this league is Union went to the wire against Ithaca an won 10-9 in OT. But none of that matters because what does matter is Union found themselves in the Liberty League Tournament where they revenged a loss against RPI and fell to RIT in the Championship game. This put Union in a position to make it back to the NCAA tournament where they beat Western New England in the second round but fell to Middlebury in the Third round of the NCAA tournament. Just two seasons ago Union was facing off in the national title game. Union is the type of program that every season expects to still be playing lacrosse Memorial Day weekend. 2024 is going to be a season that Union looks to get back to that level. This teams appears to be returning a loaded group from a season ago. On the offensive side of the ball Zach Davis 53 points, Jake Mabardy 47 points, Peter Kip 47 points, Archie McEvoy 27 points, Jusitn Greene 24 pointsZ, and Michael Shaw 19 points are all back to lead this high powered Union offense in 2024. Holding it down on the other end of the field will be John Sula 53 GBs 14 CTs, Seamus Foley 13 GBs 13 CTs, and Jack Thompson 24 GBs 12 CTs. In Goal returns Dan Donahue who is coming off an HM All American nod in 2023. At the faceoff x Matthew Paolatto returns who is also coming off an HM All American nod. Having a returning Goalie and Fogo is always a positive sign for any team but even more so when they were both nominated All Americans the previous season. Early season games to keep an eye as Union gets ready to make a run in the Liberty League are Babson 2/24, Willaims 3/6, Middlebury 3/20, and Tufts 3/26. Union does not shy away from high level competition and that’s exactly what they are doing in 2024. This Union Team has more than enough talent to put together a great season and make a run in the NCAA tournament. The question that remains is do they have enough to take down RIT and claim the Liberty League Title? We will find out.
St. Lawrence – Where do we start with the St. Lawrence Saints? Well in 2023 The Saints went 12-6 overall and 3-4 in conference play. St. Lawrence started the season off hot with huge wins over Suny Geneseo, Lynchburg, Western New England, and St. John Fischer giving the saints a 10-1 record by Mid April. After that the Saints hit a rough patch to close out the season, but they still found themselves in a position to make a run in the Liberty League Tournament. In the Tournament the Saints were able to get a revenge win against Clarkson in an absolute nail bitter. The Saints season came to an end in the Liberty League Semis against RIT. In 2024 St. Lawrence is going to be focused on finishing the season like they started the season in 2024 in hopes to make a run for the Liberty League Title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Looking to keep this offense focused in 2024 is going to be Judge Murphy 66 points, Ben Hutchinson 61 points, Bobby Wells 28 points, and Cam Croasdaile 13 points. Between the pipes Michael Marinello will be back after posting a 52% save percentage in 2023. In front of Marinello will be Tripp Clark 37 GBs 15 CTs, Owen O’Brien 19 GBs 10 CTs, and Caleb Torres 18 GBs 10 CTs. It appears that the returning cast for St. Lawerence is going to have the keep this team focused as they try to backfill all across the field in 2024. Getting them ready for Liberty League action will be games against Western New England 2/25, St. John Fischer 3/2, Geneseo 3/6, Nazareth 3/9, York 3/15 and CNU 3/16. Games against St. John Fischer, York and CNU will let this St. Lawrence team know where they stand and what they need to work on to make a run in the Liberty League. This will be a team that DeeThreeLax keeps a close eye on this season to see what the Saints can accomplish.
Skidmore- Skidmore put together a very solid season in 2023, The Thoroughbreds went 10-6 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The exciting news for Skidmore going into the 2024 season is that it appears they are returning a large group of impact players from that 2023 season and I would like to think they would be able to put together another improved season and climb the ranks in the Liberty League. The Thoroughbreds offense was firing on all cylinders last season and posted a 13.2 goals per game average. Key players back from that offense a season ago are Charlie McFadden 62 points, Brian Gonsalves 51 points, Jon Bouvier 40 points, Tim Blue 23 points, Jimmy Gibbons 20 points, and Caleb Lawson 14 points. These guys will look to get things rolling again and put up bigger numbers to help Skidmore climb the Liberty League rankings. The Thoroughbreds will try to limit goals against this season and the group responsible for making that happen will be Matthew McFadden 26 GBs 20 CTs, JJ Jablonowski 42 GBs 17 CTs, and Charlie Murphy 21 GBs 12 CTs. Always a good thing when your goalie returns and even more so when you have a goalie that posted a 57% save percentage from his sophomore season, between the pipes Collin Kuester will be ready to help make some big saves and push transition with quick outlets. At the Faceoff X returns Jack Fitzpatrick who won 55% of the faceoffs he attempted. Skidmore starts the season with Emerson 2/13, Kean 2/19, Bates 2/24, Trinity 3/6, Sewanee 3/13, and Washington College 3/17. Skidmore should put together a strong out of conference performance this season heading into Liberty League play. 2023 was the coming out party for the Thoroughbreds and 2024 they will build on that and continue the party and shake up the Liberty League.
