Playing for NJIT is Electric These Days

Goalie records aren’t everything. Many would argue they’re meaningless. But when you’re 5-38 over four years as a Division I starter, the losses eat at you.

Liam Brown called it “demoralizing.” His first four years at NJIT aren’t looked upon fondly, though a shocking 7-0 start to 2024 has shifted the Highlanders’ thinking. It was all part of the process.

And “shocking,” by the way, is an emotion only applicable to those outside of the program. While NJIT players might not have predicted a 7-0 start, they were fully aware that change was in the air.

“I don’t think there’s a direct change, but with a new coaching staff, it was a matter of trusting the process. Things fell our way,” Brown said Tuesday, four days before the Highlanders open America East play against Vermont. “There’s a general sense of confidence and alignment in the team, which carries through to everything we do. You’re not worried about performing as much as you are having fun when you play. There’s a big energy shift in that.”

The goalie of a team that goes 5-38 over four years is hardly the central problem. But Brown wears the lack of success on his sleeve. Perhaps that’s unfair, considering he saved at least 50.9-percent of shots in each of those four seasons and was the only America East goalie in 2023 with multiple 20-plus-save games.

Still, a 3-10 season is a 3-10 season — even if it was Eric Wolf’s first as head coach.

“There’s definitely a sense of responsibility that comes with [being the goalie on a losing team],” he said. “It’s shared, but it’s a burden.”

That burden’s been lifted. Home games at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium are well-attended by alumni and fans. Depending on which segment of the internet you ask, the Highlanders are “America’s Team.” They’ve gone from a feel-good, upstart team to one that lacrosse fans are genuinely hoping to succeed.

The atmosphere is simply “electric,” a fitting way for Brown, a hopeful mechanical engineer, to phrase it.

“It already feels surreal,” he said. “We have alumni back every weekend. We have big crowds at our games. It’s so much fun.”

The true measure of NJIT’s success will be determined over its next seven games, all against conference foes. Since NJIT’s NCAA debut in 2015, five schools have won an America East tournament title, signifying the consistent changing-of-the-guard in the conference.

NJIT has already secured its first-ever .500 season. But that just seems like the baseline for a Highlanders team with suddenly realistic goals of winning.

In Brown’s opinion, the days of cellar-dwelling are long gone — even if some lacrosse fans won’t soon forget.

“We’re still a meme, so to speak, but it’s fun to have the attention,” Brown said. “It’s cool to see NJIT on the map.”