Senior Standouts Look To Lead Men's Lacrosse to Bounce-Back Year

Garden City, N.Y., despite being home to a population of just over 20,000 people, consistently produces some of the best high school lacrosse players in the country. Even so, few people could have anticipated that the small town would lay claim to a whopping five Top-25 recruits in 2011 and 2012. Harvard men’s lacrosse coach Chris Wojcik ’96 knew the long tradition of skilled players coming from the area, however, and made sure that he was in Garden City early and often in those years. His reward: four of the five star recruits.

“That town has a rich history of producing some very good college and pro players,” Wojcik said. “And Long Island in general, it seems like, every lacrosse program in the country has a footprint there or is trying to make one.”

Long stick midfielder Brian Fischer has since graduated, but the other three remain and will look to lead the Crimson to success as the group’s senior leaders this season. Attackman Devin Dwyer, ranked No. 4 overall by Inside Lacrosse in the prep class of 2012, will spearhead the Harvard offense, while classmates Sean Mahon and Stephen Jahelka will anchor the midfield and defense, respectively. In 2011, Inside Lacrosse rated Mahon the No. 4 midfielder in the country and Jahelka the No. 1 defenseman.

The trio is part of a senior class that stands at 15 strong and accounts for more than a third of the team’s 42-man roster. Together, these players have experienced what it is like to both exceed expectations and fall short of them. In 2014, they helped an initially unranked Harvard squad finish first in Ivy play with a 5-1 record and surge into the NCAA tournament for only the sixth time. The next year, however, the team started the season ranked No. 12/13 nationally but faltered, finishing with a 2-4 conference record.

Now, the members of the senior class have set their sights on redemption, and ending their collegiate careers with another Ivy League regular season championship. If accomplished, it would make this class the first ever in school history to graduate with multiple conference titles.

“I think a big reason a lot of the guys my year came here was to try to build a winning culture in a place that hadn’t always had one,” Mahon said. “We’ve taken steps in that direction, but I don’t think anyone is really satisfied with where we’re at yet.”

The team certainly has the firepower to accomplish this goal, and its push for the conference championship starts with the three Garden City natives. Mahon and Jahelka will serve as captains this year, but all three have been recognized on preseason watch lists.

Dwyer and Jahelka were named Preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse, and were also two of nine Ivy players to be drafted into Major League Lacrosse. Dwyer was taken 46th overall by the Florida Launch, while Jahelka will play for the Denver Outlaws after being drafted 14th overall, which matches the highest a Crimson player has ever been selected.

“Stephen missed all but two games last year because of an injury,” Wojcik said. “It’s good to have him back, not just for his ability but also his leadership. As for Devin, the way I’ve always described him is that he makes the players around him better, whether it’s through his lacrosse IQ, his vision, or his wide set of skills.”

Beyond its large group of seniors, Harvard also boasts a talented sophomore class. Attackman Joe Lang, who was third on the team in goals (21) as a freshman last year, was recognized as the Crimson’s third and final Preseason All-American. Only senior attackmen Deke Burns (26) and Ian Ardrey (24) scored more, and both will be back alongside Lang once Burns comes back from injury.

Morgan Cheek, a fellow attackman who netted the game-winner against Villanova in Harvard’s season-opener, and goalie Robert Shaw, a former Roxbury Latin standout who won the starting spot from incumbent Bryan Moore during the preseason, are two of Lang’s classmates who figure to play key roles as well.

As for the class below them, most of the freshman will likely not see much playing time except for faceoff man James Sullivan, who was rated by Inside Lacrosse as the No. 1 player at his position in the incoming class, taking over duties at the faceoff X immediately.

“The learning curve will be steep for him, especially with him being at a specialty position,” Wojcik said. “But James is extremely driven to succeed and we think he’ll be up to the challenge.”

The Crimson also has four other players in the Inside Lacrosse Power 100 Freshman Rankings, including defenseman Marc-Antoine Pion and goalie Jack Corbett. With so many upperclassmen, however, the team knows that it has the experience to win at the very start of the season as well as at its pressure-packed end. Harvard has taken it to all challengers so far, claiming Inside Lacrosse’s No. 7 ranking.

Brown, the league co-champion last year, could pose a challenge to Harvard within the conference and features one of the country’s best players in Dylan Molloy. Molloy and the Crimson’s own Dwyer are the only two players in the country who rank in the Top 10 individually in both goals and assists per game. The last contest of the season against Yale looms even larger on the calendar. If both teams play up to expectations this year, the matchup against the Bulldogs could decide the Ivy title.

“You don’t win a conference championship or national championship in one game,” Mahon said. “Each game will be important to us, and we understand that we need to approach every single one as a chance to learn and improve to get to that ultimate goal.”

—Staff writer George Hu can be reached at yianshenhu@college.harvard.edu.