2019 Men’s College Lacrosse Year In Review: #21 Quinnipiac Bobcats

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:

• #26 Cornell
• #25 Boston University
• #24 Drexel
• #23 Vermont
• #22 Lehigh

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!

#21 Quinnipiac Bobcats

Conference: MAAC
2019 Record: 9-7 (5-2 in MAAC)
Postseason: Defeated Detroit Mercy in MAAC semifinals, lost to Marist in MAAC Championship
Head coach: Mason Poli (Interim, 1st Season)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Jake Tomsik (37)
Assists: Jake Tomsik (23)
Points: Jake Tomsik (60)
Faceoffs: Tyler Liotta (95-of-182; 52.2%)
Ground balls: Demitri George (64)
Caused turnovers: Mike Ruane (11)
Goals against average: Nick DiMuccio (12.65 GAA)
Save percentage: Nick DiMuccio (52.4%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: A Foster Cuomo (33 Gs, 18 As, 13 GBs, 6 CTs), A Mike Fletcher (35 Gs, 14 As, 14 GBs, 5 CTs), D Mike Ruane (11 CTs, 24 GBs), D Bryce Nalls (9 CTs, 21 GBs), FOGO Tyler Liotta (52.2% FOs, 34 GBs, 2 As), M Matt Frost (8 Gs, 5 As, 9 GBs, 1 CT), LSM Patrick Battista (8 CTs, 7 GBs), LSM Jack Hill (4 CTs, 16 GBs, 1 G, 2 As)
Senior scoring departing: 118 of 291 points (40.5%)
Senior starts lost: 52 of 160 (32.5%)

Season Summary

Quinnipiac’s fall semester was marred with trouble surrounding the program. In late September, the program was suspended for violating the university’s student conduct policy. A week later, longtime head coach Eric Fekete was let go and replaced with Mason Poli on an interim basis. All of fall ball was cancelled, and the majority of the seniors missed the first five games of the season.

There was a spring season, but the Bobcats began with three straight losses against UMass Lowell, Brown, and Vermont. Quinnipiac then edged out NJIT and Wagner in their next two games to go 2-3 with the seniors coming back and playing games as the MAAC conference schedule began. Those two wins were the start of a six-game winning streak which also included victories over Detroit Mercy, Hartford in overtime, and Siena. The streak ended in early April against Canisius, as the Golden Griffins jumped out to a 7-2 halftime lead. And a week later, the Bobcats fought with Marist for over three quarters until the Red Foxes scored the final four goals of the game to earn the win.

The Bobcats’ regular season ended with wins over Monmouth and Manhattan in conference play along with a blowout loss to Yale. Quinnipiac saw themselves as the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Tournament which saw them take a 9-0 lead over Detroit Mercy en route to a nine-goal win in the conference semifinals. They faced Marist once again in the conference title game and took a lead in the first half. But the Red Foxes slowly caught up at the end of the second quarter and was able to start to pull away in the second half. But Quinnipiac still hung around and made it a one-goal game with 2:24 left in regulation. They could not put home the tying goal as Tyler Mackay’s shot hit the post with 28 second left.

The return of the seniors to the Bobcats played pivotal roles in the team’s success in conference play, especially on offense with the addition of the shot clock. Sophomore Jake Tomsik led the team in goals, assists, and points, but also had very good support from senior Foster Cuomo and Mike Fletcher at attack. Tyler DeVito and Matt Miller saw valuable time early in the season at attack that should help them down the road. The midfield was not as affected as much as the attack with Mackay and Will Abbott serving as the two main starters. Matt Frost started nine games when he returned from suspension, while Brett DiSalvo started in seven games. Colin Casey was also a key depth midfielder.

On defense, Matt Di Lella started throughout the season and was later joined by seniors Mike Ruane and Bryce Nalls. Matthew Federico, Devin Naidoo, and CJ Gallagher also saw valuable time on defense throughout the season. Patrick Battista and Jack Hill were the primary LSMs, while Nick Mascetti, Kevin Blank, Andrew Garfield, and Grant Skophammer were the main SSDMs. Demitri George and Tyler Liotta split the bulk of the faceoffs, and freshman Nick DiMuccio had a good first season in net with a 52.4% save percentage.

Looking Ahead

The 2019 seniors won’t be back for the 2020 season, which will mean some of the guys that played early this past year will be counted on for even larger roles.

Tomsik and Abbott will start to be looked upon as leaders for the next few seasons, with guys such as Mackay, DeVito, Miller, DiSalvo, Casey, and Miles Tillman being sought as key contributors on the scoring side. Defensively, Di Lella at close and DiMuccio in goal will be anchors for the next few seasons on that side of the ball. Federico, Naidoo, and Gallagher will have to be big for stopping offenses.

Even with the departure of some impact players, expect the Bobcats to be competitive in the MAAC for another season. Poli, who was named the permanent head coach in the summer, and company have carried over the success that Fekete had for the majority of his tenure in Hamden.