2018 Men’s Lacrosse Year in Review: #38 Colgate Raiders

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 this week with Monmouth, Sacred Heart, and Harvard.

So with that, let’s continue the recaps!

#38 Colgate Raiders

Conference: Patriot League
2018 Record: 7-8 (3-5 in Patriot League play)
Postseason: Lost to Lehigh in Patriot League quarterfinals
Head coach: Mike Murphy (7th Year)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Griffin Brown (34)
Assists: Sam Cleveland (31)
Points: Sam Cleveland (40)
Faceoffs: Collin Orr (206-of-350; 58.9%)
Ground balls: Collin Orr (72)
Caused turnovers: Jack Donaghue (14)
Goals against average: Connor Mullen (10.46 GAA)
Save percentage: Connor Mullen (48.3%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: A Chase Wittich (16 Gs, 6 As, 15 GBs), A Anthony Abbadessa (6 Gs, 2 As), FOGO Collin Orr (58.9% faceoff draws, 72 GBs, 1 G, 2 As), M Joe Delaney (18 Gs, 6 As), D Nicco DeLorenzo (17 GBs, 5 CTs)
Senior scoring departing: 62 of 276 points (22.5%)
Senior starts lost: 33 of 150 (22%)

Season Summary

Colgate followed a consistent pattern for much of 2018, win three games, lose three games. That happened except for their final three games, which was a win followed by two losses.

The Raiders showed early on they had a talented offense thanks to Sam Cleveland and Griffin Brown being joined by freshman Mike Hawkins. After a win over Cornell, who later showed they were a very talented team, Colgate was being discussed as a possible dark horse to win the Patriot League. But things calmed down after losses to Bucknell, Lehigh, and a surprising one-goal loss to Hobart.

Yet the Raiders bounced back with three more wins to keep themselves alive in the possible Patriot League hunt. But tough losses against Loyola, Navy, and a shocker to Holy Cross put those possibilities away. They got into the Patriot League Tournament thanks to a win over Lafayette, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals to Lehigh. The season ended with a big loss to Syracuse.

Colgate’s offense scored 10 or more goals in seven of their first eight games. But they cooled off at the end, doing that in three of their final seven, losing twice in those matchups as well. Outside of Cleveland, Brown, and Hawkins, the Raiders got 24 points each from senior Joe Delaney and juniors Duncan Hoskinson and Matt Donovan. Senior Chase Wittich and sophomore Nicky Petkevich tallied 22 points, while freshman James Caddigan Jr. put up 16 points. Senior Anthony Abbadessa was a large part of their offense early on before he tore his ACL in their win over Cornell.

On defense, junior Jack Donaghue, freshman Charlie Messineo, and senior Nicco DeLorenzo started all 15 games on offense for the Raiders. Sophomore Parker Baddley and freshman Nick Salameda each had at least 10 caused turnovers as LSMs, while junior shorties Will Blumenberg, Danny Healey, and John McDonald did well against the other midfielders. FOGO Collin Orr went 58.9% from the faceoff X in his final year, finishing with the best numbers of his career and good for second in the Patriot Leage. Despite junior Cyrus Scott playing four games and making three starts, fellow classmate Connor Mullen made 12 starts with a 48.3% save percentage.

Looking Ahead

In what could be the best timing possible, Colgate announced former Notre Dame assistant Matt Karweck as their next head coach earlier today. It’s like they wanted to make sure it was included in our Year in Review post! Karweck still needs to gather an offensive and defensive coordinator as Mike Abbott (Penn) and Jud Hall (Lafayette) left for new jobs.

The only big departures come in Wittich and Orr. Caddigan Jr. could replace Wittich as a starter at attack, but with Abbadessa suffering an injury early in the season, could he try to get a medical redshirt and play for a fifth season? At midfield, Delaney put up some big numbers as a reserve, but Petkevich might be turning a corner in terms of his development. A unit of Brown, Petkevich, and Cleveland could be one of the better midfield units in the Patriot League next year.

Donaghue and Messineo will be back, and DeLorenzo was a one-year starter. Josh Karp could be an option should Baddley and Salameda stay at LSM. Freshman Alessio Giovannetti or sophomore Malcolm Feeney could take the top FOGO spot, while Mullen and Scott will probably duel it out for the starting netminder job.

Here’s who the Raiders 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.