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The Good, The Bad, & The Future: Ivy League

We look back at what the Ivy League teams did in 2016 and who they'll be getting in 2017.

HOPS!
HOPS!
Rich Schultz/Getty Images

So the 2016 season has been over for four weeks, and we still miss it. So as Eri is taking a look at each individual team (god rest his soul), I'll be taking a smaller look at each team.

On Friday, I took at look at the Patriot League. Today, we'll recap all the smart schools, aka the Ivy Leaguers. Brown was the best team in the conference, but Yale won the Ivy League Tournament over Harvard. Dartmouth was bad. Let's dive in.

DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN (1-13)

The Good: You beat Michigan!

The Bad: Everything else! A big down year in BOSS Brendan Callahan's second year after a 5-8 2015 season. Close losses to Sacred Heart, Wagner, NJIT, Princeton, and UMass Lowell hurt. How can you lose to two second-year programs as an Ivy? Unacceptable.

The Future: It's a tough draw getting kids to come to Dartmouth, being almost in the middle of nowhere. But, there's a decent crop coming in. There's a good amount of midfielders in Chris Bacotti (Massapequa), Jack Forrest (Bullis), Jack Richardson (Connetquot), and David Gallagher (Downingtown West). Gallagher can also play attack. St. Anthony's LSM Christopher Adamo and Gonzaga goalie George Christopher are other notable recruits.

CORNELL BIG RED (6-7)

The Good: After a talented senior class graduated, you were young again. Colton Rupp and Ryan Bray were freshmen that made an impact right from the start for you guys, and also got huge wins against Virginia and Syracuse from the ACC.

The Bad: You dipped to under-.500 after finishing 10-6 last year, which is understandable from the loss of talent. Outside of a brutal loss to Brown and Yale, you guys played all of your games close. But winning one Ivy League game is kind of questionable. Your final game against Princeton was a one-goal loss to a rival.

The Future: After missing all of last year, Christian Knight will be back for his senior year (can't have a redshirt due to Ivy League rules). But there will be some talented recruits coming in as well. Two Under Armour All-American attackmen lead the way in the 2016 recruiting class in Hill Academy's Jeff Teat and Victor's Ryan Maloney. Midfielders Harrison Bardwell (Wilton) and Cooper Telesco (Ridgewood) are also top recruits. Other notables include Fairport attackman Cameron Gebhardt, midfielders Austin Fingar (Penn Yan), Ryan McDonald (West Genesee), and Patrick Karey (St. Paul's), and Bullis defenseman Griff Gosnell.

PRINCETON TIGERS (5-8)

The Good: It was a roller coaster season for you guys. You had a good win over Rutgers early in the season, and then finished 3-2 and winning three of your final four games under interim and eventually permanent BOSS Matt Madalon.  Junior Zach Currier was an All-American Honorable Mention. There's also not a ton of seniors besides Ryan Ambler, Bobby Weaver, and Austin DeButts graduating.

The Bad: The entire Chris Bates saga was a bad look for a once proud program. After crushing NJIT, you also lost seven of your next eight, including close losses to Hofstra, Yale, and Stony Brook. It was not a good Princeton year.

The Future: Many alums love the Madalon signing, which sounds good. They'll also love two big name recruits coming in as well. Upper Dublin attackman Michael Sowers is playing on the USA U-19 team, and McDonogh defenseman Arman Medghalchi is an Under Armour All-American. Sowers will be honored as an AA, but won't play in the game. Hun School goalie Jon Devine is also a top add, along with Gilman defenseman David Sturtz.

HARVARD CRIMSON (8-8)

The Good: You reached the Ivy League Championship game by defeating Brown at Brown! You also started the season 4-0 with big wins over Villanova and Duke before crashing back down to Earth. Senior attackman Devin Dwyer and senior defenseman Bobby Duvnjak were both Third Team All-Americans, while sophomore midfielder Joe Lang was an Honorable Mention. Robert Shaw was solid in net as well.

The Bad: After winning your first four, you lost your next four and alternated wins and losses afterward. Close losses to Bryant, Penn State in overtime, Brown, Boston University in overtime, Albany, Penn, and Yale twice. At least all of them were close.

The Future: Five Under Armour All-Americans are making their way to Cambridge next year. Torrey Pines LSM/Defenseman Beau Botkiss leads the pack, along with midfielders George Loring (Noble & Greenough) and Jeremy Magno (Bergen Catholic), attackman Kyle Anderson (Malvern Prep), and defenseman David Strupp (New Canaan). Other top recruits include Deerfield midfielder Nigel Andrews and Hill Academy attackman Dalton Follows. Harvard looks like to be a team back near the top next year.

