LOWELL, Mass. – Entering his fourth season in charge, Head Coach Drew Kelleher led the UMass Lowell men’s lacrosse team through a challenging, 12-game schedule. Prior to the season, Coach Kelleher announced an incoming class of 11 freshmen, while also naming juniors Josh Adey (Victoria, B.C.), Owen Fitzgerald (Calverton, N.Y.), Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.), Jackson Schlicker (Portland, Ore.), and Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) as team captains. 

River Hawks Earn Pair of Weekly Awards

After a pair of impressive performances in the win over Wagner, Schlicker was named the America East Defensive Player of the Week, while junior Justin Alexander (Franklin, Mass.) was tabbed the conference’s Faceoff Specialist of the Week.  In the victory, Schlicker had a career day, causing a career-best five turnovers while collecting a ground ball and scoring the first goal of his career. Meanwhile, Alexander continued to dominate on the faceoff, winning 18 of 23 opportunities, good for a .782 win percentage while surpassing his previous career single-game best of 17 wins. 

All-Conference Honors

Following the conclusion of the season, three River Hawks earned all-conference honors. Soi and Alexander were both named to the America East All-Conference Second Team, while freshman Ryan Proctor (Uxbridge, Ontario) earned a spot on the America East All-Rookie Team. 

In his third season at UMass Lowell, Soi was once again an offensive threat for the River Hawks, ranking third on the squad with 15 goals and 19 points, highlighted by a five-point performance off three goals and two assists in the team’s dominant win over Wagner. Alexander, meanwhile, proved to be one of the top faceoff specialists in the country, posting a 61.2% win percentage and ranking 11th nationally. The junior also added 8.00 ground balls per game, sitting fifth in the nation, and added his second career goal alongside two assists.

In his first collegiate season, Proctor left his mark immediately, recording a goal and an assist in each of the team’s first two games of the season. Totaling 11 goals and 14 points in total, the freshman saw his best performance of the season against NJIT when he posted his first career hat trick alongside two ground balls.

Alongside the trio of award winners, a plethora of other River Hawks made significant strides in 2026. Sophomore Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) continued the strong start to his career, scoring a career-high 20 goals as part of a 31-point season, including a career-high five goals against then-#19 Massachusetts. Behind him, sophomore Alex Lafreniere (Chelmsford, Mass.) added 17 goals and six assists for 23 points alongside 15 ground balls collected.

Defensively, sophomore Jack Jimenez (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) led the charge with ten caused turnovers, including three against Queens of North Carolina, alongside a career-best four ground balls. Behind him, Schlicker finished the season with nine caused turnovers and nine ground balls, while Adey contributed seven caused turnovers and 21 ground balls.