NEWARK, N.J. — The NJIT men's lacrosse team's 2023 home opener will pit the Highlanders up against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon.
LAST TIME OUT
NJIT opened the 2023 campaign last weekend (February 11) with a valiant effort in a narrow 12-11 road defeat at Siena.
Gavyn Willson tied for the game lead in goals with a four-point effort against the Saints, one of seven Highlanders to register a goal and one of ten to record at least one point in the matchup. Arthur Miller was the only other Highlander with multiple goals (2) while also adding an assist for three points.
Isaac Vanzomeren also tied for a game high with six ground balls, won 50 percent of his faceoffs (7-14), and scored his first goal of the season. Billy Kroeger helped keep NJIT's faceoff rate at an even 50 percent with a 6-12 showing at midfield to go along with four ground balls of his own.
Liam Brown started the season with an eye-popping 20 saves, which currently sits second in the country for a single game and tops in the America East.
OTHER NOTES
- Liam Brown's 20-save effort locks in his fourth straight season with at least one performance of 20 saves or more. It was also brown's fifth 20-save game and one shy of his career high of 21 (done once in 2020 and once last season at Marist on Apr. 12).
- Gavyn Willson's four-goal performance is the second game of his career with at least three goals. Ironically, both were in season openers (the first was his career-best five-goal effort in his collegiate debut against Hampton on Feb. 1, 2020).
- In a sign of program growth, Saturday's game was the closest season-opening defeat in program history (-1). The closest game to open a campaign prior to Saturday was a five-goal loss at Lehigh on Feb. 3, 2018 (13-8). NJIT's lone season-opening victory came on Feb. 1, 2020 against Hampton (24-7 in Newark).
NEW REGIME IN PLACE
Eric Wolf, an America East alumnus and coach with nearly 15 years of combined experience, was named the second-ever head coach of the NJIT Men's Lacrosse program by Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan this summer. Wolf joined Highlander Nation after spending the last five seasons as head coach at Long Island University/LIU Post and making prior stops at Harvard, UAlbany and Siena.
In his head coaching debut, Wolf oversaw one of the more unique situations in the country as he went from leading the Division II LIU Post Pioneers for two seasons (2018-19) to overseeing the program's first three years in Division I (2020-22) after the merger of LIU's Brooklyn and Post campuses into one institution. The Sharks adjusted to Division I and the Northeast Conference well in their first two full seasons (LIU's 2020 debut campaign was cut short due to COVID-19), qualifying for the four-team NEC Tournament both years on the strength of two back-to-back NEC major award winners in Offensive Player of the Year Richie LaCalandra and Defensive Player of the Year Will Mark. During his first two years at LIU Post, Wolf posted a pair of 10-plus win campaigns and reached two East Coast Conference Championship games behind the efforts of All-Americans Connor Farrell and William Snelders.
Overall, Wolf went 35-29 (19-8 in conference play) in five seasons at LIU, including 16-21 (9-6 NEC) in three Division I seasons, 13-13 (9-6 NEC) over the last two, and 21-10 (10-2 ECC) at LIU Post.
Among his stops as an assistant were two stints at his alma mater and NJIT's current America East conference mate, UAlbany. Wolf served as UAlbany's Director of Operations in 2008 after graduating in 2007 and returned for four seasons (2012-15) as Assistant Coach, Offensive Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator. The Great Danes won three AE titles, won two NCAA games, and led the NCAA in scoring three times during Wolf's second run.
Wolf's staff is made up of assistants Sean Eccles and Jack Kearney, who will manage the Highlanders' respective offensive and defensive units. Both assistants has ties to current America East schools - Eccles played four seasons at UAlbany (two-year captain, two-time All-America East Second Team selection, helped UAlbany reach its first-ever Final Four in 2018) and Kearney came to NJIT from the AE's newest member Bryant (two years as a volunteer assistant and goalie coach).
2023 LEADERS
- Goals: Gavyn Willson (4)
- Assists: Five players with 1
- Points: Willson (4)
- Ground Balls: Isaac Vanzomeren (6)
- Man-Up Goals: Wilson (1)
- Faceoff %: Vanzomeren/Billy Kroeger (.500)
- Shots: Willson (7)
- SOG: Willson (6 | .857)
- Caused Turnovers: Three players with 1
TOP RETURNERS (2022 TOTALS)
THE 2023 SCHEDULE
NJIT will play a 13-game schedule featuring six non-conference contests, seven America East games, six home matches and seven road trips.
2023 will kick off with four games in February, beginning with the season opener at Siena on Saturday, February 11. The Highlanders' home opener will be held a week later (Saturday, February 18) against Mount St. Mary's. NJIT will have a pair of two-game road trips this year, starting with back-to-back games at Monmouth (Tuesday, February 21) and Manhattan (Saturday, February 25).
March begins with the Highlanders' longest homestand of the campaign, a three-game stretch against Wagner (Saturday, March 4), Lindenwood (Saturday, March 11), and two-time defending America East champion Vermont (Saturday, March 18) in NJIT's league opener. NJIT will close out March on the road against Binghamton on Saturday, March 25.
The final month of the regular season will feature five conference matchups. The Highlanders will face America East newcomers Bryant (Saturday, April 1 at home) and Merrimack (Saturday, April 8 on the road) in back-to-back games before closing the year out at UAlbany (Saturday, April 15), against UMBC (Senior Day on Saturday, April 22) and at UMass Lowell (Saturday, April 29).
The four-team America East Men's Lacrosse Championship will be held on May 4 & 6 at the highest seed in the tournament.
OTHER SCHEDULE NOTES
- NJIT will face four first-time opponents in 2023: Bryant (newest full member of America East), Lindenwood (who is transitioning to Division I), Merrimack (AE Associate member for 2023 and 2024), and Mount St. Mary's (newest member of the MAAC).
- The Highlanders will open the season on the road for the second consecutive season.
- Two NJIT opponents - Vermont and Manhattan - made it to the 2022 NCAA Tournament and coincidentally faced each other in the opening round.
- NJIT's schedule will be much more manageable than in years past: Of the 13 opponents, only two (Vermont and UAlbany) received votes in the preseason USILA poll and only UVM received votes in the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll.
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION
Coach Wolf will go into Year 1 at NJIT with 26 veterans to call upon, ten freshmen to incorporate into his program, and one new transfer (Josh Schreibeis from Robert Morris) to work into the mix.
NOWHERE BUT UP
NJIT was voted to finish last in the eight-team America East preseason poll (Vermont was the unanimous selection to win the league).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
NJIT and Mount St. Mary's will be facing off for the first time ever. The Mount is 0-3 on the season and played earlier this weekend, falling to No. 12 Delaware, 15-6, on February 15.
NEXT UP
NJIT will hit the road for a mid-week in-state battle next Tuesday (February 21) against Monmouth. Opening faceoff is slated for 2 p.m. in West Long Branch.
