This time a year ago, Johns Hopkins junior defenseman Patrick Foley was back home in the greater Boston area, with lots to think about and much soul-searching to do.

Two weeks before the start of the 2017 season, Foley had fallen out of good academic standing at Hopkins and was compelled to withdraw from school. Following a freshman year in which he had emerged as arguably the Blue Jays’ best defender, Foley’s collegiate lacrosse career suddenly had arrived at a crossroads.

“I knew I’d let my teammates down. That took a while to overcome,” Foley says. “I had to realize this was an obstacle in my life, and I was going to do everything I could to overcome it.

“I studied much harder and trained much harder than I ever had,” he adds. “My motivation to come back and regain the trust of the team was very strong. I was all in. This [program] is much bigger than me.”

Following a successful fall on the field and in the classroom, Foley returns as a huge piece in the Blue Jays’ defense on Saturday, when Hopkins opens its season at Homewood Field against local rival Towson. The Tigers, reigning champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, advanced to last year’s NCAA tournament semifinals.

Foley, who spent last spring and summer in part coaching seventh-graders and working in sales and marketing with 3d Lacrosse New England – his former club team – also found ample time to work out and polish his lacrosse fundamentals.

He also watched every televised Hopkins game, right down to the bitter end. The Blue Jays struggled for much of the season on defense, best evidenced by their embarrassing, 19-6 loss to visiting Duke in the NCAA tournament’s first round on May 13. Hopkins wound up with an unsatisfying 8-7 record, and with a defense that ranked 54th in Division I by surrendering 11.47 goals per game.

Two years ago, on a young defense that allowed 11.6 goals per game, Foley started all 15 games – the only Blue Jays freshman to do so. He caused a team-high 11 turnovers, scored two goals and collected 23 ground balls in 2016.

A graduate of St. John’s Prep and a native of Winchester, Mass., Foley went on to shine as a member of the United States’ U-19 world championship team in the summer of 2016. On Saturday, coming off a productive fall that Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala says included an honor-roll performance in the classroom, Foley will begin again.

“Pat lived with the consequences of not getting the job done. He needed to step away and reassess his priorities, which he did,” says Pietramala, who adds that a minor injury suffered by Foley in last week’s scrimmage against Marquette could sideline him.

“To Pat’s credit, he worked hard to do his job academically and to fix some things with the team. He had to earn our trust again,” Pietramala adds. “He came back more than ready to play, and he exemplifies what our whole defense is right now. They all have something to prove.”

Monumental Win for Jacksonville

Over its eight previous seasons as a Division I sport, Jacksonville University has enjoyed few signature victories. Sunday’s season-opening, 12-7 takedown of Navy definitely counts as one of them.

Led by senior faceoff man Hunter Forbes, the Dolphins’ unit took full advantage of the absence of Navy specialist Joe Varello, who was serving an indefinite suspension due to an undisclosed violation.

Jacksonville controlled 18 of 21 draws against Navy’s combination of Jeff Durden and Brad Alexander. Sophomore attackman Dwayne Mattushik scored a career-high five goals. Jacksonville built a 10-4 lead by halftime and was never threatened.

“I was a little surprised [that Varello didn’t play]. But it wasn’t about who I was going against,” says Forbes, who was named to the USILA Team of the Week. “It was more about us and what we do. This program has an unbelievable amount of potential. We expect to win the SoCon [Southern Conference] and make a run in the NCAA tournament. Coach Galloway is taking us in the right direction.”

That would be second-year head coach and former Syracuse star goalie John Galloway. The only goalkeeper ever to win NCAA titles as a freshman and sophomore, Galloway owns NCAA records in wins (59) and minutes played (3,776) and was a two-time first team All American. He started on Syracuse’s last title teams in 2008 and 2009 and will represent the U.S. this summer at the world championship in Israel.

“I think we’re still far away from having a winning culture,” Galloway says. “We’re trying to instill a process culture first. This is a yearlong mission. Beating Navy is a huge confidence builder for the program.”

Galloway, the third coach at Jacksonville, says that the only wins that rival Sunday’s victory in stature are a 13-12 decision over Denver in 2010 – the Dolphins’ first varsity season – and 13-7 whipping of Navy in 2012.

The Dolphins are 40-67 overall in Division I. They are 2-0 against the Midshipmen.

Buiding Process at Utah

Nearly 18 months ago, former longtime North Carolina assistant coach Brian Holman was hired as the future head coach at the University of Utah, which formally announced last June it was adding men’s lacrosse as a varsity sport.

The Utes will shed their club sport label on July 1 and will accelerate preparations to play their first varsity schedule in 2019. Utah will be sport’s western-most Division I program, supplanting Denver and Air Force. The Utes will compete initially as an independent and will share a new facility with the women’s soccer team, beginning in 2020.

“It’s been as much fun and challenging as anything I’ve done in my life,” says Holman, who led Utah’s club team to a 10-7 record last year. “I’m staying focused on two things – helping us be the best club team we can be and making this the best experience that our guys can have. We’re laying the bricks and mortar of a good foundation.”

Holman envisions Utah – the first Pac 12 Conference school to add varsity men’s lacrosse – as part of a Pac 12 lacrosse league that will include Stanford as a West Coast anchor.

Holman expects nearly 50 recruits from 18 states to land in Salt Lake City over the next two years. His staff includes his son, Marcus – a former, two-time All-American attackman at North Carolina – and former UMass attackman Will Manny and former Virginia goalie Adam Ghitelman.

“Right now, we don’t even have a locker room. My kids keep their stuff in the trunks of their cars and get their work done. It’s bare bones, and I like that,” says Holman, who played goalie for Johns Hopkins in the early 1980s. “We’re going to earn everything we get.”