Season in Review

5/16/2022 3:46:00 PM

LOWELL, Mass.—Bouncing back from a shortened season, the UMass Lowell men’s lacrosse team battled through a challenging 2022 campaign, posting a 2-11 overall mark and 2-4 conference record.

The team huddles together after one final preseason practice.

Looking to build upon their success during the 2021 season, the River Hawks brought on 18 new faces to help bolster the already skilled roster, including 14 rookies and four experienced transfers.

2022 NEWCOMERS RELEASE

With the lineup set, the team unveiled its leadership core, which featured familiar faces from last year’s squad. Graduate students Domenic Giachello and Kyle Laforge reprised their roles as captains for the River Hawks after getting the call in 2021. Joining the team after four seasons with Drexel, graduate transfer Paul Macrina rounded out the trio of captains and brought with him years of experience between the pipes.

CAPTAINS RELEASE

Junior Conor Foley

The team opened the year with a gritty battle with non-conference foe Quinnipiac in the friendly confines of Cushing Field. Despite the tough decision, the team saw several firsts in the season opener. Junior Conor Foley paced the team with a career performance on attack.

With four goals and three assists, Foley’s seven points tied the program’s single-game high in points and marked a new single-game high for the Massachusetts native. For his performance, Foley was tabbed the America East Offensive Player of the Week.

FOLEY OPOTW RELEASE

Junior Brian Wiles, freshmen Khairi Sears and Calvin Desmarais and Macrina made an impact in their first game as River Hawks. Wiles knocked in his first goal and dished out two assists, while Sears logged his first career assist. Between the pipes, Desmarais and Macrina split time and each made four saves against the Bobcats.

Freshman Khairi Sears

UMass Lowell continued its push through a challenging non-conference schedule, facing opponents such as Massachusetts, Siena, Merrimack, Sacred Heart and nationally-ranked Jacksonville. Even in the face of opposition, the River Hawks managed to keep the pressure on. Four of the six non-conference losses were by a margin of six goals or less.

Foley and Clark celebrate after a goal

During the out-of-conference schedule, the River Hawks got their first taste of America East action when the team clashed with Stony Brook on the road. Tripped up by the Seawolves, UMass Lowell rebounded with an absolute battle against NJIT in the Garden State to pick up the team’s first win of the season by a tight 8-7 advantage.

BOX SCORE // RECAP

In the penultimate home tilt of the 2022 season, the River Hawks came together to celebrate the Class of 2022 and its nine graduates before opening faceoff against UMBC. Although a heartbreaking finale, UMass Lowell battled shot-for-shot with the Retrievers. Junior Nick Harvath ended the day with a career-best single-game total four points off three goals and one assist.

Senior Day v. UMBC

With one last road trip on the schedule, the team left it all the field, holding off Binghamton to pull off the upset for one final win. Foley extended his point streak to 14 games to end the year after leading the team with two goals against the Bearcats. The win marked the first victory over the Bearcats for UMass Lowell since the 2018 season when they took down Binghamton in Vestal in a 14-10 decision.

BOX SCORE // RECAP

Team celebration following a goal

After the regular season, a pair of River Hawks earned America East All-Conference recognition for their impact on the team in the classroom and on the field.

Domenic Giachello (AE All-Academic) and Khairi Sears (All-Rookie Team) pick up America East All-Conference honors

Captain and fifth-year midfielder Giachello was tabbed to the AE All-Academic Team after posting a 3.733 GPA in pursuit of his Master’s in Business Administration. During his tenure as a River Hawk, Giachello was a four-time Dean’s List honoree, a 2021 NEILA Division I Al-Academic Team selection and a 2021 America East Honor Roll pick.

A standout on the team in all five seasons, Domenic Giachello cemented his name in the UMass Lowell men’s lacrosse record books with an impressive performance in 2022. With a team-leading 13 assists, Giachello finished second on the squad in points with a single-season best 28 after adding 15 goals. The Connecticut native also collected a career-best 19 ground balls in his 13 starts.

Khairi Sears was named an AE All-Rookie Team selection after an impressive start to his collegiate career. Making 13 appearances and four starts, Sears emerged as an offensive asset early on with an assist in his River Hawk debut. He went on to score three goals and dished out two more assists to finish the year with seven points. The Ohio native also added four ground balls to his stat line, including a single-game high of two against Stony Brook.

The River Hawks saw strong performances on both ends of the field for yet another season. In total, 17 players recorded points across the 13-game slate with six scoring 10+ points.

Conor Foley exploded on attack this year for the River Hawks, leading the team with a career-best 29 goals and 39 points. The offensive powerhouse also put up a team-best six man-up goals to help the River Hawks finish third overall in the conference in man-up goals per game with 1.23. With 10.38 shots per game, Foley led the conference and squad in the statistical category. His 2.23 goals per game also ranked him fourth in the conference, while his 3.00 points per game landed him sixth overall.

Sophomore Jake Davis picked up right where he left off at the end of his prolific freshman campaign in 2022. Ranking second on the team in goals with 19, the Massachusetts native product ended the year with 27 points, good for third on the team. In addition to career numbers is all three scoring categories, Davis capped his strong sophomore stat line with 13 ground ball pickups and a caused turnover.

On defense, Alexander Chairs and Ryan Quinlan dominated in their rookie campaign. The duo ranked one-two in caused turnovers, forcing a combined 22 turnovers in their 13 appearances. Absolute forces on the field, Chairs and Quinlan finished third and fourth overall on the team in ground balls with 28 and 22, respectively. Ending his freshman season on a high note, Quinlan tallied his first collegiate goal against Binghamton to become the only River Hawk defenseman to rip twine this season.

Freshman defender Alexander Chairs

Freshman defender/LSM Ryan Quinlan

Adding to the freshman firepower, Riley Lawhorn had a monumental end to his rookie campaign. Lawhorn found his footing on attack down the stretch for the River Hawks with points in five of the team’s six final games. The New Hampshire native saw his best performance of the year against Holy Cross in the River Hawks’ final homestand of the season, putting up a season-high three points off a pair of goals and one assist.

Liam McDonough saw one of his most successful seasons at the faceoff X for the River Hawks, finishing with the sixth-best faceoff percentage in the conference (.526). For the second time in his career, the Groton, Mass.-native led the squad in ground balls collected with 98 in 13 games for an America East best 7.54 ground balls per game. McDonough is now the program leader in career ground balls (241), faceoff wins (449) and faceoff percentage (.532).

Sophomore Anthony Mancino made his way back to the cage this season for the River Hawks, appearing in 11 games and finishing with a career-best 2-8 record. The New York product picked up his first collegiate win against NJIT and added another to his record on the road at Binghamton. This season, Mancino set a new career-high in saves with 17 against Stony Brook. The sophomore also registered double-digit saves in seven of his 11 starts.