Few people in lacrosse possess a better sense of perspective than Denver coach Bill Tierney. So back in the latter stages of autumn, when it was anyone’s guess just what the season would look like, it was apt to ask him just what 2021 would bring for the sport.
“It could be the greatest year ever of lacrosse because of the talent that is now five years deep instead of four,” Tierney said. “It could be the biggest disappointment ever if we don’t have a season for those fifth-year guys who got shut out of one last year.”
The calendar just turned to February, but at least there is something of a season. Counterintuitively, last weekend’s two games marked the earliest start ever to a Division I lacrosse season. But there’s still uncertainty surrounding who will play (the Ivy League’s situation is, to put it mildly, in flux), whether there will be interruptions (based on other sports, almost certainly) and just what things will look like on Memorial Day weekend.
But that’s the finish line, and this is effectively the start of what everyone involved should hope is a safe and complete — emphasis on safe — season. There’s a lot to cram into the 2021 college lacrosse season between now and then … everything from A-to-Z.
A is for absences.
While the fate of the Ivy League season precariously hangs in the balance, there are already two programs missing from last year’s complement of 75. Hampton suspended its spring semester competition outside of basketball in October and will take the season off. And Furman cut its men’s lacrosse program after seven seasons in a cost-saving move last spring; goalie Alec Van De Bovenkamp (now at Ohio State) is one of the prominent ex-Paladins still in Division I.
B is for Jared Bernhardt.
The fifth-year senior, a Tewaaraton finalist in 2019, is back at Maryland after planning to spend the fall playing football at Division II Ferris State. Those plans scuttled when there was no football to play. Bernhardt will be the Terrapins’ offensive centerpiece. He is 66 points shy of Matt Rambo’s Maryland record for career points (257); in his last full season, he authored a 78-point season in 2019.
C is for Jake Carraway.
Here’s another inside-the-Beltway fifth-year star more than capable of finishing at the top of his school’s career scoring list by the end of the season. The Georgetown attackman has 214 points (22 shy of Greg McCavera’s Hoyas record) and 144 goals (just nine behind former teammate Daniel Bucaro). He could also cement his legacy if he can help Georgetown make its third NCAA tournament since 2018 and perhaps even advance out of the first round for the first time in more than a decade.
D is for Peter Dearth.
The fifth-year senior has played a considerable role in transforming Syracuse’s defensive midfield from a liability into an obvious strength over the last couple years. Dearth, who has scored eight goals and caused 16 turnovers in 18 games over the last two seasons, is one of the most tested short sticks in the sport. Dearth and long pole Brett Kennedy will anchor the Orange’s defensive midfield group.
E is for East Hartford.
The NCAA tournament’s championship weekend has rotated between Baltimore, Philadelphia and Foxborough, Mass., since 2003, but this marks a temporary move away from NFL stadiums. Rentschler Field, the home of Connecticut’s football program, is scheduled to host the next two Memorial Day weekends before Philadelphia (2023-24) and Foxborough (2025-26) return to the rotation.
F is for factory, of the goalie variety.
Providence has quietly carved out a niche on this front, with Peter Badgley (2015) and Tate Boyce (2016-19) putting first-team all-Big East goalie honors on lockdown in Friartown. Toby Burgdorf (.628 save percentage) lived up to Providence’s goalie legacy in six starts early last season, and the senior will have a big say in the Friars contending for a postseason berth.