PENN QUAKERS (8-7)

The Good: You were competitive throughout the season as well as in the Ivy League after going 6-7 last season and missing the Ivy League Tournament. You scored a good early win over Penn State and a pivotal conference win over Harvard to ensure the 3rd seed in the Ivy League Tournament. Freshmen Simon Mathias and Alex Roesner complemented Reilly Hupfeldt, Kevin McGeary, and Doktor Nick Nick Doktor. LSM Connor Keating was an Honorable Mention All-American after scoring 13 goals. Reed Junkin was impressive in net as a freshman, with a .536 save percentage.

The Bad: BOSS Mike Murphy is great at scheduling, but you guys couldn't get a really big win, with your biggest being Penn State. Losses against Virginia, Villanova, Maryland, Yale twice, and Brown didn't help your RPI and resume, and two losses to end the season against St. Joe's and Yale wasn't a good way to end your season.

The Future: Your recruiting class will be led by Under Armour All-American defenseman Mark Evanchick of Darien. His teammate, midfielder Jack Book, will also follow along. Another All-American is Haverford school goalie Alex DeMarco, who will have fellow Ford midfielder Keyveat Postell with him as well. A pair of Malvern Prep Friars also come along in attackman Adam Goldner and LSM/defenseman Ryan Murray. Other notables include attackmen JoJo Biddle (Pacific Ridge) and Matt Schleicher (Hun School) and defenseman Kyle Thornton (Chaminade).

YALE BULLDOGS (13-3) - Won Ivy League Tournament; Lost to Navy in NCAA First Round

The Good: You won the Ivy League Tournament after Harvard upset Brown in the semifinals. You beat Harvard and Penn twice, and even got an early season win over Maryland in February. Michael Quinn was a First Team All-American, but had to miss nearly three games due to a knee injury which is re-aggravated in the Navy loss. Ben Reeves was also a First Team selection at attack, scoring 45 goals and 34 assists, both team highs. Michael Keasey was a Second Team selection, Mark Glicini and Chris Keating were a Third Team choice, and Eric Scott was an Honorable Mention.

The Bad: You went 3-3 in your last six games and lost consecutive games against Brown and Albany. The Navy loss was tough, since Quinn returned but later re-aggravated an ACL injury and may have cost you the game and the season. The stalwart on defense has graduated, along with Keasey, Glicini, and Reilly Naton.

The Future: There will be two Under Armour All-Americans heading to Yale in Syosset midfielder Lucas Cotler and McDonogh attackman Jackson Morrill. They'll be joined by top recruits in Salisbury attack/middie Matt Gaudel and Roxbury Latin defenseman Will Weitzel. Other notables include Downingtown East goaltender Brodie Wilson and Chaminade midfielder Will Renz.

BROWN BEARS (16-3) - Lost in Ivy League Tournament Semifinals; Defeated Johns Hopkins in NCAA First Round, Defeated Navy in NCAA Quarterfinals; Lost to Maryland in overtime in NCAA Semifinals

The Good: You made Championship Weekend for the first time since the early 1990s and had one of the most exciting teams ever. You had the Tewaaraton winner in First Team All-American attackman Dylan Molloy, who scored two goals against Maryland on a broken foot! SAVAGE! Larken Kemp was a First Team selection at the LSM position, and Jack Kelly was a First Teamer in goal. FOGO Will Gural was a Second Team choice and was second in the nation in win percentage (.699), while defenseman Alec Tulett joined Gural. Third Team choices include Kylor Bellistri, who led the team in goals with 63, Brendan Caputo, and John Yozzo-Scaperrotta. Henry Blynn was an Honorable Mention.

The Bad: You came just short of upsetting top-seed Maryland, and the injury to Molloy probably played a role in that finale. You also had some shocking losses against Bryant and Harvard as well. But the bad parts about your season happened after it ended. Not only will you lose Bellistri, Blynn, Bailey Tills, Caputo, Matt Graham, Gural, Yozzo-Scaperrotta, and Kelly, you'll also lose former BOSS Lars Tiffany to Virginia. And you may lose assistants Sean KirwanKip Turner, and even volunteer assistant Lars Keil as well to UVA. We don't know about that yet, but it could be a devastating blow to the program for the next few years.

The Future: Molloy, Kemp, and Tulett return next year, so that's a good start. You'll have to count on sophomores Carson Song and Foster Leboeuf along with juniors Stephen Hudak, Jake Miller, and Owen Rogers. The goaltending battle is cloudy right now, and it'll get cloudier with the addition of a talented freshman, Deerfield's Philip Goss, who's on the USA U-19 team. Goss will compete with Acie Newton, Brad Peters, and Peter Scott for the starting job in 2017. You do have an Under Armour All-American in Gonzaga defenseman Ryan Finlay. He'll be joined by fellow Purple Eagle attackman Luke McCaleb. Other notable recruits include attackmen Jack Kniffin (Darien) and Jason Curran (Shoreham-Wading River), along with LSM/defenseman Mitchell Oliver (Georgetown Prep).