🤯 THIS WAS 10 YEARS AGO!?

With the turn of a new year, it may come as a shock to you that 2015 was 10 years ago.

It may feel like it happened just yesterday, but the Denver Pioneers’ rise to their first NCAA Championship under Bill Tierney was a decade ago. The stars of that team — Wes Berg and Trevor Baptiste — are now grizzled PLL veterans. Even Tierney has moved on, soon heading into his second season with the Philadelphia Waterdogs.

You might remember the semifinal matchup from that same NCAA Tournament, when a sophomore midfielder named Sergio Perkovic scored five straight goals in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame’s loss to Denver. That legend of the “Motor City Hitman” was solidified that day.

Perkovic is now in his 30’s and staring down PLL free agency…

Time waits for no one, and anecdotes like these illustrate that unfortunate fact. We remember the 2015 season because it was the last time we saw two-time Tewaaraton Award winner Lyle Thompson suit up in an Albany uniform. It was also the last time we saw Johns Hopkins make it to Championship Weekend.

The 2015 season was also the first year that the Big Ten sponsored men’s and women’s lacrosse, giving us a second power conference to rival the blue bloods in the ACC.

The No. 1 recruit in the country that year was Loyola Blakefield midfielder Ryan Conrad, who would go on to win an NCAA Championship with Virginia and be selected No. 2 overall in the inaugural PLL Draft. Ryder Garnsey and Pat Spencer were also five-star recruits in that class.

In 2015, the PLL was still an idea in the back of Paul Rabil’s head. He was busy winning an MLL Championship with the New York Lizards that year.

While the memories are still vivid, they also highlight how much the game has changed in the past 10 years. We can’t wait to see where lacrosse is in the year 2035…

Were you a lacrosse fan in 2015? Reply to this email and tell us what you remember from 10 years ago!

🕊 Lacrosse Player Among New Orleans Victims

On Thursday, we were saddened to learn that former lacrosse player Billy DiMaio was among the victims who lost their lives in the New Orleans attack on January 1.

DeMaio, who played for Holmdel High School in New Jersey (2014-2017) and Chestnut Hill (2018-2022), was only 25 years old.

Friends and teammates of DiMaio shared heartfelt messages.

“Your life was instantly better the moment you met Billy,” Christian Tesoriero wrote in a comment on our Instagram. “He was the kindest, most genuine person you could ever know. There wasn’t a mean bone in his entire body. My heart aches for his family and loved ones. The world is a dimmer place without him. He will be deeply missed.”

The Lacrosse Network sends our deepest condolences to the DiMaio family, as well as the Holmdel and Chestnut Hill communities. To support victims of the attack, click the button below to visit the fund established by the Greater New Orleans Foundation in conjunction with the City of New Orleans.

🔥 Jordan Faison Heating Up in CFB Playoff

Notre Dame two-sport athlete Jordan Faison is two wins away from capturing his second NCAA championship in a calendar year. The talented midfielder/wide receiver has been one of the Fighting Irish’s most explosive playmakers in the first-ever expanded college football playoffs.

Faison is Notre Dame’s leading receiver in the playoffs, with 135 yards on 11 receptions through two games. He also has a couple of rushing attempts and broke free on a 43-yard reverse kick return in the first-round win over Indiana.

The Irish play Penn State in the semifinal on Jan. 9; the winner of that game will take on either Texas or Ohio State in the National Championship.

After that, Faison will re-join the lacrosse team, where he had 30 points (22 goals, 8 assists) as a freshman last spring.

📈 Brennan O’Neill Nets Another 8-Point Game

If there were any questions about Brennan O’Neill’s skills translating to the box game, he answered them through the first month of the NLL season. O’Neill has 21 points (t-16th in the NLL) through four games and is coming off an eight-point performance in a recent Philadelphia Wings win over the Saskatchewan Rush.

That game marked the third time O’Neill recorded at least eight points in 2024.

The first instance came while O’Neill was still at Duke, when he dropped a season-high eight points against High Point in Feburary. Then, this summer, O’Neill unleashed his historic, nine-point performance in an overtime win against the Utah Archers. That was just his second game with the Denver Outlaws.

And now, just one month into his NLL career, O’Neill already has an eight-point performance with the Wings. This strengthens his case as the most dynamic talent in the game today and justifies his status as the No. 1 selection in both the PLL and NLL Drafts last year.

📽 Watch The New Dyson Williams Documentary

While Brennan O’Neill continues to take over every corner of the lacrosse world, his former Duke Blue Devils teammate (and fellow No. 1 draft pick) Dyson Williams is also one of the NLL’s fasting rising stars.

The Albany Firewolves recently published a documentary on Williams, who is the son of an NLL legend in Shawn Williams (current head coach of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs). Williams plays for his late brother, Tucker, who passed away 10 years ago.

Williams and his father will meet for the first time as NLL adversaries this weekend, as the Firewolves face the Desert Dogs in Albany on Saturday night. The game will mark the start of the “Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup” — an in-season series established to honor the life of Tucker Williams and raise awareness for lymphoma research and pediatric oncology.