Missed out on the start of the college lacrosse season? Don’t you worry, we are going to get you all caught up before conference play gets going. It might be March Madness college basketball time, but the college lacrosse world has been going crazy as well. Big time upsets, dark horse teams exceeding expectations, and much more. Let’s get into it!
Championship Contenders
Maryland Terrapins
The Terps have made it clear from how they have played this year that they are ready for another chance at the NCAA title. John Tillman has this Terp squad bought in and you can tell. This 2025 team hasn’t been smoking their competition, but they are taking care of business and doing what matters, winning. They had a terrific 3 game stretch taking down Syracuse, Princeton, and Notre Dame to solidify their place atop of the rankings. The Terps are an attack dominant team, with Eric Spanos, Daniel Kelly, and Braden Erksa leading this team all season. This undefeated season is not over yet however, as the Terps still have conference play to get through before making it to the playoffs, and the Big Ten Conference is looking quite powerful this year.
Princeton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers might be one of the most fun teams to watch this season. They have a stellar attack unit, and a great complimentary offense to go around their attackmen. Coulter Mackesy is the key to this offense getting going. The senior lefty sniper has 18 goals in their 5 games played. A couple weeks ago, Princeton went on spring break down to North Carolina to take on UNC and Duke. This weekend was going to give us some great clarity on what teams are legit and who still needs to improve. Well, the Tigers came out of the weekend undefeated and let the world know that they are to be taken seriously this year. Other than the Ivy League schedule, the Tigers have a pretty easy schedule ahead of them with just Lehigh and Vermont to play. Unless Princeton falls apart in the second half of the season, expect them to be in the NCAA tournament with a good chance of them making a run.
Tewaaraton Hopefuls
The players are in the swing of things now, they are full speed ahead and trying to play their best game that is going to help their programs win. When you do that, and are proven to be the best player you win the Tewaaraton award for the best player in college lacrosse.
Joey Spallina is one of those guys right now. He is taking charge and leading this Syracuse team. He is not a selfish player either that just wants to get points for his stats. Spallina so far this season, has 36 points (15g, 21a) through seven games. If you get the chance to watch Syracuse, make sure you do just so you can see Spallina in action, it is worth it.
Jackson Eicher is a bit of a dark horse to keep in mind for the Tewaaraton. Eicher has been dominate so far this year with the Black Knights up at West Point. He is a similar player to Spallina, in that he is able to take charge and lead his team. He won’t be doing too much out on the field, he knows what to do, when to do it, and what teammates to get involved on the play. Eicher has 37 points so far this season (16g,21 assists) through six games where they are 6-0. Some people may say Army doesn’t have a hard schedule, which is true. But he is dominating these teams to the point where you see it translating over when it does come time to play the better teams.
Owen Duffy over at UNC is another name to consider. He is an unbelievable lacrosse player and no defender is able to catch up with him. Duffy and his line mate Dom Pietramala are starting to build some solid chemistry on the field. If those two can get in a groove and have the Tar Heels rolling the second half of the season, it’s going to be a fun debate of Duffy vs Spallina for the Tewaaraton award. Duffy’s scoring totals are at 25 points (14g, 11a). Look for him to finish around that 70-80 point mark this season with how he’s been playing.
Dark Horses
Every year, we see a couple teams that are not in the ACC, Big Ten, Ivy, or the top guys in the Big East come out and dominate to start the year. They are always fun to watch because you start to see the lacrosse community get behind them and cheer them on to make history.
The Richmond Spiders have been one of those teams. Coach Chemotti refuses to let his teams have a down year. They are always improving and taking that next step forward. The Spiders are 5-2 to start the season, with close losses to top teams Maryland and Cornell. But, they also pulled out a huge upset victory over their in-state rival the Virginia Cavaliers. Before they head into conference play, they have Duke and Georgetown in back to back weeks. If they can manage to get a win from those two games, there is a solid chance that the Spiders could receive an at-large bid for the big dance.
The Colgate Raiders are another team that has steadily been in the top 20 this year. The Raiders are not a team to be taken lightly, they can absolutely play with any team. The Raiders are goal scorers that’s for sure. Coach Karweck has made sure his guys are locked in at all times, having six players with double digit goals so far this year. The Raiders will have a tough battle against Syracuse in two weeks, that will be a huge game for both teams before Colgate heads into the Patriot League play. Anything can happen but don’t sleep on the Raiders.
