College Crosse 2017 Dissections: #71 Hampton Pirates

As the offseason continues, we’ll take a look back at the 2017 season for each individual team in our 2017 dissections. The individual team dissections will go in reverse order of my final Power Rankings from the end of the season. If you missed any of our team or conference recaps, you can check them out here.

Our first team up are the Hampton Pirates!

Hampton Pirates

Conference: Independent
2017 Record: 1-7
Head coach: Lloyd Carter (2nd Year)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Three tied at 9 (John Tarver, Kendall Sapp, Kier Johnson)
Assists: John Tarver (7)
Points: John Tarver (16)
Face-offs: Aaron Brown (44-of-103; 42.7%)
Ground balls: Andrew Gray (17)
Caused turnovers: Baron Edmondson (10)
Goals against average: Joshua Tarver (9.73 GAA)
Save percentage: Joshua Tarver (60.4%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: Darrel Kidd (4G, 1A)
Senior scoring departing: 5 of 74 (6.8%)
Senior starts lost: 7 of 80 (8.8%)

Season Summary

In their second season of Division I play, the Pirates were able to win their first game in program history with a 7-5 win over Greensboro in early March. They also added three more games to their total schedule from five in their first year, and will probably add more in 2018.

The Pirates only lost three of their games by double digits, compared to losing all five games by more than 10 goals last year. They battled District of Columbia to a four-goal loss, Ohio Valley to a five-goal defeat, Saint Thomas Aquinas to a six-goal loss, and Division I Wagner Seahawks to a seven-goal loss. Last year, the Pirates lost to the Seahawks by 14 goals.

They gave up less goals to the VMI Keydets in 2017 than they did in 2016, 14 compared to 25. However, Hampton scored just once in this year’s meeting. They also played the NJIT Highlanders for the first time in program history to a 17-3 loss.

With only 29 guys on the roster on a second-year team, with 28 of them expected to return for next season, it’s expected that there’s a ton of balance and playing time for most or all of the players on the current roster. John Tarver led the team in all offensive scoring categories in only five games played and is their best player on the team. His brother, Joshua, and Kevin Mondy Jr. split time in net this season, with Tarver recording the team’s lone win.

What’s Ahead?

I would expect the roster and schedule to slightly grow again in 2018. From 20 players in 2016 to 29 this past season, the Pirates should be able to crack at least 35 players with the rate they went through this year.

How many games will the Pirates play next season? If the pattern holds up, they’ll add three more games and get up to 11, with the ultimate goal probably being 14 in 2019, which would be a full schedule. But how many of those games will be Division I opponents? I expect to see NJIT, VMI, and Wagner on the schedule again, but will we see other teams added on as well? Cleveland State? Manhattan? Mount St. Mary’s?

Below are who the Pirates will be adding next year.*

*Compiled amongst numerous sites with players listed as Hampton commits. Schools usually officially announce their recruiting class during the fall semester.