For Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse, 2024 seemed to be the year for championship contention. The Bobcats started the year with seven-straight wins, earning national recognition and taking the No. 20 slot in the Inside Lacrosse DI media poll rankings in March.
But the season didn’t end the way anyone had hoped for with a second-straight loss in the first round of the MAAC playoffs.
Any reasonable person would come to the conclusion that Quinnipiac should run it back with a similar squad. An entire year of experience together along with a dynamic ability to score seems like a recipe for success.
But it does not have the luxury of getting the band back together. The Bobcats’ top five scorers from last season are no longer with the team. But graduate student midfielder Trevor Douglas, the sixth top scorer from last season, isn’t worried.
“This group has had the opportunity to watch last year’s offense and learn a lot from those veteran guys,” Douglas said. “But the cool thing about it is that the offense this year has a completely new look to it, and we’re excited.”
Freshmen occupy over 20% of the roster this year — that’s a lot of new players to be a part of a squad that wants to compete in big games.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys stepping into bigger roles,” Douglas said. “And while they understand how to run and be a part of (last year’s) offense, we’re going to create our own identity. So we’re excited to start a new chapter as a new offense, but make those older guys proud for sure.”
For the coaching staff, an influx of new players means that it’s up to the coaches to develop them into meaningful contributors — something head coach Mason Poli views as a part of the job rather than a challenge.
“I have to remind my coaching staff that we’re coaches,” Poli said. “If we’re not coming to work every day to teach and develop then we’re not doing our job. So just knowing that the learning curve might look a little different, we’ve got some guys at earlier points that we’re really starting to see the returns now.”
Despite being in the beginning of a long season, Poli is starting to see some returns from the freshmen players.
“A couple other guys on the defensive end, (defender) Riley Ruane, (midfielder) Adam Kim, (defender) Chad Pelonzi,” Poli said. “And then the offensive end, seeing some of those young freshmen flourish in (midfielders) Carter Hills and Drew Bradley really taking an understanding to the offense. On (the offensive) end, it’s really fun to see a lot of new guys step up into some new roles for us this year.”
Unless the Bobcats can find some diamonds in the rough to replicate their offensive dominance from last year, the team will need to step up on defense.
Lucky for Quinnipiac, senior goalie Mason Oak is back for a fourth year with the Bobcats. One of the best goalies in the country last season, he averaged 15.4 saves per game and recorded an astonishing 22 saves in a matchup against Sacred Heart. Oak was recently named as an honorable mention USA Lacrosse’s Division I list of Preseason All-Americans.
“I try not to look at all the stats,” Oak said. “Honestly, I just try to play my game. Going into games, you can’t think about that stuff. You just gotta do what you gotta do.”
Despite an incredible season in 2024, Oak credits his teammates for his high-volume production.
“I have a really strong defense in front of me,” Oak said. “They give me good shots to see, so we had a lot of success together last year.”
If the Bobcats are going to compete this year, they’re going to need both the offense and defense to step up. Poli is adamant that his team can not only accomplish that, but play effectively in all phases of the game.
“We have a healthy squad, a few more veterans as well,” Poli said. “I think from an offensive and defensive standpoint, even in the middle of the field, I think we have the ability to push from transition this year. We’re really confident in what we can bring to the table.”
The Bobcats will travel to Amherst, Massachusetts to open up the season against UMass Amherst on Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
