MILESTONE WATCH
Merrimack’s First Division I Game
Anyone who has ever asked the question, “How might the best team in Division II or III fare in a mid-major Division I conference?” will get their answer this spring, as the clock starts on the Warriors’ four-year reclassification period.
The Northeast Conference now consists of 10 teams (fellow former D-II power LIU also is making the jump) in two divisions. Merrimack won’t be eligible for the conference championship or NCAA tournament consideration until 2024, but the Warriors are going full bore in year one. They’ve got the reigning Division II national player of the year in Charlie Bertrand and a fully-stocked D-I schedule that includes trips to Michigan and Yale and seven NEC foes. The journey starts Saturday at Holy Cross.
AMENT WATCH
Will he play?
Inside Lacrosse reported last week that Penn State attackman Grant Ament, the US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Player of the Year and a Tewaaraton Award favorite, underwent surgery in November after aggravating the foot injury that sidelined him for all of 2018 and plagued him for portions of 2019.
While a Penn State spokesperson affirmed that Ament was a full participant in preseason, one wonders if or to what extent Ament will play in the Nittany Lions’ season opener against Lafayette.
UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS
Zack Deaken, Jacksonville: The short-stick defensive midfielder from Ontario scooped 42 ground balls caused 22 turnovers as a freshman, led the Orangeville Northmen to a Minto Cup (Junior A) title as team captain over the summer and will be a sophomore captain for the Dolphins this spring. Jacksonville opens the season Saturday against visiting Detroit Mercy.
Ian Groom, Hampton: The Pirates have a new coach in Rashad Devoe who wants to raise the profile of the program with more ambitious scheduling (they’ll travel to Jacksonville and Utah this year) and better results against Division I competition. That could lead to a larger platform for Groom, who won more than 70 percent of his faceoffs as a freshman in 2019.
Jack Kelly, Penn State: Grant Ament and Mac O’Keefe grab all the headlines. US Lacrosse Magazine’s Gary Lambrecht identified the Nittany Lions’ third attackman, Dylan Foulds, as their X factor. But let’s not sleep on Kelly, a third-team All-American midfielder from Toronto whose motor never quits and whose shooting percentage of 53.8 ranked third in Division I.
GROUND BALL
3
Only five players in the country averaged at least three assists per game in 2019: Grant Ament, Pat Spencer, Michael Sowers, Chris Gray…and Asher Nolting. The two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year is coming off a 92-point season (44 goals, 48 assists) and is always a good bet to go viral with highlight-reel plays.
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