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Quint Kessenich’s Top 20: February 3rd, 2025

Bitter cold enveloped lacrosse nation in mid-January. What impact will frigid temperatures and abbreviated or disjointed practices have on the game-day product we see in February?

Here’s my initial poll of 2025 after 18 D1 games this weekend. 


20: Towson
(13-4) in 2024 and 7-0 in CAA play, the Tigers enjoyed a nine-game winning streak last spring, pummeling bottom dwellers. The 2025 season begins with a couple of 2024 NCAA Tournament quarterfinalists, starting with the home opener against Charm City rival Johns Hopkins on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m. Let’s see if Towson is a mid-major with upside or just the beneficiary of a cupcake schedule. The CAA outside of Towson and Delaware wasn’t stellar. It’s always fascinating to see teams from the non-power leagues elevate themselves up the rankings.

19: Rutgers
A sneaky good 10-6 win at Lehigh, a playoff team and Patriot League champion. RU shot 10 of 44, missing the goal 22 times, while Lehigh shot just 6 of 30 with 22 turnovers, including 10 failed clears. That’s the storyline—clearing 12 of 22 is death. Scarlet Knights goalie Cardin Stoller had 10 saves with six goals against. The Big Ten went (5-1) on opening weekend. LIU is at Rutgers on Tuesday.

18: Utah
The Utes took down Ohio State with a box score that reads like a thriller: +13 in ground balls, 44 shots, and three players with five points apiece (Luke McNamara, Cody Hart, Ryan Stines) added up to a 19-13 road victory in Big Ten country. Ohio State started goalie Henry Blake (36%), but Caleb Fyock (54%) came on in relief. Utah, the two-time ASUN champs, welcomes Delaware to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday at noon, where the weather looks OK with partly cloudy skies and a high of 36.

17: Harvard
You win in the locker room first. Coach Gerry Byrne, the minister of defense, has the Crimson ready to move up the Ivy standings this spring.

16: Denver
A 13-10 home loss to Johns Hopkins featured handfuls of new personnel. The known quantities, like Mic Kelly and Cody Malawsky, contributed on offense. Going (11-27) at the faceoff dot is new territory for a program accustomed to possession dominance with star FOGOs Trevor Baptiste (2015-18) and Alec Stathakis (2020-24). In 2019, DU went (10-5) and did not make the NCAA Tournament. Brett Boos (57%) was the FOGO that year. I would guess that since 2015, Denver has had the highest combined FO percentage in D1 college lacrosse. That won’t be the case in 2025. The Pios bus to Air Force in Colorado Springs this Saturday. SSDM Casey Wilson was my guest last week on the podcast.

15: Georgetown
A 13-6 win over Loyola in the swamp in front of 1,223 fans represents a successful opening day. But if you watched or looked closely, there is some pause for concern. GT won the game’s first 11 draws, yet they trailed 4-1 after 15:00. From that point on, the game was more in line with expectations. A 12-2 run fueled by Joe Cesare and Kevin Miller led to the 13-6 winning margin. Hoyas FOGO Ross Prince went 16 for 20. James Ball DNP. GT only had 29 shots—that won’t cut it at Homewood. Five penalties are concerning. Sophomore goalie from Alabama, Anderson Moore, an insanely talented athlete for the position, shrugged off a slow start to finish with 14 saves (70%). Moore and the Swamp Dogs will try to slow down Hopkins on Saturday in Baltimore. ESPN+.

14: Army
Cadets begin 2025 at UMass on Saturday, February 8. ESPN+. This game is an annual rock fight. Midfielder Evan Plunkett is one of my favorite players.

13: Michigan
Temps were in the 20s in Ann Arbor as defender Pace Billings put the clamps on Marquette. The Princeton graduate transfer had five ground balls and led a defense that forced Marquette to shoot a woeful 1 for 26. Hunter Taylor made 10 saves. Michigan, meanwhile, shot 14 of 49 behind four-point outings from Ryan Cohen and Jack Jenkins. Big Blue travels to Chapel Hill next. This is a sensational matchup.

12: Duke
The Devils jumped on Bellarmine 14-2 at halftime on their way to a 26-7 win. A 24-7 ground ball advantage at halftime showed dominance. Maryland grad transfer Eric Malever (4,2) and Richmond grad transfer Luke Grayum (3,2) were productive for Team Fuqua. Duke and Jacksonville renew their rivalry next. Devils fans’ nervousness about what lies ahead in the ACC is warranted.

11: UNC
Heels begin with Michigan on February 8, a critical and dangerous starting point. Anytime an ACC team squares off against the Big Ten, there are major RPI consequences for both leagues. North Carolina, with Owen Duffy controlling the offense, will be the most intriguing team to follow in February and March.

10: Penn
Goalie Emmett Carroll has shown conspicuous courage under fire. Bolstered by a talented and well-organized defense, Penn will be locking it down in 2025 as a defensive outlier in an offensive Ivy League. Punxsutawney Phil, not a winter college lacrosse fan, woke up on Sunday and saw his shadow, meaning we are destined for six more weeks of winter, according to legend.

9: Princeton
The great teacher for Princeton is experience. While I’m not a fan of preseason All-American distinctions, it’s hard to ignore the offensive talent assembled in New Jersey. But it’s also worth noting that Princeton, like Cornell, seemingly has subpar SSDMs. A defense is only as good as its weakest link. Let’s see how this develops.

