Division I Men’s Lacrosse Returns: Here are the Breakout Stars at Each Position so Far This Season

Lincoln+Financial+Field%2C+the+site+of+the+2023+NCAA+Mens+Lacrosse+Championship+game.

Peter O.

Lincoln Financial Field, the site of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship game.

Peter O.

College lacrosse is back, and this season is already shaping up to be one of the most entertaining yet. Even with most teams only having played one to three games, there have been plenty of upsets, highlights, and great performances so far. The beginning of the season is always a prime chance for players to break out with big performances, and this year has certainly not disappointed in that regard. Below are five players who seem to have made that star leap early in the season.

 

Attackman: Justin Robbert (Freshman, Quinnipiac)

Robbert dominated in Quinnipiac’s first win of the season and his first ever college game over UMass Lowell, 21-12. He shot four for six and gathered three more assists for a total of seven points, which puts the budding star at third in the nation in points per game (tied with four other players). Not bad for a player who was not even ranked in the top one-hundred players in his recruiting class. Robbert will get plenty more chances to prove his doubters wrong with tough games coming up against Brown and Merrimack.

 

Midfielder: Nick Pelletier (Sophomore, Robert Morris)

The Colonials needed all four of Pelletier’s shots to go in to beat Bucknell 12-9 on Saturday, but go in they did, and the Canadian finished the game with a one hundred percent shooting percentage and a win. Pelletier has already surpassed his career total from last season, and given Robert Morris a quality scoring option from the midfield. He will have to keep up that production in order to get back to the NCAA tournament, and maybe even further.

 

Face-off Specialist: Jack Rogers (Freshman, Virginia Military Institute [VMI])

Rogers has been thoroughly outplaying his three-star recruiting ranking (per Inside Lacrosse) so far this season. He has been by far the most impactful freshman at his position, and has won 31 draws in two games, good for third in the NCAA. Making the stat even more impressive is the context: he has done it on only 47 attempts, putting him inside of the top twenty in the nation in terms of faceoff percentage. The freshman has shattered expectations of him coming into this year, and VMI should be extremely encouraged about his potential.

 

Defender: Andrew Stanzel (Senior, Bucknell)

A big season has been in the works for Stanzel for some time now, as he received scant playing time his first three seasons with Bucknell before breaking into the rotation a bit as a junior. So far this season, he has been the linchpin of the Bison defense, and leads the country in caused turnovers with seven. The 6’4” defender has also gotten four ground balls, and even netted an assist two games against Mercer and Robert Morris.

 

Goalie: Jamison MacLachlan (Sophomore, Stony Brook)

Despite losing Stony Brook’s first matchup of the season against then #10 Rutgers, MacLachlan had himself a day with twenty-three saves and three ground balls. That number is the most of any goalie so far this season, and it came in only the fourth start of MacLachlan’s collegiate career. MacLachlan will need to keep his hot streak going if the Seawolves are going to make some noise in their new conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, which is filled with tough offenses in Delaware, Towson, and Drexel.

 

(All statistics are accurate as of 2/16/23 and are provided courtesy of NCAA.com)