Clarkson- During the 2023 campaign the Clarkson Golden Knights were buzzin. Clarkson went 11-5 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Golden Knights had big wins over Union and St. Lawerence in the regular season and found themselves in the Liberty League tournament were they unfortunately lost St. Lawrence. Clarkson is looking to be in the mix again in 2024 and make a run to the Liberty League tournament once again. If the Golden Knights are going to get that done the following guys are going to need to step up big in this competitive Liberty League. Matt Reilly 32 points, Andrew Kearney 27 points, Connor Matthews 21 points, Alex Seiler 20 points, Joe Kelly 14 points, and Sam Mancabelli 13 points will look to be the leading force for the Golden Knights on offense this season. Leading the defense will be Matt Szwagulinski 50 GBs 25 CTs, Mason Volley 23 GBs 15 CTs, and Steve Kay 16 GBs 4 CTs. Clarkson looks to get ready for Liberty League action with early season games against Muhlenberg 2/24, Brockport 2/28, Nazareth 3/2, SUNY Geneseo 3/9, Plattsburg 3/13, and Hartwick 3/16. I like Clarkson in most of these early season games build their confidence rolling into the Liberty League. Once they get into the conference play it will be interesting to see what this Clarkson team can do. Without a doubt they will compete and hang in games but we will see if they have enough fire power this game to win the close games and set them up for another trip to the Liberty League Tournament. Stay tuned for updates throughout the season.
Ithaca- Ithaca starts 2024 in a completely new Era of Lacrosse. At the end of the 2023 season it was announced the Jeff Long after 36 years was going to retire. Over the last 36 years Ithaca lacrosse has experience a lot of success under the leadership of Long. Taking over for Long is Tommy Pearce who spent the last 4 seasons at Allegheny College in PA. Pearce took Allegheny from one win in the first season to 8 wins this past spring and a trip to the Presidents Athletic Conference. Pearce has big shoes to fill at Ithaca but given his track record of success at both Frostburg State and Allegheny I think Pearce will be able to build something In Ithaca. In the first season at Ithaca for Pearce he will look to lead the time to an improved season from 2023. 2023 was an up and down roller coaster ride where they finished 7-8 overall and 2-5 in Liberty League play. Unfortunately Ithaca was on the wrong end of a few games in Liberty Leaue action where they lost a 2 goal game to St. Lawrence, 1 goal loss to Skidmore and a 1 goal loss to Union. Tough break that could have had a much different look for the 2023 season had they been on the winning side of those games. Under the new leadership of Pearce Ithaca is returning a few key guys on the offensive side of the ball. John Sramac 46 points, Charlie Niebuhr 35 points, Kyle Savery 22 points, and jack Pastore are back and will be looking to make a large impact in 2024 and lead this new era of Ithaca lacrosse. On the other end of the field Ithaca will look to backfill some losses but keep an eye on Hunter Wallace 47 GBs 19 CTs and Jace Dockx 13 GBs 4 CTs to lead the a group of new faces on the defense. Ithaca starts the season with a strong St. John Fischer 2/24, SUNY Geneseo 3/2, Nazareth 3/6, Scranton 3/9, and Washington College 3/15. I like Ithaca in most of these games but I do think there will be challenges and these games should help them work through the growing pains and get them ready for Liberty League Action.
Vassar – Vassar went 7-9 overall in 2023 and 0-7 in Liberty League play. Vassar posted a huge win early in the season over Swarthmore that many thought was going to set the tone for this team heading into Liberty League play. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough gas to keep it going. After dropping their final 7 games in a row last season, Vassar is looking to turn things around in 2024. The group that is going to push this Vassar program forward on offense are Troy Santise 50 points, Ian Zumpano 29 points, Shane O’Hara 27 points, Baker Morton 24 points, Dan Negron 19 points, Nate Johnson 15 points, Anderson Eads 13 points, and Ryan Metz 12 points. On defense Solomon Hess 75 GBs 36 CTs, Dan Bader 26 GBs 14 CTs, Cullen Fagan 19 GBs 11 CTs, and Jack Palmer 29 GBs 10 CTs will be holding it down looking to help Vassar improve in 2024 and slow down opposing Liberty League offenses. As Vassar looks to get ready for Liberty League action they have few out of conference games that you’ll want to keep an eye on. First game to watch is Swarthmore 2/24, Kenne State 2/28, and UMASS Boston 3/10. I think these games will be good games that Vassar can win and depending how dominate they win should set the tone for Liberty League Action in 2024.