clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2014 College Lacrosse Preview: The Thompson Trio Chases History

The Thompson Trio is looking to rewrite the NCAA's record books in 2014.

The Thompson Trio is one of the most explosive offenses in the nation on their own. Only 23 teams -- not players: teams -- generated more points than the Thompsons did last season, and Lyle missed a game and Miles missed six. The family has already rewritten Albany's records books and are now setting their eyes on the NCAA's most prized records.

This is what they're chasing:

THE THOMPSON TRIO CHASES HISTORY
RECORD VALUE HOLDER TEAM YEAR
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
Points per Game 8.17 Dennis Fink Drexel 1978
Goals per Game 4.83 Scott Helgans Lehigh 1978
Assists per Game 5.25 Dennis Fink Drexel 1978
Points 114 Steve Marohl UMBC 1992
Goals 82 Jon Reese Yale 1990
Assists 77 Steve Marohl UMBC 1992
SINGLE-GAME RECORDS
Points 16 Bill Woodford Air Force 1975
Goals 11 Bob Scalise Brown 1971
Assists 12 Darren Lowe Brown 1991

Not all of these records are within reach for any member of the Thompson Trio. Some, like the all-time points per game record, would require an effort that would melt the faces of all that witnessed the record being broken. In function, it would be like opening the Ark of the Covenant if these records were shattered. However, for the sake of discussion, here's what each member of the Thompson Trio would need to accomplish to break the single-season records based on a 16-, 17-, and 18-game season (participating in every game):

THE THOMPSON TRIO CHASES HISTORY: THE GORY DETAILS
RECORD VALUE (16 GAMES) VALUE (17 GAMES) VALUE (18 GAMES)
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
To Break the Single-Season Points per Game Record 131 Season Points 139 Season Points 147 Season Points
To Break the Single-Season Goals per Game Record 77 Season Goals 82 Season Goals 87 Season Goals
To Break the Single-Season Assists per Game Record 84 Season Assists 89 Season Assists 95 Season Assists
To Break the Single-Season Points per Game Record 7.13 Points per Game 6.71 Points per Game 6.33 Points per Game
To Break the Single-Season Goals per Game Record 5.13 Goals per Game 4.82 Goals per Game 4.56 Goals per Game
To Break the Single-Season Assists per Game Record 4.81 Assists per Game 4.53 Assists per Game 4.28 Assists per Game

The single-season per-game records are likely unattainable; the simple volume of points, goals, and assists necessary over 16-, 17-, and 18-game seasons is beyond insane, requiring efforts -- save for total goals scored -- that would not only break the current record marks but destroy them. The Thompson Trio did not approach these marks in 2013 (Lyle put up 50 goals with 63 assists in 17 games last season; Miles put up 43 goals with 30 assists in 12 games last year; and Ty put up 54 goals with 14 assists in 18 games last year), and it's probably unlikely that any will touch these per-game records set 35 years ago.

As for the aggregate season records, a handful are possibly in reach depending on how many games the Great Danes play in 2014:

  • Lyle was one point shy of tying Marohl's mark last year for points in a season, registering 113 points in 17 games. Assuming Lyle can hang around his 2013 effort (6.65 points per game), he could finish 2014 as the single-season record holder for points generated in a season. (Miles also has an outside shot at the total season points record, but he'd need to pick up his point generation at a rate that exceeds Lyle's.) Lyle is also in the conversation for achieving the single-season mark for assists in a season, but he'd need to improve upon his 3.71 assists per game mark from a season ago. That record is more of a stretch than the total points in a season mark.
  • Miles and Ty are also in the conversation for knocking off Reese as the single-season record holder for goals scored in a season. Miles pumped in 3.58 goals per game in 2013 and Ty wasn't far behind at 3.00 per game. That record is likely safer than Marohl's single-season point mark, but assuming that Miles is able to play in virtually all of the Great Danes' games, he could approach Reese's mark (assuming that Lyle continues to feed him like crazy).

With respect to single-game records, it's not out of the question that any of the Thompson Trio could break one of the three marks:

  • Miles pumped in 14 points against Stony Brook last season, just two points shy of Woodford's record. Lyle had 11 points against UMBC last season and Miles -- one of his favorite targets -- didn't play that day.
  • Miles had nine goals against Bryant last season, just two behind Scalise's all-time mark. Ty had eight goals against UMBC on the same day that Lyle put 11 points on the board.
  • Miles had nine assists against Stony Brook last year, just a handful of helpers away from tying Lowe's mark. Lyle had seven assists in the game he generated 11 points against UMBC.