(Photo: Jack Wraps)
After how the season started out, Boston College was considered the runaway favorite in the PCLL. And then Northeastern came along, knocking Boston College out in the regular season and taking advantage of BC’s early exit in the PCLL Tournament to work their way into the MCLA Tournament. What should people expect out of the Huskies this season? This is part of an ongoing series during which we will focus on one of the MCLA’s top teams each day, counting down till Christmas to the true “cream of the crop.”
Last year
Record: 8-2
Postseason finish: MCLA Tournament First Round
Quick season recap: A two-loss regular season is desirable for any team in the country, but for Northeastern it came as a benefit of an ideal schedule. The two losses came to middle-of-the-pack PCLL team Connecticut and Division 2’s Briarcliffe, neither of which is a quality loss. However, tough wins against Georgia Tech (who finished the regular season 11-3) and PCLL favorite Boston College were able to balance that out, and Northeastern would then go on to win the PCLL Tournament following BC’s early exit. The season would come to an end as the 13-seed Huskies were taken down by Chapman in dominant fashion.
Roster losses: The midfield takes the biggest hit of this graduating class, as five middies (six if you include long-stick midfielder Chris Haffenreffer) have departed. Offensively, Christopher Tecca will be missed, after a PCLL-leading 24 assists last year. The graduation of midfielder Mike Lehmann will have a wide range of impact, as Lehmann was the team’s primary face-off specialist, he served as a captain, and he was tied for the team’s lead in goals with 18. Defensively, starter Elias Kassis will be missed, but the team’s true defensive anchor last year was captain Justin Miller, an ALL-PCLL defenseman who will also be gone. Unlike many top-tier teams in the MCLA this year, Northeastern’s goalie will be back for one more year, as All-PCLL goalie Matthew Mohr will bring back his incredible 5.46 GAA and 0.665 save percentage.
This year
Who to watch for: Matthew Mohr, senior goalie
As mentioned above, Mohr has a chance to be electrifying in 2015. He had an excellent campaign last season and was a major reason that the Huskies worked their way into contention in the PCLL. A stellar run in the PCLL Tournament was fueled by a combined 27 saves through the Huskies’ two games in that tournament. Mohr didn’t allow double-digit goals in a single game this season, a big reason that Northeastern was always keeping themselves in games.
They’re dangerous if the offense can hold its own to create a dangerous balance. The primary goal-scorers on this offense should be fellow attackmen Joey Pasquale and David Rapp, who combined for 35 goals last season. The defense should be there to hold the Huskies in the game, but if this offense can capitalize on its opportunities there is a strong chance the Huskies could be a very dangerous foe on any team’s schedule in the MCLA.
Achilles’ heel: Midfield depth. Losing so much senior leadership and production hurts on a surface level but it will most impact this team during its run through a long season. Being able to go deep into the tournament will require that this team can go several lines deep into its midfield, and that could be a questionable move unless some players start stepping up at the position to fill the shoes of the departed seniors. However, if that should happen, there are a lot of elements that are coming together at the right time for this team, with a bevy of experience everywhere else.
Trey Lanthier is a lacrosse reporter and editor at WCSN, as well as a contributor for Inside Lacrosse. You can reach him at treylanthier@gmail.com or on Twitter, @TreyLanthier.
