2018 Men’s Lacrosse Year in Review: #67 Lafayette Leopards

With the 2018 college lacrosse season complete, it’s time to start looking back at how all 71 teams did during the season, as well as what to expect from each squad for 2019.

We already started looking ahead to 2019 with a few of our team recaps, kicking things off with Hampton, NJIT, VMI, and Dartmouth, as well as a check in with St. Bonaventure and Utah.

So with that, let’s continue the recaps!

#67 Lafayette Leopards

Conference: Patriot League
2018 Record: 3-12 (0-8 in Patriot League play)
Head coach: Ed Williams (Interim)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Conor Walters (28)
Assists: Conor Walters (21)
Points: Conor Walters (49)
Faceoffs: John Becker (106-of-217; 48.8%)
Ground balls: Chris Adamo (68)
Caused turnovers: Jack Lydon (14)
Goals against average: Jonathan Anastos (13.88 GAA)
Save percentage: Jonathan Anastos (43.3%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: M Will McCarthy (16 Gs, 16 As, 7 CTs), M Matt Close (6 Gs, 1 A), A Alex Mezey (3 Gs, 2 As), LSM George Cloud (4 GBs, 5 CTs, 1 G)
Senior scoring departing: 57 of 180 points (31.7%)
Senior starts lost: 40 of 150 (26.7%)

Season Summary

It was a wild season for the Leopards. It began in early August when former head coach Jim Rogalski abruptly resigned to take an assistant coaching role with the Michigan Wolverines. Ed Williams took over for the season, along with full-time assistants Scott Bieda and Tim Desko.

Over a month later, freshman goaltender McCrae Williams tragically passed away at the start of the fall semester. The team would memorialize Williams with patches on their jersey for the season:

As for the season itself, it started surprisingly well. After a seven goal loss to North Carolina, which was a surprise for the margin of victory, the Leopards won their next two games against NJIT and Wagner, the latter coming in double overtime. But then came an eight-game losing streak, including a six goal loss to Cleveland State and a four goal defeat at the hands of Boston University.

But Lafayette did earn one more win by defeating defending MAAC champion Monmouth on the road before losing their final three games, including an overtime defeat against Holy Cross.

It was a different season to say the least for the Leopards, but there’s now stability in place for the time being with new head coach Patrick Myers coming over from the Penn Quakers. Myers was one of the best assistant coaches available and his new home is pretty close to his old one. Myers, who recently retained Bieda, also knows the Patriot League from his time at Bucknell.

Looking Ahead

Plenty of Leopards will return for 2019, including leading scorer Conor Walters and goaltender Jonathan Anastos. Freshman attackman John Natoli was also a bright spot on the most recent class, as well as midfielder Bryan Hess. Outside of Walters, Natoli, Hess, and graduating midfielder Will McCarthy, no other player recorded more than 10 points. Jack Lydon will be back anchoring the defense, as will LSM Chris Adamo.

How will Myers be in his first head coaching gig? Dating back to Rogalski’s first season in 2013, the Leopards have only won three Patriot League games in six campaigns. Similar to the other teams that have conference affiliations we’ve already previewed, the Leopards need to be competitive in conference play.

Myers also has one assistant in Bieda and also brought in former Colgate assistant Jud Hall as his defensive coordinator.

Here’s who the Leopards will be adding to their roster for next year.*

*Compiled from a multitude of websites. Schools usually officially announce their recruiting class during the fall semester.