8: Penn State
Handling Colgate 14-9 behind seven points from Matt Traynor feels like a sensational start to the 2025 season. Traynor was (45,7) a year ago as Robin to TJ Malone’s Batman. With Malone playing for the Whips in the PLL, it’s now Traynor’s offense. His sidekick will be Kyle Lehman. Of all the games this weekend, the Utah win over Ohio State, JHU beating Denver, and the Penn State victory over Colgate resonate the most. Up next is a Sunday standalone game at Villanova on February 9 at noon.

7: Johns Hopkins
The Jays trudged through the cold spell in January as the only Big Ten program without an indoor practice facility. Tied at 7-7, JHU went on a 5-1 run for a 13-10 road victory at Denver. Eleven of the 13 goals were assisted. The passing and shooting looked elite. Hopkins cleared 17 for 17 while going +8 on ground balls and didn’t meltdown like in the 2024 game against the Pios. Russell Melendez had a six-point afternoon, while Matt Collison and lefty Hunter Chauvette both finished with four points. Patrick Hackler scooped up four ground balls as Hopkins played 15 “new” members of the roster. The Jays got seven goals from non-starters, while DU only got two. “We Want More” rides the bus up Charles Street on Tuesday night to tangle with Towson after flying home from Denver. Quick turnaround. They host Georgetown in a televised game on Saturday, February 8, at 1 p.m. with Chris Cotter, Paul Carcaterra, and me.

6: Virginia
Colgate visits Charlottesville on Saturday. ESPN+. Wahoos’ defense could be nasty. I’m excited to watch the defensive six take shape at UVA. Kyle Morris may get the start in net. Interior scorer Truit Sunderland had a productive scrimmage against Drexel. McCabe Millon steps into the leading offensive role. Each year is a different challenge. It’s not about what you don’t have—it’s about maximizing what you do have. And UVA has a boatload of impactful poles.

5: Cornell
Big Red is dealing with an injury to sophomore midfielder AJ Nikolic. Cornell’s offense should be electric, and I’m eager to see them operate. CJ Kirst, Ryan Goldstein, Michael Long, and Willem Firth are the headliners. My concern with CU is the SSDM spot. The higher you play up the food chain, the more important the basics become.

4: Yale
The Ivies don’t get started until February 15. The Bulldogs play Nova, Army, Penn State, and Denver before league action. Leo and Lyons are going to give opponents headaches. I think Yale has a chance to be better in the middle of the field than some of the high-scoring Ivies like Princeton and Cornell. Jack Stuzin (LSM) and Machado Rodriguez (FO) are key pieces. Yale must fix its slide packages and defensive cohesion.

3: Maryland
Goalie Logan McNaney wears the coveted #1 jersey for the Terps this spring. Maryland got 10 points from transfer additions in a 12-7 win over Richmond. Matthew Keegan (Binghamton) (3,2), Bryce Ford (Fairfield) (2,1), and Jack Dowd (Salisbury) (0,2) debuted. The Terps scored the first seven goals of the game while holding the Spiders scoreless for 31:03. The television version was typical Maryland—ants running around on a field with sticks, shot from a satellite near Mars by NASA. If you pay for this service, I’m sorry. The Terps take a short bus ride to a young Loyola team this Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

2: Syracuse
#HHH welcomed Jacksonville to the Dome with a 24-5 shellacking. They wasted little time dispatching Jax, building a 10-goal margin through the game’s first 22 minutes. 5,041 fans enjoyed the offense and the Dome Dogs. Dolphins coach John Galloway was (59-8) as a starting goalie at Syracuse. The Orange looked like the #2 team in the country. Jimmy McCool got the start in net. Sam English ran first midfield and played on EMD. He’s omnipresent. Joey Spallina and Michael Leo had five points apiece. Michael Grace joined Riley Figuerias and Billy Dwan III on close defense. Dwan will be my guest this week on the Quintessential Podcast. Look for the link in our media section. Vermont is at Cuse on Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The Orange should be fun to watch in 2025.

1: Notre Dame
Thank you, Jordan Faison, for representing college lacrosse admirably during the ND run to the college football national championship game. Every catch, every run, and every television, print, or social media mention adds credibility to lacrosse. Rudy apparently led Detroit 18-1 at halftime of a scrimmage. The Irish and coach Kevin Corrigan turn their homework in at the last minute, with their schedule release finally hitting their website, indicating an opener against Cleveland State on Feb. 12.

Q-Tips


Richmond, Villanova, UAlbany, Colgate, Saint Joseph’s, Providence, Navy, Delaware, and Lehigh are hovering.

Providence defeated Holy Cross as Ryan Bell and Richie Joseph went off.

Navy employed a 10-man ride in beating High Point on Saturday.

Loyola went (7-8) a year ago and said goodbye to 23 graduates, including 80% of its scoring. Going to be a rough February on Cold Spring Lane for the puppies.

If you’re a college lacrosse fan, you need ESPN+ for coverage of thousands of games—men’s and women’s college lacrosse plus the PLL and WLL.

Why didn’t more college teams play on Sunday? No NFL games to compete with. Sunday standalone games are beneficial for exposure and attendance.

Hampton and Iona play on Sunday, February 9. I had a wonderful discussion with Hampton coach Chazz Woodson in late January about the progress he is making at the only D1 HBCU lacrosse program.

Somebody is winning their first D1 game.