2019 Men’s College Lacrosse Year In Review: #38 Brown Bears

With the 2019 college lacrosse season complete, it’s time to look back at how all 73 teams did during the season, along with an early look at each squad for 2020.

Note: These are not end of season rankings.

Here’s our last five Year In Review posts we’ve done:

• #43 Bucknell
• #42 Holy Cross
• #41 Albany
• #40 Jacksonville
• #39 Providence

To see all of our posts, check out the 2019 Year In Review section on the site.

Let’s continue our 2019 Year In Review!

#38 Brown Bears

Conference: Ivy League
2019 Record: 7-9 (3-3 in Ivy League)
Postseason: Lost to Penn in Ivy League Semifinals
Head coach: Mike Daly (3rd Season)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Luke McCaleb (36)
Assists: Luke McCaleb (23)
Points: Luke McCaleb (59)
Faceoffs: Jason Simaan (117-of-218; 53.7%)
Ground balls: Jason Simaan (66)
Caused turnovers: Andrew Geppert (17)
Goals against average: Phil Goss (11.49 GAA)
Save percentage: Phil Goss (50%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: M Michael Panepinto (14 Gs, 5 As, 10 GBs, 2 CTs), D Alex Santangelo (12 CTs, 32 GBs, 1 A), A Jackson Newsome (14 Gs, 3 As, 15 GBs, 4 CTs), M Carson Song (8 Gs, 1 A, 35 GBs, 6 CTs)
Senior scoring departing: 47 of 308 points (15.3%)
Senior starts lost: 68 of 160 (42.5%)

Season Summary

Despite recording their second straight under-.500 season, Brown continued to be a tough opponent for teams in 2019. They played in five games decided by a goal, eight decided by two goals, and nine decided within three. But they went 1-4 in one-goal games, 3-5 in two-goal games, and 3-6 in three-goal games.

The team alternated between wins and losses for the first six games of the season. Their two-goal loss to Stony Brook was the start of five straight games where they were all decided by two goals or less. They defeated UMBC and Harvard, but suffered tough losses to Virginia and Holy Cross to go to 3-3 on the season.

After a defeat against UMass, Brown nearly came back against Villanova in the fourth quarter, but that was also a one-goal defeat. The Bears defeated Princeton thanks to a big fourth quarter to go 2-0 in Ivy League play before losing to Penn and Yale in back-to-back weeks. Brown gave Yale a challenge despite a five-goal defeat, forcing the Bulldogs to pull goalie Jack Starr in the first half. Brown closed out the regular season winning three of their final four games, with the only loss coming against Cornell.

The Bears reached the Ivy League Tournament for another season and gave the eventual Ivy League Champions a good test in the semifinals. Against Penn, Brown made things interesting in the final quarter down a goal. But the Bears could not win the ensuing faceoff and saw their season come to an end.

Junior Luke McCaleb and stud freshman Darian Cook started all 16 games in 2019 at attack. Cook was second on the team behind McCaleb in goals and assists where he finished with 47 points on the year. Jackson Newsome and Jack Kniffin split starts as the third attackman, with Kniffin starting the backend of the season. Kniffin scored 23 goals and registered 33 points while Newsome found the back of the net 14 times. The midfield saw plenty of production from George Grell, Ryan Aughavin, and Michael Panepinto, with Carson Song, who was a very good two-way player, Riley Stewart, and Reed Moshyedi also contributing.

The defense saw freshman Andrew Geppert rise up and lead the team with 17 caused turnovers at close defense, joining senior Alex Santangelo, sophomore Jackson Caputo, and freshman Luke Gaydos. LSM Adrian Enchill and SSDM Michael Brown were key players at defensive midfield, with Song and Stewart also playing key roles as shorties. Phil Goss started another year in goal for the Bears, and Jason Simaan split the bulk of the draws with Matt McShea at the faceoff X.

Looking Ahead

Brown doesn’t lost a lot of talent in 2020. Panepinto and Santangelo are the two main starters that leave, with Newsome and Song notable contributors as well.

The offense should be fairly the same with McCaleb, Cook, and Kniffin at attack and Grell and Aughavin at midfield. Look for Moshyedi, George Pike, or Jack Parr to perhaps get that third starting midfield spot. Geppert, Caputo, and Gaydos are all back, as is the majority of the defensive midfield and Goss in goal. Simaan and McShea are also back to take faceoffs as two good options for the Bears.

The Ivy League has Yale, Penn, and Cornell as the top teams in the conference. Could Brown break through and make some noise in 2020?