The men’s lacrosse team has shown great improvement this year as it matched the program’s most wins in a season since 2010. Its record improved from 0-11 overall and 0-8 in the Patriot League last year to 4-11 overall and 1-7 in the conference this season.
The team’s underclassmen stepped up this year, as sophomore attackers took Lafayette’s top three spots in the leaderboards.
Peter Lehman and Charlie Cunniffe sit at the top two spots once again this year after being key players as freshmen last season. Lehman ended the season with 34 goals and 21 assists for 55 points, while Cunniffe finished with 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points. Kalman Kraham moved up to the third spot on Lafayette’s leaderboards as he finished the season with 28 goals and 10 assists for 38 points.
Both Krahm and Lehman mentioned that the overall “buy-in” level and commitment from the team came into fruition this season.
“It’s truly just a result of everyone putting forth their full effort, and I think when you put ten guys on the field that want to do anything they possibly can to win, that really helps the progress of the team,” said Lehman, who recently earned Patriot League All-Second Team honors.
The Leopards started the spring season keeping up with Penn State on Feb. 5, and then went on to earn their first victory in three years against Virginia Military Institute the following week.
“As soon as we got on campus everyone was ready to go and committed to being better. I think at first when you’re rebuilding something, you have to talk about it a lot. And sometimes when you do that, you don’t really take action on it,” Kraham said. “I think this year, we were actually doing what we were saying we were going to do and we started practicing harder.”
Lafayette netted a close win against Drexel the next week before losing in a heartbreak overtime game against Binghamton on Feb. 26.
In a historic game, the Leopards netted their first Patriot League win in five years against Holy Cross. Lafayette scored 21 goals in this outing.
“Last year we went there and definitely thought we could beat them, and they kind of smoked us. That was a good wake-up call, so we were really focused on going in and getting a Patriot League win, especially since it was the first one in a while,” Kraham said. “I think we really found our rhythm in that game, everyone was playing well and doing their part. That game definitely gave us a lot of momentum and confidence in how we were playing.”
Lehman explained that the Holy Cross game was exemplary of the team’s response to adversity, as there was a lightning delay at the start of the second half which interrupted the flow of the game.
“I think we really responded well and came out hot in the second half which really solidified the win,” he said.
Both Kraham and Lehman applauded the graduating seniors for their contribution to the program.
“All our guys in our senior class welcomed everybody and just made it a fun place to be,” Kraham said. “George [Enman] is an attackman and has always been leading me, [Lehman] and [Cunniffe], showing us the ropes and really welcoming us in.”
Lehman believes the whole senior class embodies what it means to be a Lafayette lacrosse player.
“I think their commitment level to your program just raises the bar for everyone. Whether it’s the seniors, the juniors, sophomores or freshmen I think everyone looks up to those guys,” Lehman said. “It’s hard to see them go but I think they absolutely left a great imprint on this program and left it better than they found it.”
Kraham said that going forward, they need to improve its consistency and dependability from both sides of the field. Lehman said that the team needs to continue working on playing as a collective unit.
“I was super excited with the progress that we made this season and I think there’s still a ton to improve on,” Lehman said. “We’re all super excited to get back to work.”
