Previewing Holy Cross’ 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule

The Holy Cross Crusaders are the 62nd team in our 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the eighth team from the Patriot League. Holy Cross finished 7-7 overall in 2019 and 4-4 in Patriot League play. The Crusaders lost to Army West Point in the Patriot League Quarterfinals.

Here’s their entire 2020 schedule:

Who’s In?

• Merrimack Warriors (2/1)
• Dartmouth Big Green (4/15)

Who’s Out?

• NA

Circle These Dates

• 2/25 vs. Harvard: Holy Cross has defeated Harvard in back-to-back seasons in double overtime, which is something. But last year’s win featured a much larger comeback than in 2018. Down 10-3 with 9:10 left in the third quarter, the Crusaders scored seven straight goals to force overtime, highlighted by Kevin Kodzis’ tally with 42 seconds to play. Will Spangenberg would score in double overtime to give Holy Cross the double overtime win. Harvard brings in a new coaching staff led by Gerry Byrne, so expect the Crimson to look a little different in 2020.
• 2/29 at Army West Point: The Crusaders had a solid game in the regular season against the Black Knights despite a one-goal loss. Holy Cross was able to hold Brendan Nichtern to just a goal but gave up hat-tricks to Nate Jones and Miles Silva. Goalie AJ Barretto was a brick wall with 19 saves. The rematch in the Patriot League Quarterfinals was tight for a quarter and a half before Army went on a nine-goal run to breeze past the Crusaders. Nichtern finished with eight points while Jones finished with six.
• 3/17 vs. Brown: Holy Cross recorded their first win over Brown since 1961, their fourth year as a varsity program. They defeated the Bears every season beginning in 1958 before going on a long 17-game winless drought that spanned 58 seasons. That changed in 2019 when Drew Babiak scored with one second left in double overtime to get the program’s first win over Brown in a long time. That might have been their best moment from last season.
• 3/21 at Navy: This eventually became a game that mattered in the Patriot League standings as Navy was on the outside of the Patriot League Tournament when the regular season ended. The teams exchanged goals throughout the game, but the Crusaders were able to just get past the Midshipmen in a 12-9 win. Holy Cross had 13 caused turnovers in the win with Matt Farrell recording a game-high five CTs and Will Murphy right behind him with four. Both of those guys won’t be back this season, so look for Chris Conlin to take a big step as a leader on the Holy Cross defense.
• 3/28 vs. Loyola: Even with Pat Spencer recording 11 points on the opposing side, the Crusaders only lost by four. Kevin Lindley (6 Gs, 1 A) and Chase Scanlan (5 Gs, 2 As), who has since transferred to Syracuse, also had big offensive games for the Greyhounds. Holy Cross trimmed Loyola’s lead to one a couple times in the third quarter before the Greyhounds found a way to pull away in the final frame. It should be a different looking Loyola team in 2020, but they do return Lindley and Aidan Olmstead (who didn’t play in last year’s matchup) on offense, and bring in midfielder Riley Seay from Bellarmine.