2018 Men’s Lacrosse Year in Review: #41 Monmouth Hawks

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’ve already begun looking back to 2018 with some team recaps thus far and continued our series last week with Hofstra, Brown, St. John’s, Delaware, and Marquette.

So with that, let’s continue the recaps!

#41 Monmouth Hawks

Conference: MAAC
2018 Record: 7-8 (4-2 in MAAC play)
Postseason: Lost to Detroit Mercy in MAAC semifinals
Head coach: Brian Fisher (5th Year)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Bryce Wasserman (34)
Assists: Bryce Wasserman (17)
Points: Bryce Wasserman (51)
Faceoffs: Chandler Vanderbeek (70-of-156; 44.9%)
Ground balls: Chandler Vanderbeek (54)
Caused turnovers: Garrett Pfeifer & Gordon Phillips (16)
Goals against average: Noah Lode (8.93 GAA)
Save percentage: Noah Lode (57.1%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: A Bryce Wasserman (34 Gs, 17 As, 20 GBs), M Dylan Schulte (17 Gs, 7 As, 23 GBs), D Garrett Pfeifer (39 GBs, 16 CTs, 1 A), M Dan Bloodgood (8 Gs, 6 As), FOGO Chandler Vanderbeek (44.9% faceoff draws, 54 GBs, 3 Gs, 2 As), D Joe Lucas (11 GBs, 7 CTs), SSDM Grier Wilson (17 GBs, 4 CTs, 2 Gs, 1 A), FOGO Keegan Teluk (34% faceoff draws, 12 GBs), M Sean Tornetta (4 Gs, 2 As)
Senior scoring departing: 105 of 236 points (44.5%)
Senior starts lost: 66 of 150 (44%)

Season Summary

The 2017 Hawks set the standard for the program going forward. With many members of that team departing in the offseason, the 2018 version still competed as hard, but fell short in the MAAC semifinals.

The season started off with plenty of promise, despite a double overtime loss against Princeton. All seven of their wins came against teams who didn’t have a winning record. Their best win was a 9-8 decision over UMass Lowell in early March. Monmouth also couldn’t finish in many close games, going 2-5 in those decisions. Some of those losses included a midweek loss to Lafayette and overtime losses to Detroit Mercy and Quinnipiac in MAAC play.

There was nobody close to having as big as an offensive impact as Bryce Wasserman did in his final year in Jersey. Junior attackman Griffin Figel had 30 points, good for second on the team, and the only other player with more than 10 assists. Six other players put up more than 10 points in 2018, including junior Hunter Jones and long pole Gordon Phillips. Not having Eamon Campbell on offense did hurt the Hawks.

It would be tough matching Monmouth’s 7.39 goals against average from a year ago, but this year’s team was still effective by allowing only nine goals a game, which was still a top 20 mark. Garrett Pfeifer anchored the close unit, and freshman Chris Hervada had an excellent rookie campaign with 38 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers. Senior Joe Lucas and sophomore Dillon Smart split time as the third starter in the season. But the biggest contributor was freshman goalie Noah Lode. Lode had an 8.93 goals against average in his rookie season with a 57.1% save percentage, good enough for a third team selection on the College Crosse All-Freshman honors.

Looking Ahead

This year’s personnel losses will probably have a bigger impact on Monmouth than last year’s. Wasserman, Schulte, and Pfeifer were the leaders of their respective units and all depart. The big hit comes on offense, with Dan Bloodgood as another key loss.

Yet Monmouth has plenty of talent left, including Figel, Jones, Zach Clemente, and Casey Kimmel. If Campbell plays very well in his return and the defense continues to improve, another MAAC title is not out of the question, especially in a wide open conference as the MAAC.

Here’s who the Hawks 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.