2018 Men’s Lacrosse Year in Review: #51 UMBC Retrievers

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 Furman, Hobart, Fairfield, Mount St. Mary’s, and Air Force.

So with that, let’s continue the recaps!

#51 UMBC Retrievers

Conference: America East
2018 Record: 5-8 (3-3 in America East play)
Head coach: Ryan Moran (2nd Year)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Billy Nolan (20)
Assists: Billy Nolan (14)
Points: Billy Nolan (34)
Faceoffs: Jake Brothers (71-of-195; 36.4%)
Ground balls: Billy O’Hara (34)
Caused turnovers: Billy O’Hara (23)
Goals against average: Tommy Lingner (7.33 GAA)
Save percentage: Tommy Lingner (54.1%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: LSM Billy O’Hara (34 GBs, 23 CTs), D John Tornabene (23 GBs, 13 CTs), G David Pisanic (9.75 GAA, 36.1% SV%), M Max Haldeman (3 Gs, 1 A)
Senior scoring departing: 4 of 130 points (3.1%)
Senior starts lost: 18 of 130 (13.8%)

Season Summary

Whenever you think of UMBC, you think of low-scoring games. The Retrievers aren’t the best at putting up goals on offense, but can keep themselves in games thanks to a good defense.

For the most part, 2018 was a slightly down year for UMBC than in 2017. The Retrievers failed to make the America East Tournament with a 5-8 record and the scoring offense averaged 0.72 fewer goals which ranked third fewest in the nation. UMBC scored 10 or more goals just once this season. You can thank injuries for that.

But the Retrievers did have some good moments this season. UMBC led the nation in goals against at 7.77 goals per game. That’s 1.37 goals less than they gave up on average the year before. The team also gave up more than 10 goals only three times. But their biggest achievement came when they upset Albany at home back in early April, which was also the only game where they put up double-digits in goals.

Overall, the Retrievers were a very young team, especially on offense. Six of the team’s top 10 scorers were all freshmen or sophomores. The starting defense was experienced with Billy O’Hara and John Tornabene in front of freshman keeper Tommy Lingner, who recorded a nation-best 7.33 goals against average.

Looking Ahead

The majority of their impactful losses come on the defensive side with O’Hara and Tornabene gone. For a team that only scored 130 points, losing a player that scored four of them isn’t that big, but it’s still notable.

The good news is that most of their younger impactful players should be healthy come the fall or at the very least the start of 2019. Sophomore Mitch Howell suffered a broken foot during the season, and freshman Trevor Patschorke tore his ACL to end their seasons. They redshirted this past season, and Ryan Frawley missed significant time with a thumb injury. With those guys joining juniors Billy Nolan and Jack Andrews, along with freshman Steven Zichelli, UMBC has a very good shot at returning to the America East Tournament. If all goes well and their defense shines again, could they possibly be a dark-horse to win the conference?

Here’s who the Retrievers 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.