Merrimack Men’s Lacrosse Reaches Title Game for Third Straight Year

The following was submitted by Brad Davis of

The Merrimack men’s lacrosse team reached the Northeast-10 Championship for the third straight season, finishing with an 11-6 overall record in 2011.

But while most teams consider a run to the title game a successful season, that’s not necessarily the case in North Andover.

“On the surface, 11-6 would be a considered a good year for most,” said head coach Mike Morgan. “But I know our expectations were much higher so in a way this year was a disappointment. It had some ups and downs, but we struggled to stay consistent throughout the year. I think with the landscape of Division II, there is such a slim margin for error in losing a game. It was tough for our young team when we lost early.”

Ranked fourth nationally in preseason polls, the defending NE-10 Champs opened the year with a big 11-8 victory at #5 New York Tech. But after home victories over Dominican and Southern New Hampshire, Merrimack dropped a 12-11 OT decision to #12 Catawba on March 21. The Warriors actually had a streak where they would win two and lose one over the next nine games, including conference road defeats at Adelphi and Saint Michael’s.

That inconsistency continued as the Warriors dropped back-to-back home games, losing to #2 Le Moyne 6-4 and Bentley 9-8, falling to 7-5 on the year and losing any hopes of a NCAA appearance.

But just when expectations hit their lowest, Merrimack found its game, exploding for 39 goals in road wins at AIC and Saint Anselm to finish fifth in the regular season.

“In the first quarter of the Saint Anselm game, we finally started to click,” said Morgan. “We made some adjustments to the offense and moved a few guys into different positions. We showed signs of putting it all together on both sides of the ball throughout the year, but we were never as consistent as we wanted to be.”

Merrimack’s confidence grew after defeating the fourth-seed Bentley 10-9 in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals in Waltham, and it peaked following a 7-6 triumph over #1 Le Moyne in the Semifinals.

The Warriors became the first team to defeat the Dolphins in consecutive games in Syracuse since 2003 and ended the season for the top-ranked team in the country.

“Half the battle that teams face winning in Syracuse is having the confidence to know you can. We had that confidence going into last year’s Northeast-10 Championship, and now we have it probably even more so.”

Merrimack’s season came to end in the title game, losing to Adelphi, who reached the National Championship, 13-8. The Warriors were attempting to be the first team to win the NE-10 title as the fifth seed.

Corey Lunney of Little Silver, N.J., led Merrimack in scoring for the second straight season and was named the NEILA Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection. Defensive mainstays Peter Schielke of Ridgefield, Conn., Steve Frey of Madison, Conn., and Jimmy Holland of Billerica were first, second and rookie team selections respectively, while Brad McAdam of Neshanic Station, N.J., was a second-team honoree.

Phil Ketrelakes of Peabody and Nick Maggio of Winchester were first-team all-New England honorees, as Maggio set school records for face offs won in a season and a career, as well as ground balls for a season and career.

Merrimack was very young in 2011, as the championship game’s starting lineup featured six starters that were either freshmen or sophomores. Five of the top six scorers this year were sophomores, while sophomore Connor Reagan of East Lyme, Conn., anchored the goal with a .496 save percentage and a 7.61 goals-against.

“We graduated only five of our 43 players, so we will definitely use this year as a learning experience for our team,” said Morgan. “With our talented recruiting class, our transfers and most importantly everyone being a year older in 2012, we expect a very successful season.”

Over the next two weeks, Merrimack is recapping the spring season at merrimackathletics.com.

May 26 – Women’s Track

May 27 – Men’s Track

May 31 – Women’s Tennis

June 1 – Men’s Tennis

June 2 – Women’s Lacrosse

June 3 – Men’s Lacrosse

June 6 – Baseball

June 7 - Softball